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travel
What I Take On Holiday… With Anna Fahey, Co-Founder of BAINA
10/11/23
Author: Divya Venkataraman
DOCUMENTED BY: HOLLY BURGESS, BAINA
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One half of the best-selling lifestyle brand BAINA divulges her holidaying secrets.
Before she embarked on her mission to make towels chic, Anna Fahey worked in the fashion industry. So did her co-founder Bailey Meredith. The pair met at high school in New Zealand, and became friends at the tender age of 14. A teenage kinship blossomed into careers in fashion, and later on, moves into the furniture and interiors space, and finally, the founding of a company together in Melbourne. BAINA brought together Anna and Bailey’s design eyes and enthusiasm for sustainability, and grounded it within the simplest and most everyday of rituals: bathing.
At RIISE, we’re always curious about how stylish women go about their everyday lives. So we sat down with Anna to ask her how she manages travel, motherhood, friendship and her own company, all while staying ultra stylish. Is it the lessons she learned over her fashion industry days, or something more innate?
Documented By: BAINA
Anna describes her aesthetic as “minimalistic, yet utilitarian”—a credo that also comes through clearly in BAINA’s seasonless, functional designs. Her life as an entrepreneur and mother comes with a varying set of requirements from her wardrobe, and it must rise to meet the occasion—usually, a series of occasions at once. “I’m often running from home to the office, to daycare pick up, the playground, and then dinner with friends, all on the same day. So my look needs to transcend occasion,” Anna explains. But whether she’s travelling or at home, ease and all-day mobility are still key. “To me, it’s important to feel confident and comfortable in what I wear.”
Below, we unpack what Anna takes on holiday, how she decides what to pack, and her favourite spots in Australia.
RIISE: Anna, thank you so much for letting us in on your holiday packing secrets. We love what Baina stands for—ease, minimalism, luxury in the everyday—and we see that it’s a distillation of your style. Does your style change when you’re on holiday? Do you get more relaxed, more bohemian etc.?
Anna Fahey: My vacation look is not an exact interpretation of my city look—it’s probably a little more relaxed. I veer toward lighter materials and fabrications that are natural, like linens, silk and cotton. It’s a balance of being effortless yet elevated, which to me is the perfect meeting point.
Documented By: BAINA
RIISE: BAINA being a towelling brand has inevitable associations with holidays and the beach. Is the beach your favourite place to go on holiday?
AF: In a way. I am often drawn to a vacation where water is central. It instantly creates a feeling of calm, and signals that it’s time to unwind and decompress. My family has a holiday house in Lake Tarawera, where we go often. We swim every morning and evening. I always leave feeling completely renewed and content.
RIISE: Your latest four-piece collection was shot in Australia, at the Marra Marra Shack in New South Wales. Do you often travel in Australia? Where is your favourite place to go?
AF: Ooooh, that’s a hard one. I would say a long dinner at Gimlet in Melbourne—or a dip at Wylie’s Baths in Sydney.
RIISE: A city girl through and through it seems! What are your carry-on essentials when travelling overseas?
AF: Lip balm. Water Bottle. AirPods. A podcast.
RIISE: Do you pack entire outfits or do you just pack certain items that you hope will go together and then put together outfits later on?
AF: I love the notion of a small capsule wardrobe when travelling. Pieces that set the tone for the vacation, that I can wear on repeat. I’d love to just take a pair of togs, lightweight shorts, simple sandals and a sarong that doubles as a blanket for the flight.
RIISE: Would you say you have a packing philosophy?
AF: Less is more.
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