I had the pleasure of being introduced to the talented Lucy Bourne, a student at Whitehouse Institute of Design. Her graduate collection, Echoes of Grandeur, reimagines fashion through an architectural lens—draped in echoes of the past and sculpted for the future.
Lucy Bourne is a second-year fashion design student and an emerging talent in Melbourne’s luxury fashion landscape. Her practice is grounded in craftsmanship, sculptural form, and slow fashion values. Growing up on a rural farm, Lucy developed an intimate understanding of natural fibres, particularly wool—a connection that continues to shape her environmentally conscious approach.
As a recipient of the Australian Wool Education Trust (AWET) grant, Lucy works with premium Australian wool to create garments that merge innovation with heritage. Her brand explores fashion as wearable architecture: garments that act as both structures and statements. Echoes of Grandeur reimagines the female form as a vessel of architectural beauty, blending historical tailoring with exaggerated silhouettes to create garments that exist outside a single era—evoking the essence of a Time Traveller’s wardrobe.
For Look 2, we collaborated on custom millinery: a downturned Dior-inspired brim covered in fabric featured in the collection, finished with a sleek leather band, designed to complement Lucy’s sculptural vision.
Credits:
Custom Millinery: Lauren J. Ritchie
Model: Zanthe Evans
Designer & Photographer: Lucy Bourne
Institute: Whitehouse Institute of Design
