WATER WORLD
SARAH & SEBASTIAN’S SARAH GITTOES SHARES HOW A PASSION FOR DIVING CAUSED HER TO GO DEEPER WITH HER DESIGNS
Sarah & Sebastian’s latest collections are raising awareness about our oceans.
It’s night. Overhead, a dark, velvet sky pierced with coldly glowing stars. I step from the dive boat into black water. My eyes take a second to adjust. I find myself immersed in an unknown world of luminescent alien forms…
igrew up close to the beach and have always had a deep affinity with the ocean. At 12, on a holiday at the Great Barrier Reef, I went scuba diving for the first time. I still remember my first glimpse into the underwater universe – a surreal palette of colour and shapes that even the most talented artist would struggle to capture. I expected the ocean would always be as it was then, bursting with life – I could never have imagined it would be facing the threats it does today.
Most of my early twenties were a blur of working multiple jobs, studying design and being glued to a jeweller’s bench, establishing Sarah & Sebastian with my business partner Robert. I felt depleted, like something was missing. I yearned to revisit the universe that had filled me with so much inspiration in my youth. So, four years ago, my fiancé and I began diving, and before long, every weekend and holiday was centred around our beloved hobby.
Slipping beneath the waves, the white noise of everyday life fades away. There’s a sense of peace and weightlessness – it’s almost an out-of-body experience. I find solace, sometimes enveloped by silence, sometimes surrounded by myriad noises generated by life on the reef, and always a visual platter of beauty. Sarah & Sebastian’s designs have always referenced nature, but the intricate details of marine life have been a dominant influence in our most recent collections.
Almost 20 years after my first dive, while the beauty remains, it’s compromised. Plastics float malignantly, coral silhouettes are devoid of pigment and marine animals compete with unforgiving commercial operations. Underwater, the issues of climate change, overfishing and single-use plastics are ever-present. After seeing an endangered grey nurse shark with a hook caught in its jaw, Robert and I recognised the opportunity for our designs to communicate the issues many don’t see; to contribute to the discourse about the damage our oceans are experiencing.
In October 2019 we launched Siren, a collection that celebrated the ocean and signifies the urgent need to rid marine environments of drifting ghost nets and other fishing debris. We wanted to align with a charity that was fighting the issues we were addressing, leading us to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which was founded more than 50 years ago by a group of scientists and conservationists. Their mission to protect ocean ecosystems and endangered species and prevent unsustainable fishing practices is unrelenting.
This April we’re releasing Skin, a collection inspired by the transformative and sensory properties of sea creatures’ skin. As we start to experience the devastating effects of climate change, I’m sure our oceans will play a critical role in the solution, but they need protection and a voice. Through education, passion and activism, it’s up to us to ensure our oceans remain just as beautiful and healthy for generations to come.