I’m Sue Maree,
Founder and lead consultant at Dazzle Image Consulting.
I am an award-winning educator, expert in sustainable fashion, stylist and wardrobe mentor.
From a young age, sewing and creative projects have always been my happy place which has continued my whole life.
Since childhood fashion has played a big part of my life through sewing, crafting and designing. It wasn’t just a hobby it became a career. It all started from loving sewing at a young age, mainly because my mother was often sewing clothes or mending and I was lucky to learn at school. Making my own clothes seemed easy and my first paid job was hemming skirts for a dressmaker, and some modelling kept the passion going. I even created a little business hand making and selling pin cushions at the age of 14.
I wanted to be a Fashion Designer but in Perth where I grew up, there wasn’t much in the way of formal training, so it remained a hobby and instead I worked for many years in Banking and Accounting Sectors.
A move to Melbourne with a young family eventuated in me becoming a Fashion Designer after studying at university during the years my 3 daughters were at school. I created a bespoke slow fashion boutique, one-of-a-kind, custom-made dresses when fashion sustainability were new conversations. My 3 daughters were my inspiration to creating age-appropriate event dresses for young teenage girls. At that time there was little choice and I ran fashion workshops for my young clients.
I did a big pivot after I closed the boutique using my Fashion Styling certification to help women in their wardrobes, specialising in what to wear for a business professional photoshoot.
What I didn’t realise until years later, my wardrobe styling sessions were all sustainability practices, without me even realising. It’s what I knew best from growing up in a home of minimal clothing or anything, where repair and hand me downs was the way of life. So, in my Styling work I didn’t bring garbage bags to fill. I helped people rework what was in their wardrobe and had a specific shopping list for minimal items to make the rest of the wardrobe work together. Once people were shown, they said it was life changing.
Over the pandemic I become a Board Member of the Australia Chapter of AICI Global, the largest fashion professional body for Stylists & Image Consultants, that I was a member. I led with educating about sustainability in fashion.In 2023, I was honoured to receive the prestigious AICI Global Philanthropy Award for my work, propelling me to work with fashion festivals in Australia, local councils, championing new technology or innovations for the fashion industry.
I’m most proud of my current Global Chair role with AICI Global Sustainability Committee. I lead a team from 8 countries providing education to our members in 32 countries. I work with different cultures and languages across every time zone.
I attend many conferences and summits locally, nationally and internationally, I’m always learning, creating educational programs and a natural connector of people.
DAZZLE Business Forums is for fashion circular economy community, Founders, Transformers, University and Government. It’s a way to bring the changemakers together to network, collaborate and grow, by who they meet and my introductions.
I hope my leadership will continue to assist the changemakers and further my work to educate consumers. It’s not only about what is happening, but also about why it’s happening and how to adapt.
One last thing… I write my own work. I don’t use AI. My words, my experiences, my stories. I value my skills to write, so I choose to write!
Work with Sue Maree
From collaborative awareness campaigns and educational events to keynotes, workshops panel discussions, training sessions and interviews, Sue can deliver insightful, practical, and engaging presentations to meet your audience, goals, and budget.