Melbourne label Sanct is setting a new standard for size-inclusive, sustainable clothing
WORDS BY MOLLY KEOGH
“The average Australian woman wears a size 14 to 16 and cannot shop at many mainstream fashion brands.”
Melbourne fashion designer Danielle Abery-Miller has been making her own clothes since age 11 (pretty impressive, right?), so creating her own label, Sanct, felt like a natural progression. Inspired by brands in the sustainable fashion space, Danielle wanted to create a label that transcended superficial platitudes – her goal was to redefine what it means to be a sustainable and size-inclusive fashion label in Australia.
“Sanct won’t leave you with a few unquantifiable buzzwords and call it a day. After all, what does ‘ethical’ or ‘sustainable’ really mean if the answer is different depending on who you ask? Transparency is at the heart of what we do. We give the consumer a list of components for each product like a recipe for the garment, from threads to fabric and trims,” she tells us.
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Aside from its sustainability initiatives, recognising that the average Australian woman wears between a size 14 to 16, Sanct now offers custom sizing ranging from size eight to 30-plus. Below, Danielle shares the highs and lows of running a genuinely sustainable and inclusive fashion label.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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My background is as a maker. I’ve always made my clothes since I started sewing when I was 11 years old. I’ve wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as I can remember, and when I left school I got the opportunity to go to RMIT and study a Bachelor of Fashion Design. After university, my first few years in the industry saw me working for luxury Australian brands as a sample cutter, product developer and production coordinator. In 2018 I started taking steps towards starting my label and I finally left my nine to five to focus on Sanct in 2019.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
I started Sanct by doing some heavy research for about a year. Looking to other inspirational brands in the sustainable fashion space like Kowtow, A.BCH and Lois Hazel. Then came the fabric sourcing, much sampling and testing prototypes.
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time?
I wanted to create a new benchmark for sustainable fashion in Australia, going beyond surface-level platitudes. I wanted Sanct to be plastic-free, ethically/transparently sourced, Australian made and size-inclusive. The pieces would be elevated everyday wear that was effortlessly cool, and I would make everything with my own two hands in the Sanct studio.
How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
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I started Sanct pre-making size runs of each of my styles. However, after the first collection, I decided to move to a made-to-order model so I could react to consumer demand. This has helped me achieve one of the core values of Sanct: offering size-inclusive sustainable clothing. Made-to-order gives me a lot more flexibility to offer custom sizing and prioritise the sizes my customers want.
I have also scaled up from a size range of eight to 22 to now offering eight to 30-plus custom sizing. The values of Sanct remain from where I started. If anything, time has strengthened my resolve to stick to those values.
How would you describe your label to someone who’s never seen it before?
Sanct is your effortlessly cool, easy-wear brand. Often genderless, [they are] styles you will wear again and again. Appropriate for work or Sunday brunch. There is a focus on high-quality make and luxurious fabrics cut in simple, timeless styles. Along with this is the transparency of Sanct – each garment comes with a list of every fabric, trim and thread that goes into the piece, what that item is made from and where it was sourced.
What are you most proud of in your work on your label?
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I’m proud of sticking to what I set out to do and not compromising my values even when times are tough. There are a lot of challenges in working sustainably in fashion with unsustainable materials and practices often cheaper and more widely available. I’m also proud of the community I’ve been able to build through Sanct. My customers are truly the best!
What do you wish you knew when you started?
I wish I knew that success is what you want it to be, not what your peers are doing, not where you think you ‘should’ be. I also wish I knew there was no set way you have to launch and run a brand. You can make up the rules. If you don’t want to do all the runways, don’t. If you don’t want to launch four collections a year, don’t. You can pave your way.
Who do you think is most exciting in Australian and New Zealand fashion right now?
I love the work of High Tea With Mrs Woo, they teamed up with Dempstah to recycle their studio offcuts into new knitting yarn. A dream project of mine is to close the loop on as much of my textile waste as possible, so they are very inspiring. I also love Marle, Clingy Bags, E Nolan, Anna Cordell and Kowtow.
What about the Australian and New Zealand fashion industry needs to change?
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We are way behind in size diversity in the Australian and New Zealand fashion industry. Fatphobia is still prevalent in the way brands market themselves and the size ranges many mainstream brands choose to offer. The average Australian woman wears a size 14 to 16 and cannot shop at many mainstream fashion brands because they either don’t stock her size, don’t invest in as much stock in those sizes compared to their straight sizes or don’t show those garments on a body that looks like hers. Imagine how much harder it is for people who wear a size 16+.
Go to dinner party playlist?
58 minutes and 48 seconds of Troye Sivan at Primavera Sound Barcelona in 2024.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
Honestly, mostly Sanct. I like my gear. I’m also frequently testing samples for Sanct so I end up with a lot of that on high rotation in my wardrobe. I also have a gorgeous check flannel long sleeve from Lois Hazel, vintage thrifted coats, thrifted vests, tops and the like. My wardrobe breakdown would probably be 80 per cent Sanct, 19 per cent thrifted and 1 per cent other.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
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Sanct is available online and at the markets I attend (I have lots of markets lined up this year so keep an eye out).
Anything else to add?
For every dollar spent at a small business, 66 cents is put into the local community versus 11 cents when shopping at large multinational retailers. So support your local brands if you can! It’s super tough out here for us at the moment.
Explore Sanct’s range here.
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