5 Melbourne fashion designers tell us what they’re wearing on repeat at the moment
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
The items they can’t get enough of.
One of the most versatile items I’ve ever purchased is an unassuming black, structured boob tube. I picked it up when pricing clothing at a vintage store I worked at a few years back and remember thinking it looked like a handy item to own, but I could never have predicted how much wear I would get out of it.
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It’s an item I have worn on repeat for years now, and I get immense satisfaction from breaking down the cost per wear of this humble piece of fabric. I believe that what we reach for time and time again in our wardrobes tells us something about what we value most in an item of clothing – for me that’s quality, simplicity and versatility.
Intrigued to know what those who make clothing for a living are wearing on repeat at the moment, I reached out to five of our favourite Melbourne designers to get a glimpse inside their wardrobes.
Bella Nolan and Amber Rigney, Project Bowman designers
There are some really awesome brands coming out of Australia at the moment! So as the new kid on the block, when we are not living and breathing [our label] Project Bowman, we are supporting local or finding thrifted gems. Bella (on the left) is pictured in a Suku Home dress and her beloved Doc Martens. Amber (on the right) is wearing an Australian made Bassike dress and vintage cowboy boots. We have a strong commitment to sustainable practices, so we really value the use of natural fibres as both designers and consumers.
Lois McGruer-Fraser, Lois Hazel designer
The item I’ve been wearing on repeat this summer is actually a piece from my new winter range, Pillar. It’s called the Pillar Skirt and is made from 100 per cent organic cotton that was knitted right here in Melbourne. I originally took the sample home to do a wash test but then ended up wearing it out to dinner that night and it just never ended up back at the studio where it was supposed to! I’m such a fan of pieces that I can throw on, feel good in and wear to 100 different places, and this skirt has definitely been that! I can’t wait until I can get my hands on this piece in black and moss when they come out next month!
Simone Agius, Simétrie designer
I have been living in my terracotta straight-leg pants by Lois Hazel and lavender Form by T skivvy. Both styles have been great for the unusually cold summer we had in Melbourne and they fit my curves really beautifully, so they make me feel great when I wear them. I need clothes that are functional as I often cycle to the Simétrie atelier, work with messy glue and at sewing machines yet need to look presentable when I have customer appointments. These pieces are a great balance between the two, which is why I absolutely love wearing them.
Ashiya Omundsen, Par Moi designer
My current favourite piece is an outfit for my phone rather than myself, my Memor Studios Phone Case. I’m a one phone case per phone kind of person, so this gets much more of a work out than anything in my wardrobe. Made from a combination of found objects and pieces of broken ceramic that would otherwise be discarded, it’s tactile as well as beautiful.
Meg Wilcher, Après Studio
I never really buy much ‘new’ clothing these days – if I can’t find it in a vintage store, I design and make it myself. BUT, these pants – I had to purchase these pants. They’re designed by Aussie cult label Holiday. Holiday The Label seems to capture the quintessentially Australian effortless lifestyle and turn them into pieces of super wearable clothing. I am really feeling achromatic statement pieces pared back with subtle pops of colour. I am wearing them with an older style skivvy from my own little label Après Studio and some chunky MSGM brogue style shoes.
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