It spotted Ben Pollitt at the 2009 LMFF Designer Award event. A signature jacket from his label Friedrich Gray made him a stand out in the crowd of "fashionable people."

Images:  Photo by Michele Ferguson for AWI

Know for his layered and deconstructed garments that are both accessible but utterly chic at the same time, Ben is  relative newbie to the fashion circuit.

 He started designing after a brief time in NYC:

"I went and lived in New York for while and saw the creative culture there and what was possible.I got really inspired. I don't have any fashion training - I just know what I want the end product to look like and how it should sit on the body."

His clothing is slender in cut and emphasizes androgyny conducted in hand-finished leather, New Zealand wool and sandwashed silk.