Tickets available here
Co-Presented with @sydney_festival Commissioned and originally produced by @laboitetheatre, @atqpac & @brisbanefestival
Indigenous theatre at Belvoir supported by @thebalnavesfoundation
Fashion and art have an incredible power to tell stories, and there's no better example of this than "FLOW!" – a delightful collaborative collection by Tiwi Design and Ossom. At the Country to Couture 2023 runway in Darwin, this collection was set to dazzle and inspire, blending the worlds of fashion and indigenous art in a joyous celebration of culture and creativity. Let's just dive into the vibrant world of "FLOW!" and discover how it brings together fashion and art in a joyful symphony.
"FLOW!" is more than just a collection of clothing; it's a tapestry of culture and creativity. Ossom, our beloved slow fashion brand, and iconic Tiwi Design, one of Australia's oldest Aboriginal art centers, have joined forces to create this extraordinary collection (and it's been a third collaborative collection they present together at Country to Couture shows!). The collection draws its inspiration from the mesmerizing patterns created when a drop of petrol dances on water, resulting in a playful and sophisticated palette of metallic hues that exude an elevated and contemporary aesthetic. These colours transport wearers into a world of grace and elegance.
At the heart of "FLOW!" lies the artistic brilliance of Tiwi Design's renowned artists. The collection showcases three remarkable prints, each telling a meaningful story:
"Moon and Star" by Angelo Munkara: This print captures the celestial cycle of the moon and stars, symbolizing the passage of time and the interconnectedness of all things. Its vivid and captivating design sparks the imagination and invites wearers to dream beyond the stars.
"Pwanga" by Vivian Kerinauia: Inspired by nature's intricate craftsmanship, this print showcases the delicate beauty of a spiderweb design. It represents resilience, connectivity, and the interweaving of lives and stories, reminding us of the beauty in the little things.
"Wanarringa Sun" by Bede Tungutalum: This print radiates warmth and vitality, paying homage to the Tiwi skin group of the same name. It reflects the rich cultural heritage and vibrant energy of the Tiwi people, inviting wearers to bask in the sun's embrace.
In addition to these prints, "FLOW!" features two exclusive designs created specifically for this collection – "Ampitji Rainbow Serpent" by Alan Kerinauia and "Ampitji Rainbow Serpent" by Arnold Tipiloura. These designs seamlessly blend traditional symbolism with contemporary flair, embodying the ongoing cultural legacy of the Tiwi community.
"FLOW!" was set to make its grand debut at the Country to Couture 2023 runway alongside with 22 other collections from all over Australia that celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander textiles and fashion design. Supported by the Northern Territory Government and iconic Australian lifestyle brand Country Road, this event is a joyous platform for cultural storytelling and the sharing of knowledge.
Country to Couture has been presented alongside the annual Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) since 2016, creating a vibrant runway where innovative collections from Indigenous designers and artists across Australia take center stage. It also fosters unique collaborations between Indigenous communities and well-known Australian labels, showcasing the boundless creativity and infectious joy of indigenous culture.
"FLOW!" by Tiwi Design and Ossom is not just a collection; it's a celebration of culture, creativity, and joy. As it graces the stage at Country to Couture 2023 in Darwin, it invites us to embrace the essence of movement, grace, and elegance. This collection transcends boundaries and redefines style with a joyful spirit, reminding us that fashion and art can be a canvas for joy and cultural celebration. Don't miss the opportunity to get a piece from this extraordinary collection that tells a story of tradition, culture, and the infectious joy of life.
]]>]]>On 27 th of November OSSOM showcased it's new collection “Glory. Time and Place” in dedicated to art and crafts gallery Forager's Nest. Event was dedicated to a growing need for learning to make and appreciate original expressions of the handmade as a current reflection of our evolving culture and features a thoughtfully selected collection of art works of local artists together with a fashion runway exclusively devoted to the launch of the collection “Glory, Time and Place “ by OSSOM x Tiwi Designs.
For two years in a row brand OSSOM showcases its collections created in collaboration with Tiwi Designs in the Country to Couture Runway Show as part of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. Olga's creations were on stage of Melbourne Fashion Week and Australian Afterpay Fashion Week in Sydney. Collaborating with Tiwi Design Art Centre, with the support of Indigenous Fashion Projects, the label is proud to have celebrated First Nations textiles and talent.
And what a smooth perfect launch we had! I want to thank everyone involved, kindest Bettina, Natalie and Eloise from Forager's Nest Art Space for making this event so seamless!
