Madre Natura is the circular Sydney label offering free lifetime repairs
IMAGE VIA MADRE NATURA
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
“My vision and mission were always to create an optimistic future for Australian fashion.”
Jackie Galleghan was studying fashion design and working at her local Vinnies when she began to realise the gravity of the fashion industry’s waste problem. At Vinnies, she saw that roughly 80 per cent of what was donated ended up in landfill. The reason? These unsellable items were from fast fashion brands, so they were poorly made and never intended for more than one life cycle, if that.
As someone with a lifelong obsession with fashion who was taught how to sew by her mother, Jackie was horrified by this throwaway approach to clothing. But it was reading writer and sustainable fashion activist Clare Press’ much-loved book, Wardrobe Crisis, in 2017 that solidified Jackie’s desire to create a sustainable, purpose-driven fashion label. While working for a number of well-known Australian labels, she spent her spare time studying sustainability and collecting deadstock fabrics. And in 2020 when the pandemic hit and she lost her job, she decided to turn her project into a fully-fledged label.
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Madre Natura, which means ‘mother nature’ in Italian, is handcrafted in Sydney and each piece is thoughtfully created and designed to be an investment piece that remains in your wardrobe for years to come. By using natural fabrics and deadstock materials, offering complementary mends across your item’s lifetime, implementing a take-back program for customers’ no longer wanted pieces and more, Jackie has been able to bring her vision of circularity to life.
And after taking out this year’s Honourable Mention for Sustainability at PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival, it’s clear the industry is taking notice. Below, Jackie shares what the journey’s been like so far, and what the future looks like for Madre Natura.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
Growing up, I was very artistic, eccentric and creative. I loved to admire the architecture and contemporary culture around me. I would spend hours exploring magazines, books and movies and spending time in fashion stores and at home playing dress-ups and planning outfits. I have loved fashion for as long as I can remember, and my mother taught me how to sew growing up. She used to stay home Friday nights to make her outfits for Saturday nights in the ’70s. I was always inspired by the women around me, mostly my mother, aunts and grandmothers.
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Before I graduated from The Fashion Design Studio TAFE in Ultimo in 2011, I worked at the Vinnies stores in Sydney, mainly in Newtown. It was working at Vinnies that I was really inspired to become a fashion designer. I loved collecting vintage and pre-loved designer clothing and would spend hours adoring the quality, finish and craftsmanship. Yet I was horrified about the afterlife of the clothing that was donated – around 80 per cent of donations were sent to landfill. It became clear to me that there was a problem within the system, and seeing all the fast fashion brands going straight to landfill was a challenging sight to see.
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During my fashion studies, I worked as an intern at Karla Spetic and Romance Was Born where I gained local production knowledge. After graduating, it took six months until I got my first job, and since then, I have worked for Marcs, David Lawrence, Jigsaw, Shona Joy, Assembly Label, Saba and Sportscraft. All brands were based in Sydney and with both local and offshore design and production.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
I had always dreamt of starting my own fashion house, and I knew then that it had to be purpose-driven because my love for people and the planet is a part of my DNA. In 2017, while I was still working at Shona Joy, I read Wardrobe Crisis by Clare Press and this changed my life; I become obsessed with sustainability and fashion. I listen to every single podcast of Clare’s and attended every sustainable fashion talk event that I could find. After a year of studying and collecting deadstock fabrics from local fashion houses, I had to pause the project. It wasn’t until 2020, when I lost my job and my grandmother passed away, that I knew it was the time to put everything I had into the business.
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My husband Chris, an award-winning creative director with over 15 years of experience in the branding and advertising sector, became my business partner and together, we launched in December 2020. Before we launched, I completed a course in sustainable fashion and micro business management whilst designing and developing the collection and focusing on all other aspects of the business in preparation for the release of our debut collection.
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It was challenging developing a business through the pandemic in 2020 but it felt like the best time, as I could just focus on it and nothing else. Everyone was cooking and walking every day. I was working seven days a week studying and developing the collection and the sustainability programs. Our program is mn_Circular where we offer complementary mends for every customer, a care guide and take back incentive as well as our offset program… We also have partnered with a textile recycling factory for all our off-cuts from design and production and take back program.
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The design and production process was the easiest as I have years of local manufacturing knowledge and relationships so it was like calling up old friends. We focused on an Australian laid-back look and feel for our debut collection, and moved into more elevated timeless day-to-night pieces. It has been three years since we launched and this year feels like it was all worth it, but we still have far to go. [I’m] super excited for the future, it looks bright!
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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From the start, the business was set up to be responsible and purpose-driven – from every aspect, every decision and every step – as my vision and mission were always to create an optimistic future for Australian fashion. I believe we have achieved what we set out to do, but every day we are learning and want to achieve more. We have some incredible sustainable incentives in the pipeline and can’t wait to share them with our Madre Natura family.
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How we communicate is through our transparency on what materials we use to make our garments and how we make them locally, and who makes them. The brand’s DNA has evolved from a look and feel perspective every year and with each collection, it gets stronger. We have the learnings from the past to understand what our customer adores. Our best-selling styles are our Fig Bomber Jackets, Palm Pants, Rose Boronia Flares in Denim and our Eucalyptus tops and dresses, but we are getting a lot of interest in our new hand-beaded styles.
What are you most proud of in your work on your label?
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This year, becoming a National Designer Award Finalist with David Jones and PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival and winning the Honourable Mention Of Sustainability Award and with that an incredible mentorship program with David Jones. I am also just proud of the everyday, the little things – meeting incredible mentors, spending quality time with our makers and having conversations about change. And lastly making beautiful clothes that our Madre Natura family loves to wear.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
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How challenging it is to run a small business on your own. I thought setting up the business was hard and now running it is even more challenging. The number of sacrifices you have to make, to be separated from your family and friends as you’re working every day but when I say “I am working” I am really just living my dream. I am lucky I have two great strengths. They are discipline and grit; this drives me and always outweighs my motivation. Also, my favourite quote is ‘Focus on the things you can control and forget about the rest’.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
At madrenatura.com.au and in The Iconic’s Considered edit.
Find out more about Madre Natura and explore its range here.
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