Calli-Comical is the whimsical Australian label crafting costume-inspired garments for the everyday
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SOPHIE D FOR CALLI-COMICAL
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“When people purchase one of my products, I’m able to explain the construction process in detail.”
Australian designer Indigo Newbery-Chunn was raised by an “old-school punk” dad and a “new romantic” mother. “My Mum loved helping me with school projects involving collages and making things. I like storytelling a lot. I like weird characters,” Indigo says. She got her start at 15 as a sewing apprentice, screen printer and pattern maker, working for local labels like Bobbin and Ink.
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It wasn’t until 2020 – seven years after she began sewing – that Indigo launched her personal creative project, Calli-Comical. Inspired by costume design, fantastical creatures and a vibrant colour palette, Calli-Comical is characterised by fluff-covered millinery and exaggerated silhouettes.
So when she’s not sewing costumes for Moulin Rouge on Broadway (naturally), Indigo is handcrafting her signature horned hats, sported by the likes of A.Girl and Genisis Owusu. Below, she speaks on how she got her start.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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My name is Indigo, I’m 22. I started sewing seven years ago and learnt screen printing five years ago. I was trained as an apprentice by Laura Walsh at Bobbin and Ink. Laura took me on when I was 15 and still in school. She taught me how to sew, screen print, service sewing machines and work with clients.
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I would stay after hours and make my own clothes and make so many mistakes – I can’t stress how important it was for my learning and development. I did a bit at TAFE too but dropped out of a costume diploma (TAFE is a brilliant place to learn, I highly recommend the Certificate III in Applied Fashion Design and Technology to up your pattern-making skills). Most of my training comes from work experience and my own agenda: to practice and teach myself.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
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The idea happened when I was 15 I guess, that’s when the ideas and visuals started sprouting. I was raised by creative parents – my father was an old-school punk and my mother was a ‘new romantic’. They drew with me a lot, my Dad put me to a lot of aggressive music.
My Mum loved helping me with school projects involving collages and making things. I like storytelling a lot. I like weird characters. I designed, screen printed and sewed my first piece when I was 16 for my design and technology major work. Consequently, Calli-Comical was born. It’s a fun hobby. Always has been, and always will be.
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
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I’m trying to draw attention to quality-made garments. I want people to see me as an individual, creating the entire product myself – from the pattern-making, cutting, sewing, design and illustration and screen-printing to the finished piece.
To me, the project includes some good photos, art direction and models who are real people too. When people purchase one of my products, I’m able to explain the construction process in detail. A lot of brands lack the ability to do that.
Where did the name come from?
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When I was younger, I wanted to go to Las Vegas and wear Robert De Niro’s pastel suits from Casino and be a mob boss’ second hand. I hate that idea now, but Calli-Comical is what I would have changed my name to if that had happened. It’s a quirky, confusing name. No one can spell my real name right anyway.
How would you describe Calli-Comical to someone who’s never seen it before?
A Dereck Jarman movie to a PJ Harvey soundtrack narrated by Vince Staples – he’s hilarious.
What are you most proud of in your work in your store?
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In my work, I’m most proud of my current job: sewing costumes for Moulin Rouge for Broadway in Korea and London. I’m also proud of the finale gown I sewed for All Is A Gentle Spring’s runway debut at Sydney Fashion Week 2022. In my store, I’m most proud of the Lilith hats. I’m happy people want to put impractical things on their heads like I do.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
How to know when you are being taken advantage of.
Who do you think is most exciting in Australian/NZ fashion right now?
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Nicol and Ford, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp, Fragile Minds and All Is a Gentle Spring. There are so many talented creatives in Sydney, it makes me really happy to know that and cross paths with them.
What about the Australian/NZ fashion industry needs to change?
I think all designers need to learn the basics of sewing and construction as a way to understand what they want from the garment. I think people need to buy less and invest in special garments they will hold sacred for years to come. People need to buy more art from friends too.
Dream Australian/NZ collaborators?
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I want to collaborate with more visual artists like Ella Burke and Dylan Pfenning. I genuinely think my dad and I could make some cool stuff too.
Go-to dinner party playlist?
Lucifer by Marcus Whale, Psychic 9-5 Club by HTRK and Mister Thug Isolation by Lil Ugly Mane.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
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Half-finished costumes, my friends’ old clothes, pieces from the new Fragile Minds collection, my cool spy v spy T-shirt by Skeeshman.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
Instagram DM, please. I really need to design a website. Hold me to that. I work full-time as a seamstress and screen printer, so it’s hard to find the time – but I hope to make it legitimate one day. I’m also stocked at RTTS Land in Haymarket and soon to be stocked in Bizarre Bazaar in New Zealand.
Anything else to add?
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Shoutout to Jackie Camilleri and all the other women working in Nigel Shaw’s studio on Moulin Rouge at the moment. And to Laura Walsh at Bobbin and Ink. These are some of the wisest women in my life right now. I can’t stress how important it is to listen to people, be patient with yourself, make mistakes and work hard until you get it right.
For more of Calli-Comical, head here.
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