FOMO Print | Womenswear Collection

I am excited to announce FOMO, my third collaboration with independent fashion label CHORUS part of “High Risk Dressing/Critical Fashion” exhibition at RMIT Design Hub in Melbourne.

Australian Fashion Design Council

The starting point of this collection was RMIT’s archival material from the Fashion Design Council.

The FDC (1983–1993) was a membership-based organisation established to support, promote and provoke avant-garde Australian fashion.

The aim of this collection is exploring Melbourne’s recent fashion history and designing a new collection in response to our contemporary cultural landscape.

After some research, CHORUS and I highlighted a few questions:

Australian dressing tradition?
Looking inside versus looking overseas?
Australiana iconography?
Melbourne culture today?

Independent versus commercial (CHORUS self-reflective thoughts):
What if we don’t know who we are?
What if we don’t fit in with the other designers?
What if they won’t understand our brave / strange business model?
What if our aesthetic is not commercial enough for them?

Interrogating (“what if”) instead of providing answers to promote critical thinking in design practices; which led me to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), a very contemporary concept related to our fast and hectic lifestyle.

FOMO Textile Design Rationale

I wanted to explore an Australiana print made from contemporary elements as well as the idea of cross influences between cultures (Spain and Australia). I decided to use decorative elements from the Catalan Modernism combined with a new form of Australian flora, the coffee flowers.

CHORUS provided the colour palette which I used to resemble the 80’s look and feel (a reference to the FDC) with a contemporary twist. Using the textile print and its colour palette in the background, I designed a lettering for the collection inspired by the neon sings from the 80’s.

Presenting The FOMO Collection. Each piece is locally designed, cut and made to order by Chorus. Digitally printed in Melbourne. FOMO Coat (100% cotton sateen exterior with silk/cotton lining)

Latte Pants (100% cotton sateen)

Avo Shirt (100% cotton poplin)

The third print questions Melbourne culture today versus Australiana iconography: Coffee, burgers, donuts, macarons, massive plant sales, Melbourne laneways, craft beer and avocado on toast.

As part of the “High Risk Dressing/Critical Fashion” exhibition at RMIT Design Hub, CHORUS and I were given a space to work from during our two-month residency.

Centre image by Tobias Titz.

Chorus came to my studio to chat about our collaboration together. Check out my interview here.