Crimson Dunstan // NEXT WAVE
Name: Crimson Dunstan
Handle: @crimsondunstan
Job Title: Head of Communications & Creative
Workplace: Leaf Comms (@leaf.comms)
Location: Sydney, Australia
What does a day in your life look like?
My alarm rings at 5.30am every morning (whether I like it or not). I’m a self-proclaimed morning person, but winter in Sydney really tests that commitment. I’m usually at a 6am class, then fuel up and head into the office for 9am.
My PT commute is pretty sacred - a pocket of uninterrupted time before the day kicks off. I use it to get ahead on reading (I just finished Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, which I adored) or catch up on podcasts. I’m a long-time After Work Drinks listener, but Lauren Sherman’s Fashion People has become a recent staple. I love her hot takes on the industry. Her honesty is super refreshing.
My work day can best be explained as having 20 tabs open at all times, literally and figuratively. Agency life is equal parts creative thinking, brand strategy, event production, comms writing, team management and client counsel, all moving simultaneously. I like to think I chose agency life, but I’m not sure my brain could function any other way now. No two days are the same, which is what I love more about it. There’s a constant pace and unpredictability that I think keeps you sharp.
Evenings are typically spent at home with my husband Jack and our Groodle, Lenny. He cooks - I list off all the things I did, ate and read about during my day. We always end the day laughing - at each other mostly, there’s never a dull moment in our household.
What’s been one of those “this is a very cool job” moments in your career so far?
Definitely working on Alémais’ first international Resort runway show in Marrakech, Morocco, last year. Having talent like Leandra Medine sit front row in a custom hand-beaded Runway look was pretty major. LEAF has worked with Alémais since the brand’s inception, so witnessing its evolution from an emerging Australian label into an internationally recognised fashion house has been very special. To play even a small role in shaping that growth and helping define the brand story along the way has felt like a real privilege.
Casting back to my early days in the industry, another cool moment was shooting Paloma Elsesser and Cody Simpson in the West Hollywood Hills for BONDS. Cody was dating Miley Cyrus at the time and on a rolling FaceTime with her throughout the shoot day. I felt like I’d spend the day with her too by the end of it. We wrapped the day at Chateau Marmont, which felt very fitting.
How did you get your foot in the door in this industry, and what did those early roles teach you?
After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism, I started my career in broadcast journalism at Channel Seven, working as an associate producer on the 6PM news bulletin.
After realising commercial news involved slightly more “cat-up-a-tree” moments than the investigative scoops I’d imagined for myself, I pivoted pretty quickly. I landed an opportunity in creative production, something I technically lacked professional experience in, but had probably been subconsciously doing throughout most of my teens and early adulthood. (Very) Amateur filmmaking was how I spent a lot of my spare time, and after years of pursuing acting, creative production felt like the sweet spot between the creative world I was drawn to and the communication skills I’d built through journalism.
I’ve always believed instinct and work ethic can take you surprisingly far, so I applied anyway. Before long, I was honing my skills in creative direction alongside the practical skills agency life demands. Quick thinking, adaptability, attention to detail and staying calm when things inevitably don’t go to plan.
Eventually, I was pulled into the PR team, where my journalism background became more valuable. Writing press releases and client communications came naturally, but wrapping my head around the media landscape was a learning curve. Those early years taught me that strong communication is one thing, but understanding people - editors, clients, talent and audiences - is what really makes someone invaluable in this industry.
What skill or skills stand out most to you when reviewing someone’s resume?
Transparently, very little of what I’m most drawn to can be absorbed through a resume. I’m looking for hunger, initiative and a genuine willingness to work hard. The people who stand out are usually the ones with a glass-half-full attitude who back themselves to figure things out, even if they don’t tick every box on paper.
This industry moves quickly, so adaptability and energy matter just as much as experience. Of course, being able to communicate an idea clearly, Type-A organisation and holding your own in front of a client never hurts either.
Would you recommend working at an agency to someone starting out, and why?
Absolutely. Cutting your teeth in a PR agency life sets you up for almost any direction your career might take. You learn how to think quickly, stay organised and diplomatic under pressure, manage competing priorities and communicate across different brands, personalities and industries. You also learn to become very resilient - a skill that has proven incredibly useful throughout my career.
For anyone starting out, I think there’s huge value in being exposed to as many moving parts of the industry as possible early on and being a part of a team, without a fast-paced agency gives you that..
What’s been your favourite project you’ve worked on recently, and what made it stand out?
A recent career highlight was leading creative and strategy for MERIT’s first consumer pop-up in Sydney earlier this year. It was a huge moment for both the brand and our team at LEAF - I love our team. What made it so rewarding was seeing the customer response in real time. Working in PR, we rarely get a look into the retail side of things or a firsthand sense of how a campaign actually lands with consumers IRL. There was something deeply satisfying about watching a world we’d spent months shaping come to life for people. The line around the block all weekend genuinely blew our minds.
World building is my favourite part of the job, paired with an almost obsessive love of organisation, the process becomes just as rewarding as the final product.
