This Warehouse-Style Apartment in Melbourne is Home to a Fashion Icon

Welcome to The Makers. Each week, we celebrate innovators, artisans, and crafters of all types by taking you on a private tour of their creative spaces. For this instalment, we tour fashion and lifestyle content creator Jess Alizzi’s chic warehouse-style apartment in the inner-city of Melbourne.

If you – like us (and half a million others) – have liked, followed and saved Jess Alizzi’s style content for the past nine years, it will come as no surprise that the content creator’s warehouse-style home shares the same ultra-chic sensibilities as her outfits.

Located in Melbourne’s inner-city, Alizzi and her partner purchased their Abbottsford home in the thick of the Melbourne covid lockdowns in 2021. A time, she admits, made the process of buying a property significantly more difficult than it would usually be.

“We probably looked at around 60+ homes before we found this one.”

Still, the couple knew they found the right place after seeing what this home had to offer: “lots of natural light, inner city location, and close to nature were important to us – and we were able to get all of these and more with our apartment, so it was an easy yes!”

With sweeping ceilings and elements of mid-century, contemporary minimalism, and wabi-sabi design, Alizzi’s home now exudes the effortless cool synonymous with her brand – but it wasn’t always this way.

“We painted the walls with the help of Tint Paint, changed the curtains and blinds and swapped out the old black concrete floors for these light grey-white ones.

“Coming home to a space that is calm and minimal in nature gives my mind a chance to rest,” says Alizzi. The “blank canvas” is punctuated with wares from Sarah Elisson, Momu, and Akari – which, styled together, emanate a peaceful aesthetic.

“The only missing pieces from our home currently is artwork. We have chosen to really take our time with this as we want to invest in special pieces that we love and know we will have forever.”

There’s no doubt about it: fashion is getting faster. Weekly drops and fast-moving trends can make it hard to make ethical – not to mention affordable – fashion choices. Jess’ approach? Keep it timeless. Jess strives to find quality pieces from sustainable merchants that she’ll be able to wear again and again. “Versatility plays a huge role in deciding whether something is timeless or a trend,” she says. “Particularly when it comes to clothes, if an item feels like it can be worn many ways, using pieces I already have in my wardrobe, I’ll typically view it more as a timeless piece over something that is perhaps trending this season, but doesn’t really go with anything beyond the pieces or outfit that is also trending.”

This practical approach to trends and fashion has resulted in Jess curating a cohesive and classic style that always looks on point. “These days I focus less on if something is trendy or timeless, instead I will concentrate on whether it works for me, works in my wardrobe, and makes sense for my lifestyle.”

To keep up with the ever-changing nature of working in social, Alizzi has had to adapt her way of creating content to appeal to new platforms and audiences. “It is no longer about capturing the perfect, curated moment… now it’s more about connecting with your audience and sharing a common interest with them.”

And the interest here is her contemporary yet classic take on style, with a focus on sustainability.

Her advice? Invest in versatility.

“These days I focus less on if something is trendy or timeless, instead I will concentrate on whether it works for me, works in my wardrobe, and makes sense for my lifestyle.”

For more from Jess, follow her @jessalizzi & @hikuulife

Photography by Amelia Stanwix. Styling by Beck Simon.