Beyond the Bale feature

Beyond the Bale issue 58, March 2014. Check out the online version HERE

A Life in Wool; Graduate Collection

The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures build within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.

Sheer Wool Imprint Skirt, Weatherboard Jacquard Knit Dress,
 rusted and darted Short  Stockman's Jacket. 
Accessorised with Shearing Comb neckpiece

Weatherboard Jacquard Knit Skirt, Sheer Wool Imprint Singlet, 
Sheer Wool Stain Singlet. Accessorised with Leather and Cog 
shearing hardware neckpiece.

Men's Square Wool Shorts and Lace Knit Singlet. 
Accessorised with Leather Magnet Belt and Leather 
Held Shearing Cutter Neckpiece.

Women's Square Wool Shorts with rust inserts, Lace Knit Jumper 

and Cotton/Silk Rusted Singlet (under). Accessorised with Spring Neckpiece

Men's Wool Worker Pants, Weatherboard Jacquard Knit Singlet 

and Darted Cotton Shirt. Accessorised with Felt Wool Worker Pouch 

and Leather Belt.

Women's Wool Worker Pants with Wax Treatment Panels, 

Cream Rib knit Cami (under), Brown Sheer Cotton Singlet 

and Darted Wool Shirt with Wax Treatment. 

Long Rusted Wool Stockman's Jacket and Lace Knit Dress.  

Curtin Retrospective: 10 years of Fashion

Thank you to Le Fanciulle and Curtin University for the photos

A Life in Wool

Wool

Shearing Shed

Lifestyle

The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures built within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.

The shearing shed stands as an iconic representation of Australia, a building in which poems have been inspired, stories shared and life shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. The shearing shed is the heart of the Australian sheep farm, whatever the heart may be enduring.

My work is an encapsulation of the character of the shearing shed in an expression of the workmanship, ideologies, lifestyle and culture of the Australian sheep farm. The garments are inspired by the architecture, the work clothes and the human value of the shed to create a level of sensibility toward and celebration of culture of the Australian wool producer.

Visual Inquiry~ Material Research

This semester I studied three very different units. One of these was Visual Inquiry where we were asked to work in a different way, following the process of materials. After a huge journey of using and investigating as many different materials as I could, following a number of ideas I had, I came to the use of gloves and eventually the use of preworn leather work gloves. I experimented with pulling them apart at the seams to the raw form before sewing them back together in a way that followed the shapes of the different gloves sections. The result was something that lent itself to fashion in to an intriguing  form.  

I used the leather glove structure I previously created as a sleeve, draping pieces of recycled cream fabric from the shape before cutting the silhouette. To complete the outfit, I created a pair if shorts made from recycled loose weave cotton which I then imprint dyed with rusty objects. The result is an juxtaposition of elements; hard and soft, structure and drape, dirty and pristine, masculine and feminine.    

The Language of Dress~ Hats and Bags

I have just finished Semester One of my final years studies at Curtin. One of the Fashion Unit for this semester was 'Language of Dress' which exists as a research unit for our final collection development. My concept stems from my background and experience of farming in WA. My research included wool as a fibre, the process of natural dyes and rusting, the use of my own constructed wool felt.

The first part of the Unit was the explore the idea of 'accessories' and their relationship to the body. My exploration into this lead me to the use of wool felt in hats, something I now aim to further develop for my final collection runway show in December.

And so continues my love of felt in each of the garments shown above. I am obsessed with wool as a sustainable and dynamic fibre as well as a product which supports the Nation. Whether I have come to love wool on my own, or it was the nagging from farmers I know to promote wool (or a bit of both), my collection will be all encapsulating of wool and the life that surrounds it~

PR in Fashion 2013

I am finally in my mid semester break which means I can finally do all those things I have trouble finding time for when I am in the middle of study. One of those things include updating this blog with everything I have been doing since I last had the chance to update. One of those things, and something that was quite exciting, was PR in Fashion 2013, an event organised by PRSC (Curtin Public Relations Student Chapter). The event was held on June 5 at Skatt Mt Hawthorn. Sponsored by Times Square Claremont, we were treated to champagne, guest speakers and beautiful fashion from WA designers including Breathless and Tarvydas as well as pieces from Lost Souls including Wild.Horses, Ange Lang, Jonté, Zhivago and Tindale. In addition to that, the event supported up and coming designers including Seth Cray, Sam McCloy, Marlina Minniti as well as myself.

Make sure you check out photos of the other designers and labels on the runway as well as the back and front of house antics at Modern Girls With Vintage Pearls, Lei Lady Lei and the Times Square write-up.