Hopefuls from 55 countries entered the 2018 Redress Design Award and on September 6 that year the 11 finalists presented their collections before a capacity audience at the gala finale in Hong Kong.All were impressive, but the winner of the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition stood out like a beacon: Australia’s Tess Whitfort, whose exuberant punk-inspired pieces in black, white and acid yellow captivated the judges. She also raised the sustainability bar by creating patterns that resulted in zero fabric wastage.
Her bold, edgy streetwear will be exhibited at Fashion Exposed Now in exciting new attraction, The Sustainable Edit. It’s the perfect showcase for the 25-year-old Melburnian who scored a double triumph in 2017: Degree Student of the Year at the Box Hill Institute and Melbourne Fashion Week Student Designer of the Year.Last September, Tess celebrated her new label Pendulum Studios with a launch party. There are some great shots of it on Pendulum’s website, but make no mistake: this is a super-serious young designer passionate about reducing the fashion industry’s punishing impact on the environment - and changing perceptions about sustainable fashion while she’s at it.“It’s usually about wholesome options like linen sack dresses in natural colours and that has limited appeal,” says Tess. “My grudge clothes embody the idea that being a total badass and a good person aren’t mutually exclusive.”Her lecturers at the Box Hill Institute where she took her BA in fashion design were influential. Even more so have been her parents.“My dad is an engineer and my mum is a nurse and artist – both strong, creative individualists who have been tremendously supportive.”The complex skills that go into those Pendulum dresses and separates emerged early. “As a three-year-old I was already doing 100-piece jigsaw puzzles,” says Tess. “Creating zero waste patterns has been a bit like tackling a jigsaw. It’s also been an important challenge. The industry norm is 15% fabric wastage.”Sustainability underpins Pendulum – measures include biodegradable elastic and compostable packaging – though Tess, who has recently perfected a ground-breaking technique for producing her zero wastage styles in five sizes, has also become savvy about fashion’s commercial demands.The big catalyst was her Redress Design Award. As a winner, she became part of elite upcycled fashion brand, the R Collective, which represents the competition’s top talents, and was invited to design a commercial collection for Hong Kong’s premier luxury department store, Lane Crawford.She spent three intensive months working on the project and her collection, titled Avoidance, hit the mark – six eminently wearable pieces including an aviation-inspired jumpsuit, a dress with adjustable belted detailing and a retro varsity style jacket.Why “Avoidance”? Two reasons, Tess Whitfort explained in a report for the R Collective’s magazine: The obvious one – that her collection was about avoiding waste – and because the word resonated with her on a personal level.“I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life and avoidance is my biggest coping method and mind trap … (it’s) something I’ve had to overcome a lot in order to be where I am now,” she revealed.A few other things about Tess Whitfort: She’s vegan (but not judgemental about those who aren’t), works with Carbon Neutral Australia on their Plant A Tree initiative and prefers seeing her clothes on “regular people” rather than on models. She’s the real deal.Story by Zelda Cawthorne
Fashion Exposed Now
Australia’s only dedicated womenswear buying event. Registration is free and includes access local and international labels, seminars and round table sessions to help build your business. Sunday 2 – Monday 3 February 2020Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
“Over the past decade, there has been a worldwide groundswell that has gone way beyond trend. There is a huge rising awareness of the vital importance of sustainability and the need to reduce the impacts of fashion,” says Elizabeth.“The main drivers have been climate change and the need to protect human rights, and those concerns are especially evident among the younger generation. The Millennials now coming out of university are shopping with a conscience.“Youth is showing the way. Just over a year ago, Greta Thunberg was a lonely girl with a placard. Now she’s a world leader in environmental activism.”In November 2019, Elizabeth Park launched her consultancy, Fashion True Futures. Its message to the Australian fashion industry is potent: Real, lasting results - and profitability – can be achieved without harming the planet.Ethical sourcing, environmentally-friendly manufacturing, product safety – Elizabeth’s expertise covers them all and more along with guidelines for maximizing the effectiveness of teams, operations and supply chains.Raised in a tiny Scottish Borders town near Edinburgh – “the area is famous for its weavers” - she lost no time in gaining industry experience after graduating with a BSc (Hons) Apparel and Textiles degree from the Scottish College of Textiles in 1989.For most of the next 12 years she worked as a technical executive for British fashion industry giant, Dewhirst. Three years as fabric and sourcing manager for London-based Monsoon Accessorize followed. By then, the Scottish pro had attracted keen interest in Australia and in 2004, she accepted a post in Melbourne.The Country Road Group, Witchery, Mimco and Trenery – all have benefited from the dynamic Ms Park in areas including strategic planning, sourcing ,and social and ethical compliance.“My career has been a journey across the world,” she says. “It has taught me a lot about sustainable practices and the problems that can crop up in fashion supply chains – for example, workers not being properly paid or buyers not being aware that seemingly compliant factories may be farming out orders to unauthorised sub-contractors.
"I don’t see myself as a campaigner. My role is as a consultant is to help businesses create the changes needed for our planet and its people.”She has a couple of other key roles: mum to her musically gifted 14-year-old daughter and part-time lecturer at Melbourne’s Holmesglen Institute where she teaches professional practice to BA Fashion Design undergraduates.Elizabeth Park’s seminar won’t be her only contribution to Fashion Exposed Now. Adding rich dimensions will be The Sustainable Edit, a designer showcase she is curating for the fair.“It will feature both emerging and established designers who are leading the change in sustainable fashion,“ she reveals. “I thoroughly enjoy working with creative people.”Story by Zelda Cawthorne