Beautiful models - you are truly my dream team and thank you for saying “Yes” every time I come to you with projects and shows in my mind!
Thank you beauty queen Eleonora Scott for ability to make perfect make up within couple of hours for 12 girls, you are legend
Great thank to Beyoncé of my heart and soul- talented Iryna Pirog we felt so privileged to walk with you singing for us!
And the last but not the least- thank you my husband Sergey and my family for your support, having creative person as a family member can be hard from time to time, but you always give me power to move forward!
And as usually, collection is available online, each piece in Glory collection is made to order using handprinted textiles by Tiwi Designs - one of the oldest Aboriginal art centres in Australia
Enjoy our new collection and have amazing day!
It was so great to see our collaborative VEINS collection by Ossom x Ilma Ali shine on a stage of Brisbane Fashion Month on Friday 14 October! Being a part of a Slow Fashion Runway totally reflects our values - celebrating slow, intentional, quality fashion design that is sourced and made in ethical and sustainable ways. Ossom has been a part of slow fashion movement since the launch of its first collection in 2018, no wonder for Veins collection we decided to stick to "made-to-order" principle, offering custom made pieces thoughtfully crafted from high end fabrics like silks and smooth satins printed with artworks of Darwin based artist Ilma Ali.
Veins collection is inspired by the silent and serpentine nature of veins in every living organism focusing on natures beauty and preservation of it. The wearable artworks explore patterns on leaves and husks found in Australia. They are the veins found in a Eucalyptus leaf, a Croton and Bromeliad leaf and a Cycad Husk. These patterns expose the microscopic cells that connect us. Ilma Ali’s artworks are transformed into fabrics that have been converted into signature cuts - designed, made, and styled by Olga from OSSOM.
Eight selected looks from Veins collection were styled with colourful earrings with purpose by Johanna Goldsmith from Make Me Giddy specially created to match this collection. Joyful mood to runway was added with juicy colours of Slappa's Thongs, provided by our dear friend and supporter Denise Dunn. She kindly brought over 60 pairs for us to play and match them with outfits. It was so amazing to see extremely gorgeous models doing defile with our collection under the lights on a stage on Queen Street, it was definitely a moment to remember!
Huge thanks to Laura Churchill and all amazing team of Brisbane Fashion Month for putting together this runway and running it soooo smothly! As very often we organise our fashion shows ourself, we know how much work is going on to make it look nice and easy!
Thanks to all the designers who joined us for the Slow Fashion Runway:
@Polkapolly with Theresa Evelyn Designs
@Ossom.au
@PinkPineappleau
@OliveTheLabel
@SydneyDuncanco
@Fraim_of_Mind
It's so good to be surrounded by like minded people!
As you remember, our VEINS collection is available here
Each time you place your order, Olga and Ilma do happy dance
Thank you :)
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Well, the most powerful fashion forecasting agency WGSN promised and Coloro confirmed, that in 2023 we all will be wearing Digital Lavender. One of our absolute favourites comes back to top trends of the year in a beautiful pastel tone that is helping people to create feeling of safety and peace (we all need it, aren’t we?)
As last two years we have been deeply discovering digital world of isolation and lockdowns, this colour is a helper for those, who wants to go back to real world! New hue is created as a bridge between reality and digital world, dissolving boundaries between generations, genders and focusing on inner feelings of solace and integration.“Digital Lavender, our Color of the Year for 2023, signifies that stability, serenity, and digital escapism that so many of us have built into our recuperative rituals to both protect and improve our mental health in challenging times.” - Coloro head of content Joanne Thomas said.
2023’s WGSN colour is a neutral pastel tone that will be great in so many colour combinations. Mix it with bit of Luscious Red for more sensual look (even as a lipstick!) , dilute it in earthy tones of Sundial, create a calm and romantic look with Tranquil Blue or add that retro touch with Verdigris! I personally love wearing lavender with nude and tan colours and adding a bit of gold – it creates easy but elevated look, that effortless chic that we like so much!
More and more we see key colours and colour trends as a response to the situation in world, second year in row we use a colour for “harmonious escape”, looking for piece and reveal our stress by submerging in it.
“Our S/S 23 palette reflects a more hopeful and optimistic view of the future,” adds Jenny Clark, Head of Color at WGSN. “We anticipate challenges ahead, but we’re hopeful that our consumers would engage with these colors positively.”
What are your thoughts about Digital Lavender? Is it a colour you would wear?
