Pip Edwards is taking her ‘extra’ style global: ‘New York is calling’

It’s the middle of New York Fashion Week and while Naomi Watts, a legion of K-Pop stars and Oprah Winfrey have been warming the seats of the front row, Pip Edwards has made the city’s party scene her own.

On a Saturday afternoon, as the West Village crowd indulge in the art of the long brunch, stalwart Australian stylist Edwards rolls into Bleecker Street wearing dark sunglasses, the badge of honour of another late night. We decide for the sake of authenticity that the sunglasses will stay on for the photograph.

Pip Edwards at the Bond-Eye Swim pop-up store in New York. Credit: Hunter Valiant

Last night was a party for the homegrown denim brand Ksubi, where she has been creative director since departing her activewear label PE Nation last year. For Edwards, partying is work, with the Ksubi event celebrating a collaboration with LA streetwear brand Alice Hollywood, before rolling into the private members club The Twenty Two and drinks at the Bowery Hotel.

We are meeting the morning after at the pop-up store for Bond-Eye swimwear, where her first capsule collection and a poster of her looking ocean fresh and wide awake, is in the store window.

Pip Edwards with Patty from the Scissor Sisters at the Ksubi (the Tsubi) store opening in New York in 2005.Credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

“It’s such a vibe in New York, isn’t it,” Edwards says, in a voice even huskier than usual. “I’m clocking outfits. Little tribes. The pedestrian fashion is really cool. Obviously, it’s all hyped up for fashion week. It’s extra.”

The crowd across the road are clocking Edwards’ extra look from behind their mimosas and Tommy’s margaritas. A black and white Bond-Eye one-piece swimsuit, worn beneath snug black Ksubi jeans and a sheer tunic is an example of a personal brand of cool that transcends borders.

“She certainly has a way of wearing things,” says Bond-Eye founder, Steve Philpott. “So many of the pieces sold out in our Bondi store because of who she is. They’re selling in New York because people like them.

“Pip has that creative energy. She met with our design team, brought in half of her wardrobe and had a vision that works.”

The Bond-Eye brand also works, having launched in the US before focusing on the Australian market. Philpott says that its US customer base is bigger than in Australia, with plans for a new pop-up a few blocks away on the same New York street.

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That US positivity is rubbing off on Edwards, who first visited New York when Ksubi opened a store on Mulberry Street in 2005, during its original incarnation under founders Dan Single and George Gorrow. “When I first went into my job at Ksubi I was his PA (personal assistant) and my title was ‘Legendary Sexytary’,” she said in a 2017 interview.

Now visiting the US, Edwards is getting the respect and recognition she has been working for, at Ksubi, Bond-Eye and the numerous brands she promotes on her social media channels. Those US visits might get longer.

“New York is a mecca for me,” she says. “New York is calling. We have the Ksubi head office in New York. The universe is saying something.”

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