EDITION and Sarrita King: a natural collaboration
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One of the things that Canberra does well is collaborate. Whereas in some other cities, ‘competition’ is the word of the day, this is a town where people actively seek opportunities to work together for mutual benefit.
Most recently, Manuka was the stage for a collaborative production involving Canberra fashion designer, Alice Sutton from EDITION, and Indigenous artist, Sarrita King. Supported by Department of The Exterior and Bilk Gallery, the two women turned a covered walkway in a quiet inner south lane into a runway .
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Zjr6aZYdNyg/U5Vfgmszb0I/AAAAAAAAEwQ/8amKeYRyJPY/s144-c-o/IMG_0679%252520edited.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/AliceSuttonAndSarritaKingATrulyLocalCollaboration#6022825090426826562″ caption=”Models: Deirdre Crossan, Kate Cooper, Katie van den Bos, Alice Anderson and Lauren CooperPhotographer: Tara CollinsHair: Hayley BoyleMakeup: Elle Thomas” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0679 edited.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ ]
Fate (and their partners, who play in the same Canberra Australian Rules Football team) brought Alice and Sarrita together, where they immediately found a connection in their design practices.
EDITION is all about sustainability – Alice has developed a special pattern making process which ensures all her garments are ‘zero waste’, meaning that no fabric is wasted in production and sent to landfill. All garments are made from sustainable fabrics such as Merino wool, bamboo and Australian made cotton. There’s a respect for the earth in her work which complements Sarrita’s approach to her art.
Although she now lives in Canberra, Sarrita spent most of her youth growing up in Darwin in the Northern Territory, not far from the land her ancestors inhabited. It is here that her connection to her Aboriginality and the land was able to grow. Sarrita utilises traditional Aboriginal techniques such as ‘dotting’ but also incorporates unorthodox techniques inherited from her late father, the highly regarded artist, William King Jungala, as well as self-developed practices. Her exposure to the imperious weather and extreme landscape has provided the theme for her works of art.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-b5qxThfXMiA/U5Vfkr6Cv6I/AAAAAAAAEwc/AJTyDzPmw2s/s144-c-o/IMG_0702%252520edited.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/AliceSuttonAndSarritaKingATrulyLocalCollaboration#6022825160544010146″ caption=”Kate Cooper, Lauren Cooper, Sarrita King (Artist), Alice Sutton (Designer), Alice Anderson, Deirdre Crossan and Katie van den BosPhotographer: Tara CollinsHair: Hayley BoyleMakeup: Elle Thomas” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0702 edited.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ ]
“Both of us are inspired by nature and our environment. We also both found that we were quite isolated in Canberra and it was comforting to find someone else working day in day out in a studio by themselves,” says Alice.
“We felt that a collaboration would open up both of our markets as our consumers were different but have similar aesthetics and appreciation of design.”
The initial inspiration for the collection began with Alice’s trip to Mammoth Caves in Western Australia in January, the natural beauty reminding her of ‘why we create and why we design…because we are fascinated with rare and beautiful things in nature’.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-q6SrB7NN_bI/U5VfgdLDvdI/AAAAAAAAEwI/Oda8i0N1zW8/s144-c-o/IMG_0663.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/AliceSuttonAndSarritaKingATrulyLocalCollaboration#6022825087869369810″ caption=”Models: Alice Anderson and Deirdre CrossanPhotographer: Tara CollinsHair: Hayley BoyleMakeup: Elle Thomas” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0663.JPG” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]
“When I spoke to Sarrita about my inspiration, her interpretation of what I had explained about the caves lead her to the stories of the people who would have inhabited the caves years ago. As the caves are cold, because they are underground, she imagined many different people would have had camp fires in the caves,” says Alice.
“Her beautiful print is made from dots and strokes and gives the sense of flames. From here the colour palette developed from the fire print to incorporate the beautiful orange Merino wool and blacks to represent the smoke which was represented with the names of the garments such as Soot dress and Burning vest.”
On the makeshift Manuka runway, the models glided slowly, the delicate fabric ‘wings’ of their draped, organic and flowing Autumn-toned garments catching the breeze and leading my seven-year old to sigh that they looked ‘just like butterflies’.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0ofL7evxhdQ/U5Vfg4m9mQI/AAAAAAAAEwU/RZxyhgWmJ7c/s144-c-o/IMG_0650.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/AliceSuttonAndSarritaKingATrulyLocalCollaboration#6022825095234164994″ caption=”Lauren Cooper modellingPhotographer: Tara CollinsHair: Hayley BoyleMakeup: Elle Thomas” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0650.JPG” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ ]
“I am constantly inspired by what is around me whether it be animals or landscapes. Bogong moths are my favourite and to me that was a very special collection as it was a platform for lots of great opportunities for me,” says Alice.
“All EDITION collections have a connection to Canberra as it is where I was born and have my studio so it impacts my design aesthetic and inspirations. For me the design process for EDITION is very organic and is all about process and seeing how fabric and shapes work on the body.”
The event was more than just a parade, though – every piece the models wore were available in a S, M and L at Department of the Exterior immediately following the parade, ready for customers to buy.
“I wanted to change the way we view fashion as merely a show; instead show people the garments and how they work and then they can try them on in their size straight away,” says Alice.
“Department of the Exterior…has supported me for years as a local designer and I could not have done the parade without Susan Taylor’s help and expertise. We thought that by combining four local Canberra businesses with similar design ethos we could create an event… that focused on design integrity and getting the consumers to interact with the garments as well as the designer, artist, boutique owner, gallery owner and models.”
the essentials
What: EDITION and Sarrita King collaboration with Department of The Exterior and Bilk Gallery
Where: Clothing – Department of The Exterior, Manuka Court, 11-17 Bougainville St Manuka
Art – King Studios Unit 5, 62-64 Wollongong St, Fyshwick
Jewellery – Bilk Gallery 2 Palmerston Lane, Manuka
Phone: Department of the Exterior – 6239 4225; King Studios – 6162 1464; Bilk Gallery – 6162 2761
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