Check our latest interview for Habitat Point here Green business spotlight: Olga Bryukhovets - Habitatpoint
]]>The Darwin-born musician Jessica Mauboy is a true role model for youngsters. After building her career and becoming 100% Australian Idol, author of “Never Be the Same”, “Little Things”, "Glow" and many more songs we love so much, is coming back to Darwin to give back to her community by supporting remote art centres.
Famous not only for her strong modulated voice, but as well for her beautiful soul and amazing personality, that she kept on her journey to chart and television success, Jessica pays respect to her Land and has returned to Larrakia country to take on a new role supporting remote community artists, who will share their works and textiles at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) and related fashion shows later this year.
"There's a spirit and a sense of a connection to land, a connection to community and the people you love," Jessica said. Respecting your Country and knowing where you came from is fundamental for the personal development. "You can make it anywhere if you really believe in it, believe in yourself and who you are."
We are really delighted that our collaboration with one of the oldest Australian Aboriginal art centres Tiwi Designs is recognised to be a part of this project and happy to see Jessica glowing in custom made piece from our Elemental collection.
Read full story here: Jessica Mauboy returns home to Darwin to support remote community artists - ABC News
Want to support Aboriginal art? Help amazing team from Ikuntji Artist to publish book about our fabrics, our stories, our artists and our collaborations out there and we need your help to do so! Please support this book:
https://www.pozible.com/profile/ikuntji-artists
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My Grandma was extremely elegant and highly educated women – if you look at Gabriel Coco Chanel's photos from 50's – I can tell you, my grandma Zoe looked exactly the same (but she didn't smoke and was a lot nicer and kinder person!).
She lived in Soviet Union most of her life – country famous for Ballet, literature and space ships, but unfortunately with lack of necessary everyday products like toothpaste, underwear and households items. And when I thought back to my early childhood years recently, I have realized, that my grandma had quite sustainable lifestyle.
Even she was born in remote village close to Kostroma, she and her sisters have natural sense of style and good eye for details. Plain colours, minimalistic and clean cuts, good fit of clothing and elegant accessories made her look like she is getting her clothing from abroad and very often she was asked if she is an actress. In fact all her wardrobe was “made in USSR” mass production clothing with couple made to measure statement pieces that she had worn for decades (great rule to create excellent basic wardrobe for decent $$. Have you read my post about it? Here is the link Cost Per Wear (CPW) or To buy or not to buy, that is a question – OSSOM AUSTRALIA
Yes, at that time all clothing was worn numerous times, if it didn't fit one family member – then it would be remade into something else for younger generation. My grandfather's shirt worn for couple of years then became my mothers top, then in couple more years it would become cloth for cleaning (all the buttons, hooks and embellishment was always carefully removed from the garments and stored in metal jar from the Danish cookies – I still remember gorgeous print on it!) Does it remind you of something? Yes, you are exactly right, its Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – triple R's of sustainability!
We used to store jars and different size tins to reuse them for storage of miscellaneous goods. As era of plastic bags started in Soviet Union quite late in comparison with other world, my grandma used to treat big plastic bags as a masterpieces from famous artist (actually a lot of them had some famous paintings printed on - Mona Lisa was one of my fav!) – washing and drying them to reuse them till they are completely worn out. She would be really disappointed to know, that nowadays about one trillion single-use plastic bags are used annually across the globe. That’s nearly 2 million every minute, scary, isn't it? www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-how-much-disposable-plastic-we-use/
Having our country house ( “dacha” in Russian) – was the way to have homegrown fruits and veggies in summer which were carefully cured and canned to provide us vitamins during winter time. Nothing was wasted, we had most unforgettable recipes to use everything what was growing. I still cant forget when my mom found a recipe how to make jam from zucchini, we all refused even to try it! Deficit time accustom my family to appreciate and care about things they had by reusing them, fixing and mending them, repurposing them to prolonged lifespan of each item. In the end I can say that my Grandma taught me basics of Sustainability and even now we live in era of consumerism and shopping with no limits (except money), I use this principles in my everyday life 'cause they help me to save Planet!
Writing this post and going through my grandma's photos made me so thankful for everything she gave me, she was always and will be a role model for me, thank you for letting me share this story with you!
]]>Christmas is time of love, sharing and giving! But so often even gifts which we choose with our best intention are unwanted and unloved. Here are some statistic data we found about Australians Christmas shopping which is absolutely shocking!
Crazy, no?
We love Christmas time. But more than that we love Planet Earth and we want to reduce impact of over consumption, plastic waste and products that go to landfill! If you are with us, here are couple of useful advises for your Eco-friendly Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Sustainable Christmas and Happy Eco-Friendly New Year!
