Up the rickety stairs of the Sacred Heart building on the sprawling grounds of Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, you’ll find a tiny studio and retail showroom brimming with colour. “It hits you like a tonne of bricks,” says Ulo founder and designer Dinzi Amobi-Sanderson. “What I’ve tried to do with the showroom is build a spaceContinue reading “Studio Visit: Colourful African Wax Fabric Designs With Melbourne Label Ulo”
In a Room Full of Ostentatious Furniture, Melbourne Icon Franco Cozzo Still Looms Largest
“Megalo, megalo, megalo!” It’s the slogan Italian-Australian Franco Cozzo used to spruik his Baroque-style furniture in low-budget ’80s TV ads. But “megalo”, meaning “large” in Greek, is just as true of the 85-year-old’s charismatic personality. The furniture mogul, who came from Sicily to “Foot-is-cray” in 1956, commands the (show)room with his tongue-in-cheek humour, unmistakable thick accent andContinue reading “In a Room Full of Ostentatious Furniture, Melbourne Icon Franco Cozzo Still Looms Largest”
Studio Visit: Actually Existing
Anna and Olivia Nicholas’s Melbourne studio is quiet and minimal, but its surfaces are abundantly covered with crates of leather scraps and stacks of recycled fabrics. “In our eyes it’s got a lot of order, but to others it looks like total mayhem,” says Olivia. When Broadsheet visits the studio, inside a former hosiery factory in aContinue reading “Studio Visit: Actually Existing”
I Had to Sign a Waiver to Do a Bootcamp-Style Workout in the Barry’s “Red Room” – And Now I Know Why
I’ve been inside a gym once in my life – on a family trip to Mexico where making use of the hotel amenities seemed like a good way to pass time between Mojitos. My gym aversion comes from a place of intimidation. I’d rather pound the pavement than stand awkwardly, idly trying to work outContinue reading “I Had to Sign a Waiver to Do a Bootcamp-Style Workout in the Barry’s “Red Room” – And Now I Know Why”
Show-Stopping: Has the Pandemic Changed the Australian Fashion Industry Forever?
Written for Broadsheet In the past decade, many aspects of the fashion industry have gone digital, including retail and publishing. But one thing that has endured IRL – and has remained crucial to how business is done – is the fashion week, which occurs in multiple cities around the world biannually. Labels have relied onContinue reading “Show-Stopping: Has the Pandemic Changed the Australian Fashion Industry Forever?”
Five Gateway “Hard Pants” to Soften Your Re-Entry to the Workplace
Written for Broadsheet I wore tight jeans for the first time in months recently. Had I missed the jig required to pull them into place? No. The way they tighten around my knees when I bend, or sit, or stretch? Not really. But did I feel a sense of achievement? You betcha. After months workingContinue reading “Five Gateway “Hard Pants” to Soften Your Re-Entry to the Workplace”
How to Look Good for Less: Budget-Friendly Workwear
Written for Broadsheet Figuring out what to wear to work every day can be tiresome, expensive and uninspiring. Perth-based Gabrielle Leavesley and Melbourne’s Nessie Croft, of non-typical workwear label Coreprêt, are challenging your Monday-to-Friday fashion sense with a range of sustainable quality contemporary pieces you can wear again and again. Croft believes that because our workplacesContinue reading “How to Look Good for Less: Budget-Friendly Workwear”
A Melbourne-Based Made-To-Order Label Has Just Six Garments – Designed To Work Seamlessly With Your Existing Wardrobe
When Covid sent traditional retail into freefall and our need for extensive wardrobe options withered, something was ignited in Courtney McGregor, founder of made-to-order label Shé. “I realised that clothing had become overly complicated,” McGregor says, its breakneck turnover times “driving a constant need for validation”. Many of us relished the idea of wearing theContinue reading “A Melbourne-Based Made-To-Order Label Has Just Six Garments – Designed To Work Seamlessly With Your Existing Wardrobe”
JOANNE MAKAS: AN EMBODIED EXPERIENCE
The ambience of Joanne Makas’ studio is starkly different depending on what she’s working on. “When I am painting, I like listening to music; but when I am drawing, I work in silence and focus on my breath,” the Sydney artist explains. Joanne, who has a background in fashion, attended art classes at Waverley Woollahra ArtContinue reading “JOANNE MAKAS: AN EMBODIED EXPERIENCE”
JAMES KING: A NOT SO FORGOTTEN LIFE
For Sydney-born artist James King, 2003 was a watershed year. He won the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, organised by the South Australian Museum. “It was the year that changed everything, and I started to believe that painting was my true calling,” he tells. James’ figurative oil paintings and works on paper, re-contextualise found photographs from theContinue reading “JAMES KING: A NOT SO FORGOTTEN LIFE”
LEONIE NGAHUIA MANSBRIDGE: A NEW FRAME OF MIND
Born in Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr Leonie Ngahuia Mansbridge is of Ngāti Maniapoto descent, a tribe based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand’s North Island. Leonie wed and moved to Fremantle, Western Australia in the 1970s – where she has lived ever since. “I have always been creative, out of necessity,” she says. “I made allContinue reading “LEONIE NGAHUIA MANSBRIDGE: A NEW FRAME OF MIND”
TOBY RAINE: BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
“There are a few defining moments I can recall that shaped me in terms of realising I was an artist,” Toby Raine tells me. “One was a scene in Tim Burton’s Batman in which the Joker’s goons are vandalizing paintings in a museum; he prevents them from destroying a gruesome looking Francis Bacon. Bacon would comeContinue reading “TOBY RAINE: BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT”
The Cannoli Bar Team Opens 25 Tilba Street, a Quaint Espresso Bar Brimming With Italian Nostalgia
Written for Broadsheet Entering 25 Tilba Street is like stepping into the photo albums that document my parents’ childhoods. Retro leather dining chairs in a mix of burnt orange, chocolate and beige are tucked neatly under mismatched tables. Brown floral-printed tableware is near identical to what my nonna’s had for years. There’s a bar andContinue reading “The Cannoli Bar Team Opens 25 Tilba Street, a Quaint Espresso Bar Brimming With Italian Nostalgia”
Australian Puffer Jacket Label Toast Society (Made With Vegan Down) Is Inspired by Tokyo’s Vibrant Street Fashion
Written for Broadsheet Puffer jackets. They’re practical, sporty, stylish – and best of all they keep you warm. But are you aware of the cruelty often involved with stuffing them? In most cases, the staple jackets are stuffed with down –feathers found closest to a bird’s skin. Feathers are often plucked when the bird is alive,Continue reading “Australian Puffer Jacket Label Toast Society (Made With Vegan Down) Is Inspired by Tokyo’s Vibrant Street Fashion”
Stephanie Vigilante 