Sew good: Exhibition to honour Rose Chong, Melbourne's legendary costume maker
After labouring 12 hours a day, helped by talented colleagues, and with her academic husband Min Chong's support at home, Chong delivered the costumes – ranging from regal robes to fake blood-stained peasants' garb – on Wednesday.
Chong says she didn't want Chaundy to be left in the lurch. In addition, 'I get off on the idea of being a white knight', she says.
Having just turned 80, Chong is busier than ever. 'Honestly, it's so impressive for anyone of any age to undertake that workload but especially at 80,' says her longtime employee, Hannah Cuthbertson.
In March, at Fitzroy Town Hall, 170 guests wearing Chong's favourite colour, pink, attended an appropriately outrageous birthday party. Some of her cheeky friends dressed as parodies of Chong.
Up next is that for two weeks from June 4, Chong's work will be recognised at the Rising festival.
An entire shop in Howey Place, in Melbourne's CBD, will showcase some of her costumes and paintings, plus artist Rebecca Armstrong's revealing portrait of her.
Chong doesn't seek the spotlight. Her colleague, Cuthbertson, informed The Age about the octogenarian's latest projects.
Of the Rising festival, Chong says: 'It's an incredible honour and I'm thrilled to bits.'
Chong's paintings derive from the COVID-19 pandemic when her business closed.
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She completed a visual arts diploma, and in a Zoom class she wore a cactus costume, with an oval for her face, which made her classmates laugh.
She painted a cactus image with acrylic on board, and then painted quirky portraits of people and household items – everything from a washing machine to a stapler – and signed each with a tiny image of her face.
Rising festival co-artistic director Hannah Fox says Chong is 'an icon of Melbourne' and her stop has dressed thousands of artists, so it's fitting to celebrate her colourful legacy with the showcase in Howey Place.
Chong says her irreverent staff – 'Chongettes' – and work duties won't let the tribute go to her head.
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