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OSSOM is hitting museums!
A wonderful fashion show CURIOSITY & THE CLOTH took place in September in WA Museum in Perth, Western Australia. A fashion event like no other, it featured designers from Kenya, India, Malaysia, and Thailand alongside First Nations designers from Western Australia & Northern Territory (that's us!). More info about this event Fashion - IOTA21 (indianoceancrafttriennial.
Two dresses that we have created in collaboration with Ikuntji Artists and Flying Fox Fabrics for the Frock On 2021 were presented at the fashion show and will be open to the public at Curiosity &The Cloth exhibition in WA Musem. The Frock On project brought together 28 talented makers/fabric aficionados from around Australia and the USA and 70+ meters of fabulous hand-printed fabric designed and produced by Ikuntji Artists. We are so thrilled with the collaborative outcomes and proud to work with such honored artists who designed the fabrics we worked with - this year Eunice Napanangka Jack has won the Textile Design category for her 2020/2021 Textile collection at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA)! To read more about NIFA go here NIFA 2021 Nominees - NIFA | National Indigenous Fashion Awards
Ikuntji Artists is a member-based, not-for-profit, Aboriginal art centre. It is situated in the community of Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji), and has a board of seven Indigenous directors all of whom live and work locally. Haasts Bluff has a population of around 150 people. Make sure you check incredible artworks and textiles on their website - Aboriginal Art from Central Australia near Alice Springs (ikuntji.com.au)
We are really pleased that our dress in dusty rose Tencel featuring gorgeous Puli Puli print by Keturah Zimran won the Fabulousness (sheer over-the-top-ness) Award! When you work with handprinted fabrics, the main goal is to elevate and celebrate fabric design, and we are glad that we could do it with the dress style we have chosen.
Here is link to CURIOSITY & THE CLOTH Fashion Show Curiosity & the Cloth: IOTA21 Fashion Event - 2021.09.19 (Full Show) on Vimeo We love how each designer is on a journey of discovery within the material culture of their homeland, whether through craft, surface decoration, shape, or environmental sustainability by up-cycling and re-purposing discarded or pre-worn garments. Many translate traditional aesthetics and ancestral visual language into internationally recognised brands, creating new fashion narratives that are deeply rooted in the culture of place.
Darwin based slow fashion brand OSSOM Australia showcased its Elemental Collection in the Country to Couture Runway Show as part of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. Collaborating with Tiwi Design Art Centre, with the support of Sista Girls and Indigenous Fashion Projects, the label is proud to have celebrated First Nations textiles and talent.
Elemental Collection
An exciting and fulfilling moment in the evolution of OSSOM Australia, the collection presented featured beautiful silk, cotton, and linen fabrics handprinted by Aboriginal artists from the Tiwi Design Art Centre. A reflection of the artworks at Tiwi, the garments designed for the Elemental Collection are bold, minimalistic with predominantly geometrical lines with free and flowing silhouettes. In line with OSSOM’s values, the capsule collection features garments that can be styled in many ways for versatility and to ensure they are environmentally friendly.
With thoughtful design, the loose silhouette of the garments facilitates the showcasing of artwork screen printed into the premium quality natural fabrics. To complete the looks, a range of accessories was made from fabric leftovers that helps to minimise fabric wastage, a hallmark of OSSOM’s slow fashion approach.
The Elemental Collection was proudly made with permission and under the supervision of the Tiwi Design Art Centre by a non-Indigenous designer. Tiwi Design is one of the oldest and most artistically diverse art centres in Australia and produces ochre paintings on canvas and bark, ironwood carvings, screen printed fabrics, ceramics, bronze, and glass sculptures as well as limited edition prints. Tiwi Design’s aim is to promote, preserve and enrich Tiwi culture. “I am incredibly honoured to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Tiwi Design for my latest collection, the runway was a night of triumph and happiness” says Olga.
Starring in the runway show were four Sista Girls, also talented artists from Tiwi Designs, Nicola, Patricia, Lima, and Buffy. The Sista Girls strutted down the catwalk with confidence, joy, and style. As well as helping to handprint all the textiles, they also created a collection of hand painted sneakers to accent their looks.
