I respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of the unceded lands, waters and skies where my studio is situated, and pay respects to their elders past and present and emerging and the stolen generations.
Pocket Dress Protoype
The pocket dress prototype investigates how open fashion design can support personal expression through ongoing wearer participation. Designed with a versatile A-line silhouette that could accommodate a wide range of body shapes and sizes, the prototype provided a flexible framework for customisation and change.
Constructed from black hemp and covered with a patchwork of sheer organza silk pockets, the dress invites wearers to curate its appearance over time. The pockets can hold personal objects, collected materials, or printed fabric inserts, allowing colours, patterns, images, and narratives to be added, removed, and rearranged with each wear. In this way, the garment becomes a platform for storytelling, self-expression, and interaction rather than a fixed design outcome.
By enabling the wearer to continually modify the visual character of the dress, the prototype challenged conventional notions of permanence in fashion and explores clothing as an evolving artefact shaped through use. As part of a broader investigation into open fashion design, the project examines how changability, personalisation, and wearer agency could foster deeper engagement with garments and support longer-lasting relationships between people and their clothes.
The pocket dress prototype investigates how open fashion design can support personal expression through ongoing wearer participation. Designed with a versatile A-line silhouette that could accommodate a wide range of body shapes and sizes, the prototype provided a flexible framework for customisation and change.
Constructed from black hemp and covered with a patchwork of sheer organza silk pockets, the dress invites wearers to curate its appearance over time. The pockets can hold personal objects, collected materials, or printed fabric inserts, allowing colours, patterns, images, and narratives to be added, removed, and rearranged with each wear. In this way, the garment becomes a platform for storytelling, self-expression, and interaction rather than a fixed design outcome.
By enabling the wearer to continually modify the visual character of the dress, the prototype challenged conventional notions of permanence in fashion and explores clothing as an evolving artefact shaped through use. As part of a broader investigation into open fashion design, the project examines how changability, personalisation, and wearer agency could foster deeper engagement with garments and support longer-lasting relationships between people and their clothes.
