Q1.
What Inspires You?
A lot of things inspire me. I'm constantly noticing things, making notes. I’m still working on releasing stuff I came up with years ago that I didn't have the finness to pull off. I still might not, I just keep cooking until I don't hate it anymore.
Art inspires me, fashion inspires me. People and nature inspire me.
All of my designs are all inspired by places I’ve been like, the diving helmet coming from Broome, the magpies from North Freo, my bottle logo being influenced from an old tavern I visited in Spain. I draw from everything around me.
My winter items are very inspired by my time living in North Fremantle. Watching the pine trees from my studio on rainy days. Walking around the footy club and along the water. Living out of my van in Tasmania inspired me a lot. The colour palettes and history of certain places inspired me to explore different fabrics. For example my focus on knitwear coming from appreciating the maritime history of Albany & Fremantle. It really annoyed me when I realised I couldn't really go anywhere for a good quality knit jumper in Fremantle of all places. We are a port town but we have no wharfy influences in our clothing stores. But thats the case everywhere.
I feel like clothing used to connect people to place. The weather, the fabrics used, the colours etc. We're so globalised now, its more down to whats affordable or whats popular. When people go travelling and want to be immersed in a different cultures I feel 9/10 times they are just referring the food, music and architecture now. There is no real middle ground between traditional garb and modern clothing. Whats left for travellers and tourists a like is either off-limits or overly commodified. Thats what I found anyway.. and I feel inspired to lean into that gap.
Q2.
How do you envision your clothing empowering or connecting with your customers?
In a few different ways, i’m a firm believer that the clothes never make the man but presenting nice is important. It's not about being flashy and wearing crazy items from brands that don’t even suit you. You need to be yourself. You need to be comfortable and happy. The clothes should never be wearing you. A lot of what we see these days is just a trend, its here today gone tomorrow. You may look amazing in the moment but a year later it feels played out. I want to create stuff thats for the everyday. I think clothing if done thoughtfully can be a very practical form of art. I just think art is very important. It captures the human spirit and its reminder of and a representation of human ingenuity how amazing we are. I want my clothes to be an everyday reminder of that.
Q3
How would you describe the personality of your brand?
The personality of the brand is my personality! I do dream of having a shop in Fremantle and being known as a brand that proudly represents our local style and I know in order to do that I will have to expand and get more people on the team but right now its just me. I am very much still learning so I am just designing stuff that I want to wear and then figuring out how to give it a wider appeal. The cuts of some of my items may be influenced from bands I like, skateboarders or even cool vintage pieces I see on people around town. My colour pallets are very inspired by nature, interior design and so on. The culmination of these influences has a vibe that I feel is very Fremantle.
I try not to overthink it when I can. Im fully self taught so I just focus on what I like. Thats my story to tell. I feel like thats the only way it will be great, is if i do what I like. I don't think Im good enough to pander.
About The Brand
How does your brand reflect or not reflect current fashion trends or movements?
I definitely think people are moving away from branded garments and fast fashion. People are becoming more creative and taking more risks. I even see the health benefits of some materials being more openly talked about now. Like I mentioned already I personally don't really do trends because i don't think your clothes should be wearing you. I enjoy collecting individual pieces that speak to me. I feel people being more and more on my page, obvious example being now how much conversation there is online these days about the consensus people would take a good silhouettes over logos. I think this is big for fashion moving forward because this will bring people back to having clothes that are tailored to their body type so they will be developing their individual style. Fast fashion wont be as appealing anymore.
Trends come and go but a good quality piece is never out of fashion. An interesting colour scheme or silhouette will always be cool. I have jumpers from 15+ years ago that I still like to wear and they have so many memories tied to them now, Its almost like an old friend. Thats what I want to make. I want to make stuff that isn't easily replaceable.
What cultural or societal influences inspire your work?
I think its just pushing back against movements like tract housing. Theres a loss of identity that comes with efficiency and being a business. I think artists need money to survive but art should be sacred. You used to be able to tell a lot about a culture through its food and architecture and clothing back in the day. I think it would be a shame to lose that. Globalism has a lot of benefits but I think we need to be more conscious of just cherry picking the parts that work.
Traveling opened my eyes to this. I feel like clothing used to be able to connect you to a place. When people go travelling and want to be immersed in a different cultures what I found travelling wether its Peru, Thailand or around Australia the only items you can buy are commodified or touristy. As the worlds globalised, people are loosing identity. It’s inspired me to lean into that gap
How do you incorporate sustainability into your brand’s practices?
The brand has only been small and I was so young when I started I didn’t really have much time to think about it outside of what to me and my friends think is cool. I have a love-hate relationship with sourcing manufactures overseas. At one point a few years ago I was super frustrated with a few of my old manufactures, and at a low point due to self funding. I started sewing for myself just using calico from Spotlight. I figured out bucket hats and boonies easily enough, followed by singlets and button ups. It was rewarding and gave me a new lease on what the brand could look like. More doors kept opening from there. Thats when I met Gale from the Anjelms project and she introduced me to her line and her collaboration with 'The Stitching Project'. She’s done great work as a designer but also a humanitarian. The families based in Pushkar, India who make all her fabrics and garments are being paid proper living wages and she regularly visits them and documents the process, shining a light on their hardwork and the value of the traditional methods they use. Not many brands show the back end of their manufacturing side and in fact I feel its pretty taboo to even talk about these days as we all know or suspect that it is less than ideal but we turn a blind eye for connivence. But not Anjelms and Stitching Project they're doing amazing work. Without hesitation she allowed me access to these fabrics and now I get to continue the movement. And honestly it was the perfect fit, the undyed and unbleached fabrics I choose to use were the missing piece for what I envisioned while making calico bucket hats and shirts.. Those fabrics just tell a story and you can feel how special they are. The people who make it are very proud of their work and excited that they can continue using their traditional methods. It's that human touch that inspires me greatly.
How do you engage with your community or audience beyond selling clothes?
I think by being a fan of and supporting the places we have in common. It’s still early days, but I have a few ideas for future collections and collabs.
How do you see your brand evolving in the future?
I am very happy with where I am creatively, my focus moving forward on becoming a successful business. A lot if it is tedious but Im looking forward to spreading the word and getting more eyes on what I've been cooking up. Diversifying my range is also on the agenda, I want to be accessible. The handmade & tailored range will also have a higher price point. I want to make sure I have enough items ,
Right now my focus is on Freo because that’s where I live and what I know best, but there are still a lot of other places I feel connected to. In the future I would like to explore that more. Getting to travel for work would be fun. For now I've got more than enough on my plate, just to grow as a business and inspire people to focus on making things that they like.