OSSOM Australia
Founded by Olga Bryukhovets, OSSOM Australia was created to make stylish, unique, and timeless slow fashion accessible to everyday women. Olga takes inspiration from the beauty, gracefulness, and intelligence of women all around the world. OSSOM’s collections are designed to make women look, and most importantly feel, special and exude confidence. With the preservation of the environment top of mind, OSSOM’s clothing is handmade with natural fibres including linen and is made to order to eliminate over-production. OSSOM is known for bright prints and simple comfortable styles that become the foundation of your wardrobe with each piece beautifully complementing each other and the clothing you already own.
]]>The first question is what we believe is sustainable fabrics are. To me, it’s a combination of many factors:
It pretty obvious that natural fabrics are much better than synthetic fabrics like polyester as they are biodegradable. But what if it’s recycled polyester?
Recycling polyester is good as you can do it pretty much endlessly, most of the recycled polyester uses PET as raw material, so less plastic bottles will be landfilled!
I think recycling polyester is an amazing initiative, it helps us to clean our Planet, but so often fast fashion brands use this for the greenwashing as their “recycled garments” may actually contain only 20-30% of recycled materials in them, keeping other 70-80% to regular polyester which is extremely non-sustainable material. So make sure, you read all labels when you buy recycled polyester clothing.
Ok, we don’t want those synthetic fabrics, let’s choose something natural! Cotton? How good is it?
Cotton is a natural fabric produced from fluffy cotton bolls (pure cellulose!), then spun into yarn and woven to create a soft, durable fabric. Cotton is one of the two (together with polyester) most popular textiles all over the world, if you open your closet definitely you will find there lots of different types of this material.
Cotton is biodegradable, but the production of this fabric requires enormous quantities of water and pesticides, pollute waters are causing some health issues and very often ruins ecosystem (such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia, the Indus Delta in Pakistan and the Murray Darling River in Australia).
WWF assumes that to produce one t-shirt or one pair of jeans it requires about 20,000 liters of water! Unbelievable, that some of these T-shirts go to landfill never worn or worn once.
What about organic cotton?
Organic cotton is grown without the use of toxins, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers, using eco-friendly methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. But! There are a couple of researches about how much water needs organic cotton and the results are totally controversial!
Taking a T-shirt, Textile Exchange said, to produce it, conventional cotton would use 8200 liters of water compared to 705 liters for organic. To make a pair of jeans, conventional cotton would take 37513 liters !!! of water compared to 3528 liters with organic.
Another research held by Cotton Inc. (a not-for-profit group, works to help boost the industry’s demand and profitability—though it insists any claim it makes must be vetted by its legal department and the US Department of Agriculture.) shows that it will take you about 1100 l of water to grow enough conventional, high-yield cotton to produce a t-shirt. To grow the same amount of organic cotton for a t-shirt, however, requires about 2500 liters of water.
Where is the truth? Hard to understand as the cotton industry has one of the most powerful lobbies. So, I think we should wait for more researches to be done on this subject to clarify real numbers.
The next textile we want to speak about is Linen – vegan-friendly natural fabric made from flax plant fibers. The flax plant is endurant and doesn’t have particular soil requirements (it can grow on quite poor soil), using far less water in its consumption than cotton. According to the European Confederation of Linen and Hemp, “Across its lifecycle, a linen shirt uses 6.4 liters of water” which is a great indicator of sustainability for me! Linen is a strong, biodegradable fabric with a long lifespan and can easily be recycled making this fabric one of the most environmentally friendly. To tell you the truth we find this fabric the best to work with, check our latest collection of linen basics here: https://ossom.com.au/collections/basic-linens
Another extremely popular and eco-friendly fabric is Hemp. Hemp has been around for thousands of years, was quite underestimated last century, and got back in fashion recently. Hemp fabric is very similar to linen, and as flax does, Hemp uses a small amount of water, doesn’t need pesticides, and can grow in almost all soil conditions. We are looking forward to working with this fabric but for the moment we have difficulties finding a reliable supplier of Australian hemp (give us a shout if you know one!)
We hope, it’s now a bit more clear about the sustainability of the fabrics, so you can vote for the future of the planet next time you go shopping. But please don’t forget, that even the most eco-friendly garment is bad for the planet if you wear it once or twice only, so be mindful, reuse, repair, and recycle!
You may or may not believe in global warming, but there are numbers that we can’t argue with. Worldwide, 60% of vertebrate animals have been wiped out since 1970. Freshwater habitats are the worst hit, with populations having collapsed by 83% @thegiardian says. These numbers are frustrating and shocking, it’s alert to us that it’s time to make a change!
We always think - that’s not me killing all those animals, I can’t do much, but actually, it’s a lot of power in your hands and yes, you can change it!
