Melbourne label Briar Will is transforming found materials through textile printing
Photography AND Styling BY KEVIN CHEUNG
HAIR AND MAKEUP BY Elizabeth Ivy
Assistance BY AJAY JENNINGS
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“Bold, bright, playful, extra-yet-understated.”
While undertaking her Bachelor of Textile Design at RMIT, Melbourne-based designer Briar Will fell in love with the delicate process of sublimation print. “The printing room was my second home,” she says. “I adopted large-scale silk screens and vivid, disperse dyes into my practice.” After years spent experimenting with and refining her creative vision, Briar has launched her eponymous label with a limited-edition capsule collection, A Case of Fate.
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Comprised of three main silhouettes, a T-shirt, tracksuit pants and a miniskirt, A Case of Fate showcases Briar’s innate ability to transform found textiles using trompe l’oeil print designs. With a sporty influence (think soft jersey and moisture-wicking coolmesh) and a palette of lime green, pale orange and sky blue, A Case of Fate is an exciting debut. Below, Briar speaks on sustainability, experimentation and how the collection came to be.
Tell us about you. What’s your creative background?
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For as long as I can remember, I have had an unwavering obsession with clothing and colour. I started op shopping at a young age and found vast fulfilment in sourcing vintage garments that were often overtly loud and unusual. I began my Bachelor of Textile Design (Honours) at RMIT in 2017, where I tapped into my passion for print design.
During the course, the printing room was my second home and I adopted large-scale silk screens and vivid, disperse dyes into my practice. Endless experimentation helped me define my own creative voice, informed by found textile textures and surfaces, maximalist patterns and clashing, offbeat colours.
How did the label get started?
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Within my honours year, I discovered the boundlessness of sublimation print and deep-dived into the concept of trompe l’oeil and textile waste reduction. I wanted to explore how printing imagery of garments onto discarded materials could evolve standard fashion production methods and ultimately reduce the need for new [textiles].
I committed to turning this concept into a label at the start of this year and began developing a collection of simple-yet-refined garment types that were driven by the print rather than the silhouette. This led me to collaborate with the talented pattern maker Jack Hancock (The System), production house Five.one.six and local printers to realise my vision. Skip forward 10 months and here I am, launching my brand Briar Will.
What were you trying to achieve from the project when you got started? Has this changed at all since?
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I set out to create an archive of timeless, versatile and comfortable garment types that I could adapt a rotation of remnant materials and trompe l’oeil print designs to. At the core of my intentions, I wanted to revalue discarded or deadstock synthetic materials… [my] method of sublimation print only holds to synthetic fibre types.
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I started collecting an array of end-of-roll remnant polyester fabrics, predominately sports materials, that then informed the direction for my first collection, A Case of Fate.
I also wanted to transform the secondhand garments I sourced in order to give them a new lease on life. I discovered that I could do this by bringing them into a digital space to alter and recontextualise the clothes. I have stuck true to my initial creative goals; it’s super special to see my original concept come to life.
How would you describe Briar Will to someone who’s never seen them before?
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Bold, bright, playful, extra-yet-understated.
What are you most proud of in your work on your label?
Discovering autonomy and the creative process I have established for myself. My ability to stay true to sustainable values by only using remnant fabrics and creating small production runs to prioritise this. Creating with limitations allows me to be resourceful and refined with my outcomes.
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Who do you think is most exciting in Australian fashion/creative industries right now?
Maroske Peech, Alix Higgins and Moss Tunstall!
What about the Australian fashion industry needs to change?
I truly believe emerging designers need more light, recognition and funding. There is so much important, visionary work being created within small communities of the fashion industry, and a platform where young fashion designers can flourish and progress further within their practices needs to be established.
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I also believe the industry needs to take on more accountability for the adverse effects production has on the climate; sustainable ethics need to be standardised and mandated in order to reduce waste!
What is in your wardrobe right now?
I have an eclectic wardrobe! I am drawn to bold garments with interesting textures and prints, yet I also live for a comforting pair of jeans. The vast majority of my wardrobe consists of secondhand designer pieces I have collected over my life, as well as a mix of pieces from local designers.
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How can we buy one of your pieces?
My website! And my pieces are also stocked online and in-store at Error404.
You can keep up with Briar Will here and shop the collection here.
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