Introduction
Christian Kimber is a menswear designer and co-founder of the Melbourne label that bears his name. Before moving to Australia he worked in London menswear and footwear retail, including Lodger, and took a twelve-week London College of Fashion night course covering practical subjects such as pattern drafting and shoemaking. He later recalled work across buying, retail, public relations, styling and the Hardy Amies archive before returning to Australia with Renuka Kimber in 2011.
The Christian Kimber business developed first through footwear. A small collection of loafers and coloured chukka boots was taking orders by February 2013, followed by dress shoes, trainers and accessories produced in Spain and Italy. Kimber collaborated with Antonio Ciongoli and Eidos Napoli in 2015, opened the label’s first Fitzroy store in 2016 and expanded into clothing before presenting the first fully documented menswear collection in 2018.
Kimber won the National Designer Award in 2019 and continued to broaden the house through tailoring, knitwear, outerwear, direct retail and European production. He presented the label’s first standalone Australian Fashion Week runway in 2023 and its inaugural Resort collection in Sydney in May 2026. He remains the house’s lead designer, working alongside co-founder Renuka Kimber on the brand’s continuing retail, production and presentation programme.
Design ethos
Kimber’s work began with classic footwear forms filtered through travel, architecture and Australian place. Loafers, chukka boots and trainers used restrained shapes with distinctive colour and surface, and that interest in familiar objects carried into clothing as the label expanded. His menswear favours soft shoulders, relaxed trousers, chore jackets, polos, practical outerwear and tailoring that can move easily between work, travel and social settings.
He develops collections through fabric and wearability as much as silhouette. Italian wool, cotton, cashmere, corduroy, suede, shearling and leather recur across the wardrobe, while garment dyeing softens shirts, trousers and outerwear after construction. The house’s European manufacturing network allows Kimber to move between Portuguese ready-to-wear, specialist Naples tailoring and Italian-made leather goods without losing the same restrained product language.
Kimber increasingly works with recurring forms instead of treating each season as a complete reset. Permanent Collection styles return in new cloths and colours, Naples-made tailoring adds a more concentrated craft layer, and made-to-measure brings the same proportions into individual fittings. The Resort '27 runway extended this system into lighter fabrics, softened tailoring and warm-weather layering while keeping the wardrobe recognisably connected to the mainline.
Disclaimer
Career history
2024
The Little Collins Street flagship joined retail with tailoring service and in-house alterations. Its layout made customisation and client consultation a more visible part of the brand’s operating model.
2020
The Armadale opening created a second permanent Melbourne retail base. It expanded direct client service and reduced the label’s reliance on the original Fitzroy location.
2019
The National Designer Award brought Christian Kimber both public recognition and practical business support. It followed the label’s transition into full menswear and preceded further retail expansion.
2018
The March 2018 presentation established Christian Kimber as a full menswear house in public collection terms. It moved the label beyond incremental clothing additions into a coherent seasonal wardrobe.
2016
Clothing entered the Christian Kimber offer by 2016 and developed into a complete menswear system by 2018. The shift added tailoring, knitwear, trousers and outerwear to the founding footwear and accessories business.
2016
The Fitzroy store created the label’s first permanent direct-retail environment. It became the base from which the footwear-led business expanded further into clothing.
2015
The Eidos Napoli project extended Christian Kimber’s footwear through a named external design counterpart. The collaboration remained focused on product and did not change the label’s independent authorship.
2013
The first confirmed Christian Kimber collection was commercially active by February 2013. It centred on loafers and coloured chukka boots before the footwear range broadened through later seasons.
2011
Christian Kimber remains the principal design author of the label. His remit spans footwear, seasonal menswear, tailoring and the house’s continuing product programmes.
2011
Christian and Renuka Kimber formed the business in Melbourne in 2011. Their roles combined Christian’s product design with Renuka’s commercial, strategic and narrative leadership.
You’re in
When the archive opens, you’ll be among the first to know.
That’s all.