So, here is some super easy things that you can do in your life to make it more sustainable. Sustainable living describes a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the Earth's natural resources. It is often called as "earth harmony living" or "net-zero living"
Basically all we need to do is to reduce our consumption. Easy to say but looks hard to do it? Here is our list of 10 easy steps towards sustainability:
Just to remind you, there are three primary colours – red, blue and yellow. Why they are primary? Because we can’t mix them from other colours. Colours which you can get by mixing primary colours are called secondary – its green, orange and purple.
ORANGE
Its a low-saturated, warm, light, colour of bliss, glow, colour of sunsets. Orange contributes to a good mood, stimulates our emotions, creates a sense of well-being and fun. It symbolizes pleasure, celebration, nobility, releases emotions, raises self-esteem, teaches forgiveness. An excellent antidepressant!
Orange is located between the red and yellow on the colour spectrum, therefore it has the properties of both of these two colors. It energizes like red and promotes thought process like yellow. On a psychological level, orange clears away unpleasant feelings, helps to accept negative events in life, helps to forgive another person, to let go of an insoluble situation.
Orange colour has been in fashion for a long time, fashionistas of XIX century preferred lighter shades during the day, choosing more saturated shades for the evening time. Its was quite popular to make a custom shade of orange and give it some interesting name, for example, one fashion magazine wrote in January 1862: "The French do not miss a single wonderful incident without applying it to their fashion. After Vesuvius eruption recently - they considered it as an indispensable duty to glorify this event and invented the new colour called "Vesuvius." It is nothing more than orange flowing into the punch. " Bloody orange, that’s impressive!
GREEN
Did you know, that from the millions of colour tones, our eyes distinguish the most all shades of green? Maybe because it is a colour of life. Green is rich, calm, fresh, gentle, pacifying, lively colour. It symbolizes peace, calmness, love, growth, incredible harmony. This colour unites us with nature and helps to be closer to each other.
Green has a positive effect on the nervous system, soothes irritation, relieves fatigue, pacifies, invigorates, refreshes, relieves nervous tension.
From the fashion perspective, it looks like green was always there – this colour is much easier to dye than red or blue, so it was one of the most common colours of clothing. Since the middle of the XIX century with the invention of chemical dyes we see all that bright and gorgeous shades of green – olive, sage, mint, lime, spring green and many more! My absolute favourite is emerald green, I found that it works almost for all skin tones!
PURPLE
That’s my absolute favourite (I found it quite hard to wear it in clothing but love accessories and shoes in this colour). Purple is intense, cold, heavy, calm, mysterious. It symbolizes wisdom, maturity, higher intelligence, deepness. Purple gives a luxurious look to outfits, but in large quantities can cause a touch of melancholy.
It’s a very artistic colour that promotes inspiration, compassion, sensitivity. Purple is a majestic colour that has always been present in the clothes of kings and clergy. It will help you learn to accept everything that happens with a piece in heart, will calm your soul and nourish it with the energy of inspiration.
As for me – purple is the perfect colour for evening gowns, that will add a luxurious touch to even simple style and will make the whole look mysterious!
Hope this post was interesting, in next one we will speak about miracle of colour wheel, stay tuned!
An interesting fact about colour:
When we start to speak about colours it’s good to know some basic info. So, lets start!
There are three primary colours – red, blue and yellow. Why they are primary? Because we can’t mix them from other colours. But if you have red, blue and yellow, you can make all colours in the world by mixing them in right proportions.
Red:
Colour of excitement, love, passion, power, and danger in Western cultures. Red is most active among the colours, it’s a very saturated and hot colour.
It brings positive emotions and joy, raises energy levels, makes you wanna dance, move, communicate, create! It’s actually stimulates the nervous system and improves blood circulation, increases sexuality and sex drive.
This colour gives you extra self-confidence and helps you to find ways of solving problems! And if we are talking from the fashion perspective, red is one of the most classic colours, it was there from the times of The Roman Empire and it will be there forever.
Blue
One of my favorites! Serious, mysterious, and pure, this colour is a symbol of faith, hope and fate. Blue is considered the safest color choice around the world since it has many positive associations.
Blue is a very calming colour which contributes to mental and physical relaxation, creates a safe atmosphere. On physiological level blue hills insomnia, it’s a good anesthetic, rejuvenates and raises creativity! Blue clears your mind, helps with decision making!
