Australian designer Kelly Davies has an unlikely muse for her unapologetically sexy line: her grandparents, Maurice and Evelyn Williams, who were married for more than 56 years. When the pair passed away in 2001, Evelyn left her Singer sewing machine to Kelly. Kelly then founded her fashion label, Maurie and Eve, in their memory in early 2002. Though the namesake couple met and fell in love in the forties, Davies’s clothing projects a modern, hard-edged vibe, featuring leather detailing, a liberal smattering of fringe and sequins, cut-outs, thigh-grazing hems, and plunging necklines. Since its modest beginnings, the label has earned a following throughout Australia and New Zealand. Two years ago, Davies recruited her brother, Scott, and his girlfriend, Maya Clemmensen, to help expand the business and pitch in on the design front (the trio renamed the label Maurie and Eve Platinum). The line is now carried at more than 50 locations throughout Australia, Europe, Asia, and the United States. In New York, you can find select items from the spring collection at internationally minded Nolita boutique Babel Fair, and Oak stocks the label’s killer pair of wood-heeled platform motorcycle boots, new this winter. Click ahead to scope out rock-inspired pieces from the spring and summer collections.
