FUCK FAST FASHION
Australia generates 780,000 tonnes of textile waste every year. Only 7 per cent is recycled, with the rest going into landfill. That’s why Fiona Patten has launched a community campaign to do something about it: FUCK FAST FASHION.
FUCK FAST FASHION aims to promote Victoria’s brilliant local fashion industry, whilst raising awareness about the textile waste problem that faces Australia (and the world). To do this, Fiona showcases fashion designers and labels with ethical supply chains and a focus on recycled fabric and materials. It’s about buying local, buying ethical, and buying less.
In the past Fiona Patten has lobbied the Victorian Government to recognise the importance of the fashion industry to Victoria’s culture, economy, and community, by establishing a Ministry for Fashion.
In her inaugural speech she committed to working with the fashion and textile industry in Victoria, especially in the Northern Metropolitan Region, to ensure that this industry and the economic opportunities it brings are adequately
fostered. Melbourne is Australia’s fashion capital, and she believes it should be recognised as a global one in the same way our sister city of Milan is.
More people visit Victoria to shop than for any other reason, even sport. The industry currently employs tens of thousands of Victorians, and the vast majority of them are in small to medium size businesses.
Over the next few months we will be showcasing local designers by having them dress the mannequin you see here and another at the Fiona’s electorate office on Syndey Road in Brunswick.
The aim is to encourage people to support local designers by shopping locally and to consider the ethical and environmental ramifications of choosing fast fashion.
Currently showcasing:
Angela Clark Boutique & Andrea Nicholson Designs
Angela Clark Boutique is a Sustainable Melbourne based Couture Jewellery Brand. Conceptualised by Angela over 20 years ago, Angela Clark Boutique has become a landmark of Carlton North. Angela has taken her jewellery all the way to the runways of New York Fashion Week, twice! She also extends her skills to group classes and community engagement projects that get people sharing and connecting whilst learning the tricks of the trade. Angela Clark Boutique is a true example of how something as seemingly simple as fashion can have such an immense impact on a community.
Andrea Nicholson Designs is a Carlton North based boutique, that showcases some of the most incredible handcrafted clothing. Andrea Nicholson, herself, creates and curates’ garments that emphasise and celebrate the essence of womxn. Designed to bring out the individual within, all of Andrea’s collections invite you to re-invent yourself through your choice of clothing.
Paired together the two designers capture the essence of Northern Metropolitan glamour!
Clothing the Gaps
Clothing The Gaps is a fresh and dynamic fashion label managed by health professionals that celebrates Aboriginal people and culture. They were recognised for their excellence at the 2020 Dreamtime Awards and were awarded ‘Business of the year’.
Clothing The Gaps is a play on the words “Closing the Gap”, which is an Australian Government health initiative to help close the life expectancy gap between Aboriginal people and non-Indigenous Australians.
They make their clothes with their mob in their heart and everyone in mind. They label their clothes ‘Ally Friendly’ and ‘Mob Only’ because everyone was asking “Can I wear that?”.
They produce merch with a meaning and encourage people to wear their values on their tee. They influence and unite people through fashion and causes so that Aboriginal people and Communities can thrive.
Previously showcased:
Mutual Muse
Did you know the average Australian buys around 27 kg of new clothing a year and almost all of it ends up in landfill? Mutual Muse is founded on the belief that clothes deserve a second chance. They sell, buy and trade your gently worn clothes. Customers bring in the items they are ready to part with, you know the ones: you’ve never worn them, or they don’t fit properly, or they’re not your style any more.
Their clothing is sourced by you and for you. What they have in each of their stores reflects the style of the customers. They love quality, local designers, unusual pieces, easy basics. Their Brunswick store sells femme and masuline styles, while Thornbury has a femme focus. You can also find them online at shop.mutualmuse.net.
Shopping second hand is a fantastic way to find the styles you already love at a lower price point. Their stock changes daily so you never know what you might find. If you are seeking to leave a lighter footprint, Mutual Muse is the ideal place to participate in the circular economy.
Neisha
Neisha’s new range of crop tops, singlets, cropped hoodies, full-length hoodies and tote bags, entitled BIG PUSSY ENERGY, is sure to excite and inspire passers by. We certainly have had a reaction.
Neisha is a one-woman show from the production, the garments, the content you see in her platforms and the shoots that are curated.
Ethically made in Melbourne since 2007, Neisha’s stunning designs emboldens and celebrates Women in power and glory.
Vermin
In 2019 Lia Tabrah launched VERMIN the label which she runs with Perina Drummond.
Together they source cane toad leather from the Top End and Far North Queensland, which they use to explore new possibilities of design and sustainability.
VERMIN’s engagement with Indigenous communities is a key aspect of a quest to turn the elusive cane toad into a luxury leather product.
In January 2020 Lia and Perina visited the tropical islands of the Torres Strait, an Indigenous community on the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula, one of the many communities affected by this introduced species.
After numerous conversations with local Indigenous rangers and pest control officers, their research continues to see firsthand what the cane toads are doing to the local wildlife and environment.
VERMIN is committed to administering the most ethical, sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions in its leather-making process.