Blue colour was always popular, but only in the 15th-century indigo dyes were brought to Europe from the East. And since then blue had its triumph: it began to appear in the clothes of noble people and, over time, practically supplanted red colour.Each season we have different shades of blue in trend, but this year blue is a total winner - Classic blue is a colour of 2020 by Pantone!
Yellow
Yellow is colour of attraction, it evokes sympathy and positive emotions: fun, a pleasant feeling of well-being, happiness, liberation, movement, independence, youth. A warm, light, bright, flowing, joyful colour. Yellow colour stimulates mental activity. It is associated with intelligence and expressiveness.
Yellow helps you accept new ideas and other people's perspectives. This is the colour of optimism, it promotes better self-organization and concentration.Yellow colour has complicated relations with fashion, since ancient times, dyers used different roots and bark of plants to achieve different shades of yellow. Rhubarb, fustic and onion peel dyes were available for everyone, so brown and dull yellow tones have long been considered the colours of the lowest class. Dyes that provided high quality, bright and durable colour were expensive and the main consumers of such fabrics were only rich people.Definitely not the most popular, but yellow comes back to fashion every now and then in beautiful mustard, turmeric, honey and ochre shades!Did you know what having a basic wardrobe makes your shopping a lot easier and saves you heaps of money? All you need is to find that couple of styles of tops and bottoms that sit perfectly and understand your colour preferences and combinations that look flattering with your skin/eyes and hair colour (I promise to write you about colour schemes in the next post).
So where do you start? I would suggest starting with the clothes you already have. Put all your clothes out from the wardrobe, try them on in front of the mirror and think, if you like the way they sit, did you wear them last 6 months and will you wear them next year. If not – give your preloved clothes to friends or donate to op shops, get creative with upcycling, just don’t throw them in the bin as they will go directly to landfill and it’s definitely not good.
To make it tidy and easy to find stuff, I personally organize all clothes in my wardrobe by colour (it makes it so easy to combine). You can do the same or can use tops-skirts-dresses-pants method, find what is most comfortable for you.
So now after you have cleaned your wardrobe you know all treasures you have there and can easily find out what do you need to create that perfect basic wardrobe.
First of all, building the Basic wardrobe (the simplest and most ingenious solution in the fashion world), will always help you out.
My Five tips to build your perfect basic wardrobe:
- Things should be comfortable and should relate with your lifestyle.
- Things should be your size, they should not wait until you lose/gain weight or get in better shape - only perfect fit accepted!
- Things should be suitable for your personality. Do not chase fashion. The basic wardrobe should have universal classic things, and fashionable nuances can always be added using accessories.
- The quality of basic things is a must! Pay a bit more, but choose well-made garments. After all, you will wear them for several seasons.
- Each new item that you buy should be combined with at least three things from your base wardrobe. So going shopping keep in mind all the core pieces you have already got.
So as you understood, the main idea is to understand what colour is perfect for you and find couple of flattering styles of clothing and then just combine it in multiple ways!
Want to go a bit further than Basic? No problems! Choose minimalism. This is the best option for people who has limited time to deal with shopping, style and trends. So, couple tips regarding minimalistic wardrobe: ⠀
Minimal amount of colours and prints, less details, minimalistic design of clothes makes shopping fast and easy, same as getting dressed everyday.
Hope you will enjoy reorganizing your wardrobe and get heaps of new looks from your favourite pieces!
So, what does CPW mean? Cost Per Wear (CPW) has a simple idea behind it: the value of an item is directly related to how much you use it. Basically, it is a purchase price plus cost of maintenance divided by the total number of wears of this item.
For example, you bought a dress for a special occasion and you’ve worn it once, so the price you have paid for it will be its cost per wear. Another example: you have bought casual linen pants for $150 which you loved and worn for two summer seasons (about 60 times), so the cost per wear for your pants will be 150/60=$2.5 That’s really cheap!
And if you compare similar clothes but of different quality? Mass and Middle market for example?
Synthetic T-shirt from the mass market you can buy for $10, but it will look awful after you wear it a couple of times. Quality T-shirt from organic cotton will cost you $40 but you will wear it for a couple of years, making CPW really minimalistic.
Usually, we say, that good CPW is $1, so basically if you have paid $40 for a T-shirt you have to wear it 40 times.
If you actually analyze your shopping behavior using CPW criteria you may understand, that sometimes paying more means paying less in the end. Investing money in well-made basics that are easy to combine and have timeless style is much better than buying “must-have of this season” which you will never wear again (though fashion is cyclical, you may wear it again in 10-15 years haha!)
