Attending Paris Fashion Week during a global pandemic was the last thing Blue Mountains jewellery designer Zohar Edelshtein Budde expected to be doing in October.
Late last year business was down due to the bushfires, and Mrs Edelshtein Budde was scrolling through Instagram when she came across a call for designers. She decided to apply and didn't look too closely at the details. Next thing, the Hazelbrook designer learned she'd been accepted at Paris Fashion Week.
"I realised it's a very big deal," Mrs Edelshtein Budde said. "It's the first time I had created such a big collection."
Then coronavirus hit. In June, the designer was told the show would still go on - on October 3. She just managed to secure return flights, and as the time grew nearer and the second wave of coronavirus broke out in Europe, Mrs Edelshtein Budde grew more nervous.
"I was scared. It was really weird to go the airport and have everything closed and the flight empty," she said.
She sent 40 pieces of jewellery to Paris before her arrival, in case there were hold ups.
The Hazelbrook designer crafts each piece of jewellery by hand, creating everything from simple chain necklaces to headware and elaborate sculpted necklaces.
She describes the process of creation as deeply personal and "connecting with spirituality."
Mrs Edelshtein Budde had never done a runway show before, so she learnt on the go. She fitted glamorous models with her jewellery before they took to the catwalk.
"I loved it. Even the fitting the night before was very stressful. I had to learn everything as I went along. The stylist couldn't be there - she was in New York - I had to receive her OK for every look. I took the reins and just did it," Mrs Edelshtein Budde said.
"The day of the show I woke up a different person. All the fear, anxiety and doubt was gone and I enjoyed myself. Everything worked out and the music was on and I started dancing and jumping."
Due to coronavirus restrictions there were no crowds or buyers present, but Mrs Edelshtein Budde did meet other designers, and her jewellery was featured in top fashion magazines Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire.
She's hoping to work with Brazilian fashion designer Mateus Nudelmann for the Fabrics of Multicultural Australia showcase in July 2021.
Flying back to Australia on October 7, Mrs Edelshtein Budde spent two weeks quarantined in a Sydney hotel. She didn't mind the isolation - it was a chance for recuperation after the uncertainty of return travel, including seven COVID tests before she was cleared for entry.
"I managed to get there in one piece and stay healthy. I was just very lucky," she said.
Back home in Hazelbrook, Mrs Edelshtein Budde is working on new pieces of jewellery and looking to the future. Her jewellery features in the Rex Livingston Gallery in Katoomba, and she has a studio above the gallery.
Source: https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/6980574/hazelbrook-jewellery-designer-returns-from-paris-fashion-week/
