Religious iconography and ‘The Secret Life of Us’ inspired Stella Vendetta’s latest collection
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Sonny Witton for Stella Vendetta
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“Poems and prayers, Dries van Noten, Romeo and Juliet, Gregorian chants.”
It’s been almost a year since the release of Melbourne label Stella Vendetta’s previous collection, Holey Moley. And for those patiently anticipating the next drop of the brand’s intuitively upcycled pieces, it’s been well worth the wait. For lovers and Stella Vendetta co-founders, Sarah Brogno and Jasper van Daatselaar, creating their new collection It Takes Eight Wheels To Get to St Kilda was a journey of discovery.
“This is the longest we’ve taken to make a collection,” the duo says. “The majority of the time with upcycling, you’re finding garments at op shops and there’s only one of them, which makes repeatable garments impossible.” Instead of working around the unpredictable nature of secondhand shopping, Jasper and Sarah employed the help of circular fashion projects Upparel and Friendly Printers to complete the collection and expand their size offering.
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Employing traditional repair techniques like patchwork and darning (“Our new favourite technique”), Sarah and Jasper crafted It Takes Eight Wheels To Get to St Kilda in quintessential Stella Vendetta fashion. Drawing on disparate references like tulip fields, Dries Van Noten and Romeo and Juliet, the grungy, gender-free pieces pay homage to religious iconography and early 2000s Australian television. Below, Sarah and Jasper speak on their experience creating the new collection.
Can you share more about the influences behind your new collection, It Takes Eight Wheels To Get to St Kilda?
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We discovered our new favourite technique – darning! It began with repairing some holes in one of the skirts, which escalated into using the technique on almost every item in the collection. This age-old technique has always been used to extend the life of garments, so it feels very fitting to have it be such a prominent part of the collection and to use it in our own way.
How would you describe this collection aesthetically?
Dutch sailors, tulip fields, The Secret Life of Us, poems and prayers, Dries van Noten, Romeo and Juliet, Gregorian chants.
What was the creative process like in creating It Takes Eight Wheels To Get to St Kilda?
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It was a tough one… this is the longest we’ve taken to make a collection. We made a plan, and then a new plan, and another. In the end, we just decided to keep making until it was finished. Some pieces went as planned, and some most definitely didn’t. But that’s cool, it’s not really that fun if you’re not solving problems.
In the past, your pieces have been predominately made from found and up-cycled materials. Has that carried through to this new project?
For sure! Everything in the collection is still definitely upcycled. The majority of the time with upcycling, you’re finding garments at op shops and there’s only one of them, which makes repeatable garments impossible. For this collection, we wanted to move on from this idea and design a complete collection with a more accessible size range. Now more than one person can enjoy the same garment!
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Upparel generously donated the base shirts that became our Vest Shirt, and we sourced our Rosary T-shirts from Friendly Printers (the BEST of the BEST in upcycled merch). We also focused on finding deadstock fabrics that were used to alter garments like the Long John Pants and create new ones, like our Rosary Apron.
Can you share your favourite piece from the collection?
We love everything, but the Vest Shirt is one we’re super proud of. Is it a shirt or is it a vest? Or both? You’ll have to buy it and find out.
Browse the full collection here.
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