Lucinda Babi’s next made-to-order collection pays homage to her childhood home

It’s almost as though decades later, Lucinda still wants to play dress-ups.

Since the launch of her eponymous label in 2018, the development of Lucinda Babi has been beautiful to watch. Her work has always been strong, but with the release of her made-to-order collection Coming Home, Lucinda has really settled into her design identity.

The collection plays into themes of home and nostalgia, taking direct inspiration from interior furnishings and the clothing Lucinda remembers from her childhood. Pieces are overtly girly and opulent, silhouettes are sculptural (like a couch), and fabrics look like they could have been pulled straight from a grandmother’s curtains and cushion covers.

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It’s almost as though decades later, Lucinda still wants to play dress-ups. But as girlhood and coquettish design continues to steal our hearts, the collection is right at home in 2024.

As she notes, “I find myself drawn back to certain shapes and archetypes that are starting to feel like my DNA as a designer,” and it’s true. A scroll through Lucinda’s online store shows Coming Home as a true extension of the Lucinda Babi brand. It’s easy to see for yourself, as the nature of her made-to-order business means archival designs are still available to browse and purchase. For Lucinda, a new collection means an expansion (as well as a progression) of the Lucinda Babi world.

Hi Lucinda! In your own words, tell us about the new collection. What did you want to achieve from it?

The collection draws inspiration from interior decoration as a visual theme, and more deeply from the connection we have with the idea of home. I not only wanted to explore this theme through visuals and feelings, but also wanted to push myself to make more creative and statement looks that told a story.

What inspired each look?

Drawing upon themes of comfort, opulence and nostalgia. The collection uses a mix of girly decorative elements, subtle sportswear references, and strong silhouettes taken from the shape of furnishings.

We love what you’ve been doing with Lucinda Babi to date. How have you built from past seasons for this collection? 

I feel that with each collection, I’ve discovered more about myself as a designer while trying to tell a story. I have followed a different mood and theme for each collection but each season, I find myself drawn back to certain shapes and archetypes that are starting to feel like my DNA as a designer.

I did push myself to be more experimental and daring with each look in this collection (helped of course by it being shown on the Melbourne Fashion Festival runway). 

What are your highlights from this collection? 

My personal favourite looks have to be the asymmetrical pink dress and the creamy look with the bustle layer. To me, they feel like resolved representations of both the story I was telling and my identity as a brand, and I think the almost costume-like nature of these pieces works well in the context of the collection. 

What might surprise people about this collection? 

I think the Athletico Babi jersey I created with R.Sport would have stood out as a surprising element, but I’m so glad I included it. I’d always wanted to create a shirt like this to hark back to my childhood love of football back in the UK, and to me, the experience of wearing a team jersey is another way of feeling at home. 

How do you envision this collection being styled? 

While I’ve really honed in on the opulent, girly, interior themes of the collection when styling, I think there could be a lot of room to balance the femininity of the pieces with more masculine, darker, or even more sporty elements.

Who can you see wearing this collection? 

Honestly anyone! The runway I participated in had a really diverse mix of models wearing the clothes. This really proved to me that expression through fashion shouldn’t have any restrictions and definitely shouldn’t be dictated by demographics. Even though I mention that the clothes feel quite overtly girly, this to me, is only the story of the collection as I see it through my lens of personal nostalgia. I’ve been receiving enquiries and interest from a wider audience of customers than in the past and I can’t wait to see a broader mix of people in these pieces!