Kym Ellery’s second act: from fashion fallout to Milan design fair
· Australian Financial ReviewLauren Sams and , Stephen Todd
Oct 23, 2026 – 5.00am
The first piece of furniture Kym Ellery designed began life as an earring. Like much of the Perth-born designer’s fashion work, it was oversized, sculptural and slightly surreal: a piece of jewellery stretching towards architecture. Years later, as she began contemplating objects for the home, Ellery found herself leafing back through the archives of her now-defunct namesake fashion label. That earring kept drawing her eye.
And in time it became the inspiration for a 2.6-metre floor lamp that she called Moulin – French for “mill”, as in a pepper or coffee grinder. It’s made of polished metal and has a pivoting arm that moves in a slow, graceful arc above a room like a kinetic sculpture. Where pearls once hung from the original earring, hand-blown glass globes now emit a soft glow.
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Lauren SamsFin editor, deputy editor AFR Magazine and fashion editorLauren Sams is the editor of Fin Magazine, The Australian Financial Review’s luxury quarterly edition. She is also the deputy editor at The Australian Financial Review Magazine and the fashion editor. She writes about the business of fashion and beauty. Email Lauren at lauren.sams@afr.com
Stephen ToddDesign editorStephen Todd writes for The Australian Financial Review's weekly Life&Leisure lift out and AFR Magazine. Email Stephen at stephen.todd@afr.com
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