Light work
Two local creatives combine on a low-impact fashion project making future heirlooms, plus patchwork hits a green note and the latest in ethical fashion. By Alice Birrell.
Two local creatives combine making future heirlooms, plus the latest in ethical fashion.
“WE RECOGNISE THESE antique cloths carry a mystical sense of time and power,” says Queensland creative Shilo Engelbrecht. With Australian fashion stalwart Lydia Pearson – formerly of Easton Pearson – they have founded Shilo & Lydia, a slowfashion venture that upcycles trousseau-worthy cotton and lace. They also use pieces from clients’ families, transfiguring a grandmother’s tablecloth or a mother’s embroidery into exquisite airy dresses and wafting blouses, in a service they’ve charmingly dubbed Ancestor Worship. It began when Engelbrecht called on Pearson to work on uniforms for the Milan Design Fair. “The connection was so strong … we didn’t question that we had to keep going,” says Pearson. Now, they are delighting in keeping things small. “The counterculture that has emerged around local, frugal and organic making is speaking to a generation that has grown up with fast fashion,” she says. The splicing of homespun and tailoring creates a tension between warmth and precision that appeals to all genders. “The last time we tried one of the lace dresses on a boy he said it made him feel powerful and gave him a sense of gravitas,” says Engelbrecht. Slow fashion that’s fast appealing.
First Nations Fashion + Design spotlight on: Walking in Two Worlds
Bringing together a selection of contemporary garments and textiles by First Nations designers, multicultural Australian artist Grace Lillian Lee has created a literal platform in the form of a runway for cultural celebration. Involving designers from across Australia and 20 local models, it is part of Brisbane Festival. Go to brisbanefestival.com.au.