Critical Fashion Studies Podcast

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:

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

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

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

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