Australian designers tackle fast fashion with eco-creations

Australia Broadcast Center

a day ago

Regional clothing designers are stitching a place in the fashion world by turning their isolation into eco-friendly opportunities.
But they say more needs to be done to keep them and other small designers sewing.
From vintage Indian silk saris and high-end fashion fabric offcuts to op shop curtains and linen, regional designers are thrifty in sourcing materials because of the distance to city suppliers.
The recycling focus is also better for the environment in a market flooded with fast fashion, against which smaller designers struggle to compete.
According to the South Australian government, Australia is one of the world's largest consumers of textiles, purchasing an average of 53 clothing items per person a year.
More than half of the nation's unwanted clothing — about 222,000 tonnes — is sent to landfill each year.
It causes resource wastage, increased greenhouse emissions, and significant financial costs for local councils.
Horricks Vale Collections designer Nikki Atkinson, who was named South Australia's AgriFutures Rural Women's Award winner in 2024, is passionate about addressing clothing waste and champions natural fibres.
She watches her fabric growing on the lambs outside her window.
The farm's wool is manufactured into a soft fibre for high-end wedding dresses.
Her rural location, while isolated from a large customer base, gives her a marketing edge.
"Living on the land and seeing what my husband and his family do every single day and just having that deep connection to the land is where the whole story's come from," she says.
However, she says it is difficult to find skilled workers because there is no longer an Australian manufacturing industry.
"[When tariffs were lifted 30 years ago] it was cheaper for us to make things overseas, so that's when the skill level dropped," Ms Atkinson says.
"People do want Australian Made and they do want quality, but we've got nobody that can make it."
There is optimism about more people embracing slow fashion.
Former Vogue magazine contributor, writer and stylist, Joanne Gambale, runs a fashion consultancy and education business that aims to reduce fashion wastage and help independent designers.
She says regional designers are unique, but it is hard to compete on price with fast fashion.
"You're competing with crazy margins that are being achieved because of offshoring the whole process, the making as well," Ms Gambale says.
"That will always, if it is cheap prices, involve unethical practices, like below poverty wages.
Her company focuses on op shop stylist advice and sewing lessons and camps for tweens, mentoring them in upcycling pre-loved clothes that would otherwise end up in landfill.
She says the previous generation of consumers bought less clothing and saved up for major, higher-quality purchases.
"[Now] no-one wants to pay because they've been kind of brainwashed into thinking fashion should be cheap," she says.
To the Power of You, started by Anastasia Gazis in Perth, aims to establish shared community-based fashion spaces called Slow Fashion Hubs with equipment and a digital online presence to reduce costs.
Ms Gazis says there is no point trying to tackle "Goliath" fast fashion, but rather develop a national network of micro producers to share knowledge, education and a digital presence.
"So many of us are working in pockets doing brilliant, community-based work, but we lack shared infrastructure, shared systems, and a way to amplify each other's efforts," Ms Gazis says.
"Together we're a lot stronger, we would have a national reach.
"The plan is to offer communities access to equipment like sewing machines and drafting tables where it doesn't exist, and foster a co-working environment for designers, fibre artists, menders [and] educators where they can share knowledge, reduce isolation and grow their impact."
Port Lincoln designer Sue Catt worked part-time to support her dressmaking up until 18 months ago when she went full-time, balancing sewing alterations, dressmaking and creating her own fashion label garments.
She taught dressmaking classes and encouraged students to not just buy retail fabrics, but to explore op shops and household linens.
She says most regional designers work in their own spaces, but there is merit in coming together occasionally for sharing ideas, techniques, materials and support.
Ms Catt says slow fashion is important for saving the environment, cultural histories and general skills and education.
Based in Whyalla, FreetheRip designer and maker, Emily Parker, uses vintage fabrics from op shops for her clothing.
She says a lack of access to customers and trying to compete with fast fashion means she can only pursue her fashion dreams part time.
"My aim is to get more people interested in sustainable fashion and to just think about what they're purchasing," Ms Parker says.
The university graduate started her own business two years ago and says it is a tough gig.
"I work on the weekends [at another job] and then through the week I focus my energy on my designs and sewing," Ms Parker says.
Port Lincoln Raff-A-Ella designer Raffael Veldhuyzen uses vintage silk saris from India.
She says she first sourced them when she studied yoga there 10 years ago, as well as remnant pieces that might otherwise end up in landfill.
"Some plain silk I get from a bridal designer in Melbourne, and they're her offcuts essentially, so it's really sustainable, dead-stock fabric, and then I plant dye it," Ms Veldhuyzen says.