HIGHRISE FOR ALEX PERRY

ONE of Australia’s leading fashion designers has extended his fashion influence with Chrome Property Group to create a $75 million residential apartment project in Fortitude Valley.

A construction start toward the end of the year is planned on the first Alex Perry Residential project.

It is the first of 10 to be rolled out across Australia through to 2021.

Perry’s role as creative director of Chrome’s residential portfolio will see him lend his ‘style’ to each building.

“Good design isn’t just about what we put on our backs, but where we live and how we create our lifestyle. My role as a couturier is to customise a garment to complement the features and personality of its wearer,” says Perry.

“I’ve applied the same principles to Alex Perry Residential, incorporating my knowledge of proportion, scale, colour and texture to spaces instead of bodies. The couture approach will provide something unique for buyers rather than the usual cookie-cutter approach taken by many of today’s new apartment developments.”

They will offer 11 levels of apartments above a five star hotel style lobby, restaurant and bar. Apartments will be priced from $375,000 to $970,000.

Designed in collaboration with Cottee Parker Architects, the project will be located at the corner of Ann and Chester streets and will include a marble and chandelier filled lobby, rooftop pool and lounge area and apartment designs in a choice of ‘blonde or brunette’ colour schemes.

While international brands including Versace, Giorgio Armani and Bulgari have evolved from fashion and jewellery design into buildings, Alex Perry Residential will be the first development where an Australian fashion designer will have a namesake brand across an extensive property portfolio.

Perry, who also boasts a jewellery line with Diva, a spectacles range with Specsavers and pieces with a designer rug company, says it’s all about aesthetic.

“The parallel between fashion and interior is about having a design aesthetic, which is visible in the colour, proportion and personal touches in the apartments. I think people think my taste is extravagant but I like things that are warm and classic in appearance so they won’t date,” he says.

“I think the 1950’s was a brilliant design period with simple, clean lines and beautiful finishes so I’ve referenced this a lot in the apartments in my use of beech wood for example which looks great in all kinds of light and it creates a sense of warmth.

“I relied on the architects for the design of the building, but I always knew what it should feel like and I was of the opinion that it should be sympathetic to the area it’s in, so it’s a light and airy building with a retro, fifties kind of feel to it.”

Perry is a regular visitor to Brisbane with David Jones and for charity work.

“There’s a feel that Brisbane has when you get off the plane and into the city – it’s relaxed but also sophisticated. This is the first apartment in a series of 10 and I think the Valley was a great place to start – it’s a developing area that has a pulse and an edge to it,” he says.

“I am involved with a number of projects and I think I’m a fatalist in that sense, but I’m always open to new opportunities and if I can put my aesthetic behind it then I will because it will always relate back in some way to my role as a designer.”

Coldwell Banker Property Direct has commenced an off-the-plan marketing campaign to sell the product.