Pass it on

Sera Lilly with her mother Sheryl and two daughters Luella and Stella. Photo / Babiche Martens

"Almost everything we do has to be like a dress that your mother wore and that you are going to wear. This is how we bring the emotion into it."

So said Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz recently, when asked to explain his design process. Lanvin's logo - a mother and daughter holding hands - further represents this special maternal bond. An odd fit for France's oldest couture house? At first glance, perhaps - fashion is stereotypically all about the new and non-sentimental. Despite that though, the relationship between mother and child is one that affects even the most high-end of the fashion scale. Karl Lagerfeld's relationship with his mother is largely credited for shaping his love of fashion as well as his fast wit - at the age of six she reportedly encouraged him to speak faster because he was boring her.

French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld passed on her special brand of chic to daughter Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, encouraging her to "always wear heels" and making her intern at fashion magazines during school holidays. Jane Birkin and daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, Madonna and Lourdes, Daisy and Pearl Lowe, and Grey Gardens' Big and Little Edie are just some of the many examples of mothers passing on family fashion history. Because being born into wealth is wonderful but being born into style is something special.

Like Lanvin's logo, there's something lovely about taking inspiration from your own family history, whether it be style, knowledge or actual fashion pieces.

We talk to some local stylish women about what they have passed on, from special family heirlooms to new pieces that represent and celebrate the transition into adulthood.

Model Lily Montana is fortunate enough to have inherited more than just good looks from her mother Brigitte Berger. Montana's wardrobe features several pieces passed down from her model mum, including Berger's Tiffany & Co. yellow diamond engagement ring from Montana's dad, a Tibetan jade necklace that symbolises good luck and a recently inherited Jean Paul Gaultier dress.

"I've always had a careful eye on my mum's wardrobe," says Montana. "She always has great timeless clothes, but she is known for her 'spring cleaning'. When I was about 10 I looked through one of the bags she was giving to charity and found a Chanel mini skirt; I still have that."

A Rolex watch that an 18-year-old Berger bought in Sydney on her first big modelling job was also passed on to Montana, when she turned 18. It's a special piece. "It's proof of mum's success in modelling, and her independence ... I hope it gives me luck to do the same in whatever I choose to do in life."

But it's the Tiffany & Co. ring that could be Montana's most treasured heirloom. "It symbolises the love my parents had for each other, not to mention the fact that it is simply stunning ... unless I'm a very lucky girl, I'll probably never own a ring of that calibre!"

Of course it's not just physical "things" that can be passed down through the generations: knowledge and style are just as, if not more, precious. Berger feels she has passed on a distinct French style to her daughter. "I have kept a few odd pieces, from a Chanel skirt and some 80s Gaultier items of which Lily is now the proud owner. I tend to clean out my wardrobe, much to my daughter's distress! But I have always kept a very classic look, the white shirt, ballet shoes, great denims and the little black dress - that's what I have passed on, a strong French style, which doesn't date."

And while still young and experimental, Montana's style is developing with that same poise. "It's better to have fewer clothes, but clothes that will last forever through quality and style. I've been blessed with a very generous grandmother who has helped me grow my closet into a collection of timeless pieces, which include Chanel black and white pearls, Chanel riding boots, a Ralph Lauren cashmere blazer and my Chloe handbag. I did have some black sequined Christian Louboutin shoes, but they were stolen - I would have loved to have eventually passed those on as they were my first pair of 'women's' shoes and meant a lot to me."

It seems rather fitting that it's a homemade wedding dress that has been passed on to fashion designer Sera Vaea, who designs under her maiden name Sera Lilly. The designer focuses solely on dresses, and will soon start selling simple and affordable wedding gowns from her Ponsonby Rd boutique. Her inherited wedding dress was made by her late grandmother, then passed on to Vaea's mum Cheryl Lilly. Vaea will keep the tradition alive by passing the gown on to one of her daughters Stella-Kate, 7, or four-and-a-half-year-old Luella (she also has a 2-year-old son Kingston).

"We don't have a lot within the family in terms of passing things down," says Lilly, who once wore the dress as a young girl to play Juliet in a school production. "But it's the thing that's quite appropriate for Sera in terms of being a designer. It's original, it's homemade, and well constructed for its age. It's really stood the test of time." Although they're at pains to point out that the beautiful lace dress will never be worn again: it's so tiny it won't even fit on a mannequin. "They didn't have fast food back then," jokes Vaea.

Knowledge too is something Lilly is proud to be passing on to the future generations of her family. "Because I was quite young when my mother died, I didn't have that - so it's really important that I can start it, for them. Hopefully they'll continue on and do that with their daughters... and I don't care if that sounds corny!"

For Dee O'Neill and her fashionable daughters Jordan and Anouk Rondel, family heirlooms are less about a sense of history and more about the thrill of the now. "We're the biggest throwing out family," explains O'Neill. "We're a family who doesn't hang on to stuff, we're always on to the next thing." They are a family however who love to share clothes. "We really share everything," says 20-year-old commerce student Jordan. "Half of our wardrobe is hers, but it's not really like heirloom kind of stuff," says 16-year-old student and model Anouk. "It's one wardrobe between three." One piece that they do see as possibly becoming a future heirloom is a stunning Chloe bracelet that O'Neill bought for the girls as a sort of "growing up" present. "The girls have such a strong taste that I can't really buy them anything anymore. But it's something that's so timeless, they'll have it forever."

At the other end of the scale are mother and daughter Colyn and Charlotte Devereux, who launched EGG Maternity together nearly nine years ago. Colyn's wardrobe is a treasure trove of amazing vintage pieces passed down to her from her mother and grandmother, a veritable fashion archive for Charlotte and her own 8-year-old daughter Jasmin.

A black 1920s vintage lace dress is one of Colyn's favourite inherited pieces, as well as a black feather bolero with gold thread, black pearl necklace and a special heart-shaped kauri gum necklace carved for her grandmother by her grandfather.

Colyn says she can't imagine not having all her special "treasures". "It's lovely to have that history."

Charlotte has also inherited some pieces from the glamorous wardrobe of her fashion designer grandmother, including an amazing sequined jacket that she teams with tougher, more modern pieces like customised EGG jeans. Her grandmother bought the jacket in the 1960s while on board a cruise ship. "It's lovely, and she would love to know that Charlotte was wearing it," says Colyn.

Charlotte has a few newer pieces she sees being passed down to daughter Jasmin - "she's already got her eye on my Gucci dress".