New horizons
After a life-altering year, Australian fashion is on the cusp of something new with a generation of changemakers and ideas that will define the future. Here, they each reflect on how they hope to shape and shake up Australian fashion. By Jonah Waterhouse.
After a life-altering year, Australian fashion is on the cusp of something new.
ANNA PLUNKETT AND LUKE SALES, designers, Romance Was Born
WHAT: The designers’ RWB Forever offering encourages clients to bring back their garments and reinterpret them into new pieces, totally reframing the cycle of consumption.
ON CIRCULAR PRACTICE: “Wedding dresses can be seen as heirlooms, but there are also so many polyester meringue gowns that never see the light of day again. Where do they all end up? We want to use materials that are recycled as the starting point, but also offer customers the opportunity to bring it back to us to remodel,” says Anna Plunkett. “This is how we came up with the name RWB Forever – it’s something special that you will have and cherish forever.”
JORDAN DALAH, designer
WHAT: Dalah’s resort ’22 collection at Australian Fashion Week shook up the industry with an internationally focused showcase of creativity.
ON PUSHING THE ENVELOPE: “Before anything else, my work is ready-to-wear – it’s not pantomime or creative expression for the sake of creative expression, it is serious fashion. Now that the dust has settled and people know more about what to expect from me, I feel like, in fashion weeks to come, the conversation will continue less about the impracticality of my clothing and instead be more about the wearability, nuance and deconstruction of it.”
SAVANNAH KRUGER, model
WHAT: Kruger walked at fashion week and participated in the Welcome to Country, the first in Australian Fashion Week’s history.
ON CHANGE SHE’D LIKE TO SEE: “As a young adult in Australia, I rarely see Indigenous teenagers and adults in fashion campaigns. It’s important for Indigenous children to see other Indigenous people in all media including the fashion industry as it makes you feel seen, accepted, and gives you better self-esteem. Indigenous people are different in a lot of ways, but it’s about openly accepting and acknowledging all kinds of people, regardless of whether they look different to you.”
NIAMH GALEA, designer, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp
WHAT: The name of Galea’s size-inclusive brand reclaims misogynistic slurs, encouraging liberation for its wearers.
ON CREATING A BETTER FASHION INDUSTRY: “I think my contribution is more in my exploration than anything concrete; I’m constantly trying to work more sustainably in terms of sourcing materials and production, more inclusively in terms of the range of bodies that fit my work, and more empathetically in my engagements with all the people involved in the process.”
JORDAN GOGOS, multidisciplinary designer
WHAT: Gogos’s Iordanes Spyridon Gogos show at fashion week was a celebration of queer identity, and a watershed moment for inclusion and collaboration. ON A FUTURE OF BETTER REPRESENTATION: “We’re now seeing gender nonconforming people, gender-diverse and Indigenous people [working in the industry], having more authorship
over how they, their work and communities are presented, and how they partake in fashion. People in top-level positions are seeing the value in representing correctly and authentically. Creatives are becoming orchestrators and collaborators, rather than dictators. They’re pulling together teams and people, but they’re not shoving people into boxes of a [singular] vision anymore. I think that’s changed a lot.”
AMY BARAN, designer
WHAT: Finishing university in 2020, Baran’s graduate collection riffed on feelings of happiness, reminding us of the joy fashion can elicit.
ON POSITIVE THINKING: “[My generation is] exposed to so many issues, it basically feels like the world is falling apart around us, and it is so easy to feel disillusioned. So my collection focuses on gen Z’s spirit of overcoming disillusion with joy – this is like a survival tactic for us. It’s about realising that simply doing what makes you happy is actually very radical in a world where we are taught to be productive for the sake of other people.”
FELICIA FOXX, drag performer
WHAT: Walking the runway at the First Nations Fashion + Design show, Foxx’s visibility was a step forward for queer and Indigenous representation. ON HER HOPES FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN FASHION:
“To visibly see celebration of everyday mob, whether they are gender-queer, plus-size, trans or First Nations, on prestigious runways, [in] promotional content, ads and marketing. That way, people aspiring to do this one day can see [others] from similar walks of life representing, breaking down barriers and stigmas, trailblazing the way.”
