Fashion Queensland

Customer Stories

Laura Churchill is one of Brisbane’s most influential fashion event producers, known for curating some of the city’s most iconic style showcases. As the founder and director of Fashion Queensland, she champions local designers and creative talent, driving the cultural impact of fashion across the state. When we reached out to Laura and her team to put the Miele Professional PIB 100 Steam Ironing System to the test in a real-world, high-pressure backstage environment, they didn’t hesitate. What followed was a collaboration that blended innovation with artistry — right in the heart of Brisbane’s fashion scene.

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your career so far?

I’m the director of Fashion Queensland which involves producing a number of events across the year, all aimed at supporting the Brisbane and Queensland fashion industry. I came to fashion through a ten-year journalism career which set me up with a great network and a passion for our industry, before I switched careers 15 years ago to pursue styling, and found a niche in partnerships and event management.

How would you describe Fashion Queensland and its influence in the industry?

Fashion Queensland is the leading fashion event production company in Brisbane, exclusively focused on showcasing Brisbane and Queensland designers. We run an annual calendar of events including Brisbane Fashion Month (which is celebrating 10 years this October) as well as producing the Ekka Natural Fibres Fashion Parades which presents Qld designers to an audience of 15,000+ people across the nine days of the show, and other events across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast throughout the year.

We’re linked with every level of industry, working to support student and emerging designers through their career launch, through to working with the most established designers in Queensland. We have such a unique industry here and it’s a privilege to have been able to build a niche for our work as part of it.

My team are really well connected and have many years of experience in their respective fashion careers but we all share the same passion for our work.

What were your first impressions of the PIB 100 Steam Ironing System when you started using it backstage?

It’s so powerful! First impressions were how sleek and easy to set up and use the machine was, and all of our back of house team commented on how great it looked, but when we have to prep, iron and steam so many garments, it was brilliant to have this system that puts out so much steam and is so efficient and easy to use.

How did the PIB 100 Steam Ironing System handle the variety of fabrics used in the show?

The Ekka runway is all natural fibres and being Queensland designers, this means lots of linen and cotton in particular, so we have to steam and iron so many pieces between shows so that they stay looking amazing every time. The machine handled all of this perfectly and honestly cut down our turn-around time really significantly because it was so effective as a steam press and steamer.

Were there any garments that posed a particular challenge, and how did the system help?

Linen is really challenging to keep looking fresh but the combination of the steam and a really great iron meant we could quickly press garments and have them looking really fresh again on a tight turn-around between runway shows.

What features of the PIB 100 Steam Ironing System stood out to you during the prep?

The storage was a surprising hidden feature - it’s great to be able to store the iron or hand-held attachment when they’re not in use. I love how easy the release is to fold the system away also - it’s very compact when folded down. The large water reservoir is also a great feature.

How portable and easy to set up was the PIB 100 Steam Ironing System in a fast-paced environment?

The wheels on the machine make it very easy to move around so it’s quite portable. We folded the board away for our runway shows then set up between shows to re-iron and steam the garments and this is very quick and easy too.

Would you consider the PIB 100 Steam Ironing System suitable for both professional and personal use?

Absolutely, I’ve been using it at home and can’t go back to my regular steam iron, I far prefer using this one. In a professional setting, we had the machine running a lot throughout the day and I think it’d be fantastic in a design studio setting, but at home or in a smaller workroom, as long as you have space for an ironing board you would have space for this system and it cuts down the workload of ironing and steaming really significantly.

How did the Steam Ironing System compare to other ironing or steaming tools you've used in the past?

It’s so much better than regular garment steamers we would normally use at runway shows. These still have their place for quicker/simpler jobs but I’ll be taking this system to as many of our events as possible as it’s so much more efficient.

Would you recommend the PIB 100 Steam Ironing System to other stylists working in high-pressure settings?

Yes! It produces excellent results and cuts down time which is vital during runway shows and bigger shoots - our team loves it.

The Miele Professional PIB 100 Steam Ironing System was provided to the Fashion Queensland team as part of a gifted partnership.

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