Edwina Hagon
In her light-filled Sydney studio, this lover of all things vintage creates one-off fashion pieces for her brand, Hagon, using household linens and repurposed fabrics.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH VINTAGE FASHION the first time I stepped into a vintage store. I remember what I bought: a Pan Am bag and a 1940s skirt. That’s when I started dressing in my own way and fashion became fun.
THE FIRST FABRICS I USED FOR HAGON were throws I bought in New York. I source from vintage stores and markets; it’s nice to physically go to places so you can touch the fabrics; I visit antique and design markets plus vintage stores up and down the NSW coast. I also use deadstock (or surplus) fabrics and buy via Etsy. That got me through lockdown.
EACH OF MY PIECES HAS ITS OWN PERSONALITY. There’s so much history there, in the handiwork. It’s a link to our ancestors and to the past, because they’ve come from tablecloths or curtains or bed throws. It’s almost like the person who created it added their personality into it, their creative touch.
I KEEP GARMENT SHAPES CLEAN AND CLASSIC. I want them to be sort of genderless. The shirts are traditionally somewhat masculine and then the fabrics are little more soft, so there is a nice polarity between the two.
I’M NOW TEACHING MYSELF EMBROIDERY and next I’d love to learn smocking. There are so many ideas in my head, and different shapes and styles I want to play with.
I LOVE WORKING WITH MY HANDS and seeing a garment come together in real time. By creating everything in my workroom, I can modify and experiment as I go, which I believe is a big part of what makes each creation special. At the same time, I’m giving old and discarded materials a new life. I love the challenge of repurposing the antique and vintage fabrics I find into new styles in a way that feels contemporary and relevant.
MY FAVOURITE SCENT would have to be a campfire. When it comes to flowers, I can’t go past poppies.
I AM CURRENTLY COVETING JJM Hoogervorst’s ‘Counterbalance’ ceiling light and the Table en Forme Libre dining table by Charlotte Perriand. The next purchase for my home will likely be the recently re-released Rey dining chairs and a Vitsoe shelving unit to house my books and records.
I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT my Bodum french press.
Hagon; hagon.com.au.