Fashion fit for a royal

A locally grown fashion designer has asked Kensington Palace if Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, would wear one of her dresses during her Dubbo visit next week.

These days Brigid Mclaughlin is a fashion and textile designer based in Sydney and has worked within the Australian industry as a designer for more than 20 years, with stints designing for Lisa Ho, David Lawrence and Charlie Brown before founding her own company, a far cry from her childhood growing up on the famous Merryanbone Merino Stud near Warren.

She majored in fine arts from Sydney University before studying fashion design at the National Art School in East Sydney.

As a finalist in the International Smirnoff Awards, Ms Mclaughlin crossed paths with Charlie Brown, one of the judges, which led to her first job in the industry, designing both the Charlie Brown and Lili Labels for the Discovery Group.

Brigid then moved to the Head of Design position at the David Lawrence and Lisa Ho labels before launching her own label in 2006.

From a very early age Brigid knew she wanted to create clothing.

“Living remotely I believe pushes your creativity as you really need to learn to entertain yourself, and everything around you becomes a resource that you value as to what you can create from it,” Ms Mclaughlin told Dubbo Photo News.

“I had a very artistic mother and a very industrious father who encouraged creativity, the arts and demonstrated the value of dedication, hard work and focus.”

She says growing up where shops were a long drive away instilled a mantra that all materials were highly valued for the potential of their second life.

She has clear memories of carefully flattening out butcher’s paper after her mother’s trip to town, picking off the mucky bits ready for the next art work.

“From an early age I learnt to do more from less which has served me well in my own business. I believe it also pushes your creativity when you have less to work from,” Ms Mclaughlin said.

“I feel very lucky to have grown up in the country, it is a lifestyle very few get to experience and therefore value.

“Whilst at Lisa Ho an Irish co-designer once commented whilst we were travelling together to the fabric fairs in Paris how intrigued she was that a girl from small town regional Australia could know the back streets of Paris so well,” she said.

Sustainability and ethics in business were core values of her company well before they themselves became fashionable in the fast-fashion industry, and Ms Mclaughlin sees that way of operating as being good business.

“As a company we pride ourselves on the production of Slow Clothing which we believe to be the new luxury, quality clothing that is Artisanal, Sustainable, Ethical and Australian,” Ms Mclaughlin said.

She says her clothing is designed and crafted for longevity and sustainability – ethics and the preservation of artisan skills are central to the company’s philosophy.

Ms Mclaughlin is passionate about “slow clothing”, producing quality, modern, yet timeless clothing in natural fibres by the most sustainable practices.

She produces two collections; Brigid Mclaughlin which is predominately

From the Warren district property to the fashion precinct of Paris...

A model wears a design by Brigid Mclaughlin (right) who has approached Kensington Palace to offer outfits for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to wear during her tour to Dubbo next week. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.

made within Australia, and the resort line Porcelain by Brigid Mclaughlin, which is handcrafted in India.