Where theatrical beauty meets deeply personal storytelling, Paolo Sebastian creates couture for unforgettable moments.
Few Australian designers have created a fashion universe as distinctive and exquisitely realised as Paul Vasileff. As founder and creative director of Paolo Sebastian, Vasileff has built an internationally recognised couture house where high fashion, romance and extraordinary craftsmanship collide. His gowns are unapologetically beautiful, often dramatic and intricately constructed, with French lace, illusion tulle, architectural corsetry and elaborate hand embroidery in a visual language unmistakably his own. It is an aesthetic particularly at home in the world of weddings, where fashion, emotion and occasion come together.
From Adelaide to Paris, Paolo Sebastian has cultivated an international following and a commanding presence on the red carpet. The brand’s gowns have been worn by Ariana Grande, Halle Bailey, Alessandra Ambrosio, Kerry Washington, Katy Perry, Hailee Steinfeld, Hilary Swank and Gillian Anderson, appearing at major cultural moments from the Academy Awards and Grammys to the Golden Globes and Cannes Film Festival.
Behind the theatrical beauty lies the formidable technical knowledge of founder Paul Vasileff, who began sewing at three years old under the guidance of his grandmother, completed his first evening dress at eleven and presented his first collection at seventeen. He later apprenticed with an Italian tailor before receiving a scholarship to Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design, graduating with honours and returning to Australia to continue building the house.
Yet technique is only part of the Paolo Sebastian story. Vasileff has a particular gift for using couture to explore deeply personal narratives, something beautifully expressed in his latest collection, La Ballerine. A poetic reflection on beauty, memory and becoming, the collection considers the quiet beauty that remains as aspirations evolve, soften or take unexpected turns. It is an approach that reveals another dimension to his work, where vulnerability and emotion can sit alongside precision, grandeur and romance.
For brides, this combination is particularly compelling. Paolo Sebastian speaks to the woman who wants fashion to play a defining role in her wedding, who embraces drama, detail and individuality, and sees what she wears as an opportunity to choose something truly remarkable. While the house creates bespoke bridal couture, its wider collections carry an equally alluring sense of occasion. La Ballerine, for example, offers tea-length dresses, sculptural corsetry, embellished separates and softer colourways that could become a hero look for the day, a second dress for the reception, or part of a wedding wardrobe spanning engagement celebrations, rehearsal dinners and after-parties.
For those seeking the complete couture experience and a gown created entirely for them, each bespoke bridal piece is designed by Vasileff and handcrafted by artisans in the Adelaide atelier, bringing the house’s artistry and exacting standards to one of life’s most personal garments.
Portrait above Simon Cecere, @simoncecere
You began sewing at three, made your first evening dress at eleven and presented your first collection at seventeen. What qualities or creative instincts from that young designer remain with you today?
I have always been very determined, even as a child. Combined with my passion, enthusiasm and love for the craft, those qualities still drive me forward today. At the end of the day, I want to create beautiful things and make people feel their best. I never get sick of the feeling when someone tries their gown on for the first time, and I get to see that Cinderella transformation take effect.
When you begin designing a new piece or collection, what leads the creative process: silhouette, technique, fabric and texture, a visual reference, or a story you want to tell?
It always starts with the story for me. Stories are the emotional bridge into the collection, and allow me to understand what it might want to convey. But it differs every time as to what thread of the story we pull on first. Sometimes a particular fabric inspires me, and other times we dissect character more: what are they doing or feeling? And how can we translate those emotions into colour or silhouette or embroidery?
Storytelling runs through your collections, from Once Upon a Dream, The Sleeping Garden and Persephone to your latest, La Ballerine. What draws you to building a narrative around a collection, and how does it shape the way you design?
I’ve always been drawn to story because story creates meaning. To me, creating a collection isn’t only about beautiful dresses; it’s about what those pieces say when someone puts it on, or how they make someone feel. When we build a narrative around each collection, it brings everything to life: the designs, the choices, the mood. Story influences not just what we create, but how we share it, and how people respond to it, too. I’m incredibly proud of how we continue to weave narrative into couture.
A bespoke bridal gown needs to reflect the woman wearing it while still carrying your unmistakable signature. How do you find that balance? And what do you enjoy most about collaborating with each bride?
With brides, you are not only creating a gown but a future heirloom, a piece that lives beyond a single day, and that makes those collaborations incredibly special and exciting. Who is the bride at this time in their life, and how can we embody parts of them into the embellishment, colour or cut? Over the course of months, the piece becomes a beautiful amalgamation of bride and brand; blending the Paolo Sebastian aesthetic into a dress only they could wear.
You learnt to sew from your grandmother, trained in traditional Italian tailoring and later studied formally in Milan. How does that grounding in traditional craftsmanship continue to serve you as a designer today?
I believe understanding craft is integral to being a good designer. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to learn the many different facets of creating couture, including my grandmother’s traditional techniques. All of it has only deepened my passion for the craft, in particular pattern-making and sewing. Creating couture is an art form, and I feel a lot of the techniques that we research help inspire the designs. My team is incredibly talented, and we push ourselves each time, committed to both preserving tradition and expanding our own boundaries.
After almost 20 years of Paolo Sebastian, with the house expanding into accessories and footwear while couture remains at its heart, what continues to excite and challenge you creatively, and where do you see the greatest possibilities for bridal and occasion dressing next?
What continues to excite me is collaboration: working with others to bring their own twist and personality to our aesthetic. It challenges me to keep thinking outside the box. I think what I love so much about the industry and where fashion is at the moment is that people are more confident to do their own thing. Earlier in my career there was more of a fixation on following specific trends, whereas now you feel this sense of freedom from others to make choices of their own, and draw from what truly inspires them. That kind of artistic freedom creates possibilities, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Looking back across the gowns and collections you have created, is there one that holds particular significance for you, and why?
That’s a really hard one. It’s like choosing a favourite child, because each collection is a labour of love and holds many sentimental memories. Certainly pieces from our Disney collection, Once Upon a Dream, are incredibly special, and mark a particularly significant moment in my career. But creating Allora Domenica, a collection inspired by and worked on with my late Nonna, is something I will cherish forever.
For the modern bride seeking something beyond the expected, Paolo Sebastian offers a rare proposition: the theatre and artistry of true high fashion brought into the deeply personal world of weddings. Whether through a bespoke couture gown, a striking second look or a piece from the wider collections, Vasileff’s work is for women who want what they wear to feel significant. With an international outlook, exceptional craftsmanship and a creative language entirely his own, Paolo Sebastian stands as a compelling couture choice for fashion-conscious brides, and for women around the world dressing for life’s most memorable occasions.
Portrait above Simon Cecere, @simoncecere
INTERVIEW Greta Kenyon PHOTOGRAPHY Atelier, Meaghan Coles, @meaghan_coles_photography
For more information, visit paolosebastian.com and @paolo_sebastian
