Melbourne label Baaby creates dreamy Australian-made swimwear and apparel
IMAGE VIA BAABY
WORDS BY MAGGIE ZHOU
Lovingly and locally made.
In 2015, then 26-year-old Amelia Mercoulia started her own label after studying at two fashion institutions, interning at Alexander Wang and making one-of-a-kind pieces for friends and family. In the eight years since, Baaby has grown into a burgeoning label that’s shown at Melbourne Fashion Week and has had its own pop-up store.
Amelia has grown up around fashion, more importantly, she grew up around matriarchs who were skilled in the ability to sew clothes. Because of her grandmother and mother, Amelia understood the intensive labour that’s involved in the production of clothing. When it came to releasing her own clothes into the world, the importance of local manufacturing was already drilled into her.
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“I started working with patternmakers, cutters, graders and manufacturers and was sourcing everything myself from fabrics down to zips, buttons and labels,” she says. At the beginning of her journey, Amelia was individually sourcing everything from fabric, zips and buttons, to labels, tags and packaging. Here, she takes us through the entire progression of her label.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
I always loved fashion from a young age and started making my own clothes as soon as I could learn how to sew. My Yiayia (grandmother in Greek) worked as a seamstress when she immigrated from Greece to Melbourne in the late 1950s and my mum loved to sew as well, always helping me create outfits to wear to parties in high school.
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I studied fashion design at Box Hill TAFE and RMIT. I travelled and worked in various fashion houses after finishing uni and stayed in New York for a few months where I completed an internship at Alexander Wang. I always knew I wanted to start my own fashion label and have creative control. I officially started my label when I was 26 after years of making one-offs for friends.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
I was making my own clothes for myself and friends for years before I officially started my label. I started Baaby with a very small collection (which at the time felt huge) and learnt everything as I went along. I had a friend who introduced me to a photographer who I still work with today.
I came up with my brand name, created my own logo and created my own website. I did nearly everything myself in those early days as I was trying to make a small amount of money stretch far. I often did everything from patternmaking, sampling, sourcing fabric and accessories, and sometimes even made the actual clothes.
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The brand grew slowly and I started manufacturing in local factories which came with many challenges. Being a small brand, I was getting small quantities made and was often turned away from local factories. There are also not many ethically accredited, high quality, reliable local factories left in Melbourne (or Australia) so finding factories is hard in itself. There was the challenge of the high costs of making garments locally.
I started working with patternmakers, cutters, graders and manufacturers and was sourcing everything myself from fabrics down to zips, buttons and labels. I think this is what people often don’t understand about locally made garments, it’s not like a big offshore factory where they have everything in one place and you send a design and they send you back a finished garment complete with labels and tags. I individually source everything on every one of my garments from fabric, zips, buttons, labels, tags and packaging.
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What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time?
When I started my label I did it for the love of fashion and design, and from there it has grown into a business. I also knew from the first collection that I wanted to make ethically in Australia. I wanted to be able to personally visit the factories that make my garments and ensure the working conditions were of a high standard.
How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
As the brand has grown over the years, I am able to focus more on ethics and sustainability. These have always been my primary values, and with growing brand awareness I am able to spread the message further. I have a no-new polyester policy and for apparel I only use natural or deadstock fabrics. My swimwear has always been made using recycled nylon from the very first swimwear collection in 2015.
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Where did the name come from?
I loved the word baby for a brand name, I thought it was sweet and whimsical but also cool and fun, an endearing term for a lover. It’s a very versatile word, I felt it described well what I was trying to achieve through my designs.
How would you describe your brand to someone who’s never seen it before?
I would describe it as whimsical, but not prim. Colourful, unique [and] well made. You can tell when you look at a Baaby garment that it is [of] exceptional quality and that a lot of effort has been put into the making of that garment. I would say it has borrowed vintage elements such high sinched waists and fabric-covered buttons.
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What are you most proud of in your work on your brand?
I am most proud of the fact that it has always been ethically manufactured in Australia. It’s been really hard to do and has come with many challenges so I am proud that I have persevered and stayed true to my values.
What do you wish you had known when you started?
I think ignorance is bliss here, if I had known how difficult is it to start and run your own business I may never have done it!
Who is most exciting in the Australian fashion scene right now?
I think Seb Brown is absolutely killing it. He has the most unique designs, I’d love to have my models dripping in his jewellery for my next campaign!
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What about the Australian fashion scene needs to change?
Designers and brands need to have a primary focus on sustainability and be more transparent about [the] materials they use and [the] countries they manufacture in. The fashion industry is one of the top polluters of carbon emissions in the world, [with] Australia being one of the highest consumers of textiles per capita.
If brands can make better quality garments in a more sustainable way, consumers will have more respect for the garments they buy and less will end up in landfill. Brands need to make more sustainable choices with fabrics, I am shocked by how much new polyester I see being used! It is essentially plastic and takes a long time to break down at the garment’s end-of-life, we need to educate customers on materials and brands need to have more transparency.
To find out more about Baaby, head here.
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