LAURA MAZIKANA, Afro-protective hairstylist
WHAT: Influenced by “afrofuturism and 90s depictions of futurism”, Mazikana, who has worked on a Vogue shoot, represents growing inclusion behind the scenes, working with afro-textured hair.
ON INCLUSIVITY BEHIND THE SCENES: “I’ve experienced and watched people heal from their hair experiences through schooling and workplace discriminative regulations that are still in place. As we continue seeking change, I find liberation in the hair journey stories shared – it’s my motivation to continue doing what I do.”
NATASHA VEENHUIZEN, designer, Van Der Kooij
WHAT: A small brand that creates 90 to 95 per cent of its product in Melbourne, Veenhuizen is one of the many small makers helping Australian-made clothing gain pace once again.
ON CHAMPIONING AUSTRALIAN-MADE: “[We need] to shine a light on the fact that operating a business in these times can be difficult, and that you are not alone in your anxieties. In many ways, we are engaging a new frontier that is both exciting and overwhelming. If we are able to speak to one another, in terms of wanting everyone to truly succeed rather than [foster] a competition, we will cultivate a culture in Australia that will build confidence in local creators which will resonate globally.”
MAHALIA HANDLEY, model
WHAT: Working as a curve model, Handley hopes her platform minimises the feeling of not belonging. ON UNDERSTANDING, BELONGING AND REPRESENTATION:
“When I, and others like me, raise their voices to usher in change for many and challenge status quos and practices, it’s important that the local fashion industry hears us because we are a representation of our people, and essentially their audience. If we celebrate our diversity, imagine the potential for change, belonging and creative abundance we could have – such a powerful force we could become. That’s exciting.”
SEAN BRADY, make-up artist
WHAT: Brady was the make-up director at Iordanes Spyridon Gogos’s fashion week show, and his effervescent work is illustrated through colour and exuberance – drawing on inclusivity, community and the authentic connections he shares with his muses. ON WHAT MAKES A BETTER AUSTRALIAN FASHION INDUSTRY:
“The broadest spectrum of representation possible. There should be no one who can’t see themselves in the fashion industry. It needs to move beyond what it looks like, and on to what it feels like. The fashion industry should aim for the teams within the projects to feel organically inclusive and culturally significant.”
MAGGIE HEWITT, designer, Maggie Marilyn
WHAT: Hailing from New Zealand, Hewitt is a leading voice on sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region, showing her sustainable collection at Australian Fashion Week and releasing an annual sustainability impact report.
ON SUSTAINABLE PROGRESS: “Transparency is really about humility – it’s about admitting you don’t have all the answers yet but are committed to progress, no matter how small. We cannot let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘good’. At MM, we’re the first to admit we haven’t got it all figured out, but what we do have is a willingness to learn and grow, and that starts with asking questions.”
JESSICA JOHNSON, designer, artist and owner of Nungala Creative
WHAT: A Warumungu and Wombaya woman, Johnson showcases the importance of stories, evokes the legacy of her artist and activist father through art, and participated in Australian Fashion Week this year.
ON PASSING DOWN STORIES THROUGH FASHION: “Dad was an activist in his own right – through his art he often addressed critical issues of injustice, vilification, displacement and incarceration, drawing from his own lived experience. He used the dingo as a metaphor, so I incorporated it into the fabric design for this collection by using one of his lithographs. I think he would have loved the experience of seeing First Nations design celebrated, totally uncompromised. Personally, it was so important that he was there with me, living within my work. I couldn’t imagine a better way for his legacy to live on.”
OLIVIA FAGAN, designer
WHAT: Fagan is part of the new guard of voracious upcyclers, sustainably making knits after she began sourcing materials from eBay when Covid hindered her op-shop visits.
ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF UPCYCLING: “I source as much as I possibly can second-hand. Upcycling and giving things that otherwise would have gone straight to landfill a new life is a huge part of my design ethos and mentality.”
LISA FATNOWNA, model
WHAT: Fatnowna believes the fashion industry will progress exponentially if it fully embraces imperfection.
ON RESHAPING BEAUTY NORMS: “Focusing on flaws or a preconceived notion of beauty only makes future generations become more insecure about themselves. Let’s start to normalise all kinds of beauty and celebrate our flaws – whether it be acne and pigmentation or stretch marks.”