This year I collaborated with Emma Bond, the dress desginer behind the label Madi and Pip for her entry in VRC Myer Fashion on the Field Emerging Designer Award.
Madi and Pip Design - Flemington Rose is inspired by the colours, form and subject of Thea Proctor’s 1927 woodcut, ‘The Rose’. It depicts fashionable, independent women, and an appreciation of the fragrance and beauty of flowers, in a nod to the Fashions Of The Field and Flemington rose gardens.
The dress features a multiwear silhouette, a pattern I have developed. Single fabric blooms & fluttering petals have been hand cut and inlaid piece-by-piece. All fabric edges, hemlines and applique, have been hand rolled to create a delicate and fluid garment that moves with grace and opulent beauty.
All fabrics used were found in Emma’s atelier. Deadstock fabric main The Fabric Store silk / cotton. Contrast remnants Silktrader lining silk remnant
Inspiration for the outfit
The Rose. Thea Proctor.'Of course it is delightful to go out on a summer's day and paint the harbour, but much more exciting really to sit down and invent something that is entirely one's own.'
Thea Proctor 1926
Designed and made in Australia, Madi and Pip fuses the optimistic energy of vintage silhouettes with opulent textures and prints. Designed for the sustainability-conscious, Madi and Pip sources responsibly-grown cotton, premium deadstock fabrics and works on a made-to-order model to challenge fashion landfill.
The designer & founder, Emma Bond practices universal design so that garments are inclusive to women with disability. As each item is made on order all designs can be customised to best accommodate clients. Madi & Pip is a member of the Australian Fashion Council @ausfashioncouncil Bridal collection featured at @hellomaymagazine x @onefinedayweddingfairs Sydney runway.
The Stanley Bramble features a collection of glimmering floating feather shapes over a smooth beret shaped base. Each perspective of this piece gives a point of interest with a slight sparkle appearing through the rich red shapes. This style is one size fits all and is secured to the head with a shaped base, elastic and comb.
Made as an entry for the Millinery Australia Happy Hour A Cocktail Celebration Competition the piece is named after the Bramble Cocktail created by Dick Bradsell in 1980s London, England. It is the ideal spring cocktail made with dry gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, crème de mûre, and crushed ice.
Sustainability Statement:
Millinery is a naturally very environmentally conscious industry with an approach that sees makers try to have zero waste. I commonly repurpose and upcycle older styles that I have sourced from op shops or vintage stores pulling them apart to use quality vintage materials to give them a second life. Working with a diverse range of natural fibres including many materials made from straw offcuts are commonly kept for trims for the next project. Small scraps are sometimes reluctantly thrown away with some able to be placed into the compost.
The Stanley bramble is constructed of a Sinamay base that was material remaining from a previous project that supports a lame and tulle fabric covering. For the trim I wanted to create floating feathers but was looking for an alternative to natural feathers as the supply chain for feathers is difficult to trace. In response to this, I designed this layered material effect that was constructed with wire for the quill and material to create the plume shape.
Thank you to Emma for the opportunity to collaborate to bring together this wonderful look! Explore more of Madi and Pip's work here.
Photography by Keely Luck