Next gen designers: Anna Thora Lindell
Future Makers.
We are beyond excited to be Supporting Partners of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival National Graduate Showcase, Presented by Target. As the festival fast approaches, we’ve been busy getting to know the group of crazy talented design graduates who will be showcasing their work on the runway.
Meet Anna Thora Lindell from RMIT.
Describe your grad collection in three words:
Textured, sculptural and intricate.
What was the most challenging thing about the creation of your collection?
My collection is made by engineering not just the garments but the initial fabrication and shapes from recycled bike tubes. Therefore I could not toille all my pieces in a traditional manner. Rather I had to let the material guide the outcome and finding the appropriate and most durable construction techniques was sometimes really challenging. But I find that sort of problem solving and challenge to be very inspiring and therefore much of my work is very material focused.
If you could design an outfit for any person alive or dead, who would it be and what would it look like?
Bjork. She is a favourite artist of mine whom I have always admired; not only because of her incredible music but also for the example she sets for young women.
She has showcased many creative designs in the past and the way she incorporates them into her own music and shows is amazing. So if that opportunity would ever arise, I would create something that would support and work complimentary with her music. So depending on the album or show at the time, I could picture that the design would either be distorting and sculptural in terms of silhouette or a transformable piece.
What is our favourite song or album to play when working on your designs?
Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
Is there a designer you aspire be like or look up to?
Hussein Chalayan. I find his highly concept driven work incredibly inspiring. His way of experimenting with technology, form and performance where his designs often transform live on stage is monumental. One of my favourite collections of his to look back upon is the 2001 Ventriloquy and 2007 One Hundred and Eleven.
Where do you think there is a gap in the fashion industry?
I believe there is a market for my work which aims to explore fashion from a concept driven base where I incorporate unusual and often recycled materials into a mixture of ready-to-wear and more avant-garde pieces. When people hear about eco-friendly and sustainable fashion they often think of natural and very classic fabrics, silhouettes and cuts. There is not much of the experimental fashion which also attempts to take a sustainable approach.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Depending on career opportunities I might end up in either America or Europe. Five years from now though, I picture myself being back in Melbourne with my partner Trent, running my own business from here.
If you weren’t into fashion design, what would you be doing?
I would like to think that I would have done something in music. I have always loved to play the piano and the idea of becoming a piano teacher was something that played on my mind when I was younger.
What fashion trend do you most dislike?
I think the initial idea of making fashion affordable and available for everyone is beautiful. But I find the general mass production and consumption where many of us buy more for less without even consider or support the creativity behind the making. I do think Melbourne however have a quite supporting attitude towards creativity and art which I why I could consider myself working here in the future if the opportunity arises.
Favourite fashion moment?
When I interned for Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen 2014-2015. Iris van Herpen is an incredible innovative designer in the way she incorporates new materials, techniques and technology to the industry. At the end of my contract I got the opportunity to work backstage at her Fall/Winter 2015-16 Hacking Infinity show presented at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The experience gave me a better understanding of the industry and I managed to enhance many skills to another level before coming back to complete my own degree here in Australia.
What advice you would give to someone wanting to study fashion?
That it is important to keep up with the latest trends and developments not just within fashion but other industries and politics. And to try and stay calm and have fun because even though it is hard work, you will meet so many amazing people along the ride and make friends who will last for a lifetime!
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