Australia’s connections with Vietnam are many and varied, not least of all in relation to fashion. Vietnam is the second largest garment exporter in the world; a place with a long history of fashion creativity, innovation, tradition, and local trade.

Australians have long benefited from talented Vietnamese garment makers. So, how are the connections between fashion designers and creatives in Australia and Vietnam being celebrated and supported today?

Today’s guest is Tom Trandt, founder of Môi Điên Studio in Saigon, Vietnam. Last year, Tom was one of four Vietnamese designers to participate in a RMIT-led cross-cultural craft and design exchange called đây đó (here/there).

The collaborative project, which brought together designers, artists and creative craft practitioners from Australia and Vietnam, promotes contemporary design practice while sustaining traditional forms of art and craft. It opened opportunities for cultural, economic and knowledge exchange between makers and designers from the two countries.

Harriette spoke to Tom about his practice and his experiences participating in the đây đó (here/there) project.

Show notes:

Môi Điên Studio on Instagram

Môi Điên Studio’s website

The đây đó (here/there) project

Episode one of the Critical Fashion Studies Podcast

Australia is famous for some of the best wool in the world. However, even though we produce one quarter of the world’s wool, 98% of it is exported before it’s turned into clothing. The lack of milling, weaving, and knitting capacity in Australia means that very little knitwear is actually made here. But this wasn’t always the case. 

What are small manufacturers doing to reinvigorate the Australian knitwear industry?

Today, Harriette is talking to to Kirri-Mae Sampson, co-founder of HATCH + make, a circular design, development, and manufacturing facility producing premium knitwear in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. HATCH + make is innovative both in its implementation of a circular economy framework—which ensures as little waste as possible—and its commitment to local, regenerative production techniques. 

Show notes

HATCH + make website

HATCH + make on Instagram

The Dancing Daisies blanket

Sustainability is one of the most pressing issues facing contemporary fashion. This is particularly true for emerging designers, who hold the demands and opportunities of sustainable practice in especially sharp focus.   

So how is the innovative work of these pioneering young designers being celebrated?  

Today, Harriette talks to Josephine Rout, the new Senior Curator at the National Wool Museum in Geelong. For her first project in this position, Josephine is leading the We the Makers Sustainable Fashion Prize, which supports authentic design, material consciousness and sustainable, ethical practice.

Show notes

We the Makers Sustainable Fashion Prize

The National Wool Museum on Instagram

The School of Fashion and Textiles at Melbourne’s RMIT University welcomes hundreds of new students every year. Students who are passionate about fashion and want to join the excitement of an industry on the cutting edge of design, technology, and digital innovation.

But what do these students do when they finish their degrees and head out into the world?

In today’s episode, Harriette speaks to Juanita Page, an RMIT alumnus and proud Gooreng Gooreng and South Sea Islander woman. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fashion Technology degree in 2017, Juanita founded the slow fashion menswear brand JOSEPH & JAMES. Today, they’ll be talking about finding your feet in Australia’s fashion industry.

Shownotes

JOSEPH & JAMES on Instagram

JOSEPH & JAMES online shop

Last year, the Australian Made initiative organised a show in partnership with the Melbourne Fashion Festival. The models paraded the Cranbourne Royal Botanical Gardens dressed entirely in locally made garments. However, they were conspicuously barefooted.  

Very few shoes are actually made here. A skills shortage and lack of machinery means that most local designers manufacture their shoes abroad or import leather pre-cut. This means they’re not licensed to carry the iconic Australian Made logo — a green triangle with a yellow kangaroo.   

But are there really no Australian-made shoes?  

In today’s episode, Harriette speaks to Post Sole Studio co-founder Myra Spencer about making shoes locally. Post Sole Studio is based in Abbotsford, where Myra, her co-founder Breeze Powell, and their small team design and make footwear, which they call “a manifestation of their love of shoemaking.” 

Show notes 

Post Sole Studio online shop 

Post Sole Studio on Instagram 

The Melbourne Now exhibition at the NGV 

In 2016, cultural historian Christopher Breward wrote “The suit is a complex, enduring vessel of meaning whose form raises questions about identity that continue to challenge us today.”   

How is the history of traditionally masculine suiting being reimagined for a new audience?    

In today’s episode, Harriette speaks to E Nolan founder Emily Nolan about her made-to-measure label that caters to women and gender-diverse people.   

Show notes: 

The E Nolan website 

E Nolan on Instagram 

The Melbourne Now exhibition at the NGV 

From protest T-shirts to partywear, clothing has played an important role in Australia’s rich queer culture. But who ensures that these stories are preserved, remembered, and celebrated? And where are the artefacts of this history kept?

Today, we’re talking to Nick Henderson, curator at the Australian Queer Archives, about the collection’s clothing and textiles. Based at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda, the archive is a veritable treasure trove of art, books and ephemera that celebrate Australia’s queer histories. 

Show notes:

The Australian Queer Archives website

The Australian Queer Archives on Facebook

To get in touch about donating material, contact [email protected]

From blockbuster shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to our own National Gallery of Victoria, museums and art galleries have become increasingly important sites for exhibiting fashion.

However, there is also a vibrant fashion scene within smaller, regional art galleries and museums, which often show more intimate or unconventional exhibitions.

In today’s episode, Harriette talks to curator Emma Busowsky from the Bendigo Art Gallery about bringing fashion exhibitions to regional Victoria. Most recently, Emma curated ‘Australiana: Designing a Nation’, which is on now.

Show notes

Australiana: Designing a Nation

The history of queer fashion in Sydney has received a lot of attention. The first Madi Gras in 1978 cemented the city’s reputation as a gay capital. At the same time, young artists and designers were adding to the city’s colourful, camp atmosphere. But what about queer fashion in Melbourne in the 1970s and 80s? Who was making adventurous, gender non-conforming fashion in this city?  

In today’s episode, Harriette speaks to independent art and fashion scholar Dr Sally Gray about the Singapore-born designer Clarence Chai — a queer innovator who made his mark on Melbourne’s youth culture.   

Chai may not have been as loud or outspoken as his contemporaries, yet his legacy is no less significant. In the wake of his recent passing, now is the time for him to receive the attention he deserves.    

Show notes: 

Dr. Sally Gray’s Instagram 

Angela Serrano’s interview with Clarence Chai 

RMIT Gallery’s Radical Utopia Exhibition 

Friends, Fashion, and Fabulousness: The Making of an Australian Style 

First Nations communities across Australia have long histories of sartorial adornment. This rich heritage is finally receiving the recognition it deserves in this country, but how can we share Indigenous Australian fashion with the world?   

In this episode, Harriette talks to Wiradjuri fashion entrepreneur Denni Francisco about taking local fashion international. Denni runs Ngali, a Naarm-based label that has earned an international following for its clothing and textiles adorned with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artwork.  

Show notes 

Ngali’s online store 

The NGV’s Melbourne Now exhibition