Juli Grbac
Juli Grbac (born 1978) is an Australian fashion designer who was the first winner of Project Runway Australia.
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Hailing from Brisbane, Grbac studied fashion design at Gateway TAFE in Brisbane and later went on to study fashion design at London's School of St Martin's. Grbac developed a love of fashion at a very young age and was taught to sew by her Mother who also worked as a dressmaker. Upon her return from London, Grbac worked as a hand sewer for various companies, including luxury brand Easton and Pearson, before starting her own label "Grbac" in 2002.
"Grbac" was stocked in some of Australia's most high end retail stores including Jean Brown Robe. Grbac also opened a stand-alone store in the TC Beirne Centre in Fortitude Valley's Brunswick Street Mall which closed two years later.
Most famously, Grbac went on to win the first ever season of Project Runway Australia. Her most legendary dress was the one she created for singer Kelly Rowland as part of a "Project Runway Australia" challenge. Kelly Rowland went on to wear the custom-made dress at a concert for Prince Albert of Monaco in Cannes, France.
As part her "Project Runway Australia" prize, Grbac had her designs modelled at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Week in 2009, which received rave reviews, as well as a 6-page spread in Madison Magazine.
Grbac's latest project is the uniform re-design of international airline Virgin Australia, a true testament to her beautiful designs and hard work. Grbac took inspiration from "the glamour of flying in the 1960s but gave it contemporary edge". In 2011, the new uniforms which included a women's red shift dress and a men's three piece suit, were unveiled with a catwalk show featuring Elle Macpherson and 60 Virgin Australia crew members. The uniforms are now a true representation of the Virgin Australia brand, glamorous, elegant and fun.
In 2019, Grbac competed in season 7 of Project Runway All Stars, that featured international winners, but she was eliminated in episode 5.[1]