So next time when you go shopping, ask yourself how many times you will wear this item and will you wear it next season. I believe that it’s one of the steps towards sustainable living.
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When you make
Thanks to my modeling background in the fashion industry, I pretty much understand how to organize
So, to start with, I would totally suggest browsing for the
After you know
And now we get to super important step – finding the right photographer. That’s a complicated one! But as you have already mood board for your
After you have chosen a couple of photographers, meet them, show your references, talk about the result you need (
When you know who will be your photographer, it’s easier to work as a team – usually, photographers have good connections with model agencies, make up artists and know great locations, so you can always ask for help with choosing a location or getting right make up artist.
And then….
I’m pretty sure you will have a great experience doing your
And here is a couple of backstage photos of my recent shooting. Thank you, my dream team, for doing it!
Photographer: Zoe Claire Photography (she is extremely talented and knows well how to work with models!)
Models: gorgeous Eliza, Kodi, and Paige from Passerella Models, super beautiful and very professional models!
Make up: Kat from NK Darwin, always doing it perfectly, no retouch needed!
Hair: Comb Culture, that was our first collaboration and I’m extremely happy with the result!
Location: Stone House wine bar – my favorite bar in Darwin!
]]>Personally for me was pretty important to see my son Leo's first steps, hear his first words, make his first achievements together. That's why I have chosen to start my small business in women's fashion and sew from home. Was it hard? Yes, especially when you see your little one running around with scissors trying to cut all you have just made or playing with threads (and then it's your mum turn to play rolling them all back) :)
So for all those who are thinking about starting
Three tips for mums wanting to start a business:
How to balance mum and business life? You have to prioritize things - starting from your family life up to every day to-do list. It’s still only 24 hours in a day, so do things which really important for you!
Swapping “sustainability” for “responsibility”, as Vanessa Friedman suggested at this year’s Copenhagen Fashion Summit, is a good start!
Sustainability is strongly related to 3 P – People, Planet and Profit. Unfortunately, most brands are focusing more on profit than on other Ps. So, what about People? And Planet?
If you go shopping almost all
Still due to lack of transparency heaps of garments we buy
Using a linear business model, many fashion brands work on the “take-make-dispose” basis wasting resources, and to be sustainable, fashion business has to change to the circular type of business model based on reuse, resource efficiency, sharing economy – it will help to reduce pollution and provide resource depletion.
What does it mean the circular economy?
The circular economy tries to decouple economic growth from the depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation. Ideally, in a circular economy, there is no waste!
It tries to do so by creating a system that reduces, reuses and recycles materials in production, distributions, and consumption processes.
There are two different types of resource efficiency loops that are specific for the circular economy. The first loop is a product-specific loop that focuses on keeping product life as long as possible by using quality production and materials + repair of garments.
Oh, it’s still so much things to read about, but I found this topic extremely interesting, so I will try to make changes to my small ethical business towards circularity!
]]>Of course, it's always best to hand wash your linens, but you can use as well delicate cycle if you machine wash with temperature not higher than 30° C.
Make sure that you don't use washing products that contain CHLORINE - it damages flax fiber and washes out. As well to prevent fabrics from fading, add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water when rinsing.
To make your white linen garments easier to wash, follow
DRYING
My way is to dry my linens outdoors in a horizontal position - I love the smell of fresh linen after drying outdoors plus it makes your linen clothes wrinkle less (bye-bye iron!). But it's very important to make sure that you dry your linens not under direct sunlight - with our strong Australian sun, may fade.
If you are drying indoors, you should first thoroughly shake garments - it will straighten the fabric. Place your linens to dry away from heating appliances and please don't forget to avoid direct sunlight.
IRONING
I love "crush linen" look, so I usually dry my and don't iron them. But if it's not your case, consider that linen is best ironed wet, so do not let your linens totally dry out or use water spray to them before ironing.
Iron your linen garments at the maximum temperature from the front side - it will bring back to linen fabric its original shine.
'Get It On 2018' is a celebratory event that brings together Australian Aboriginal fabric design and people who like to sew, with the aim to showcase Indigenous hand-printed fabric designs and bring attention to their versatility; showcase participants' skills as designers and sewers; promote the wearing of handmade clothing and slow fashion and to provide a platform for emerging designers.
We are so proud to announce that our brand OSSOM got “Gorgeousness award” for the beautiful ‘Fishnet’ strapless formal dress for the #GetItOn2018 project!
I have started working in Fashion when I was 13 y.o. as a model in my home town - Odessa, I had my first modeling experience in Paris when I was 15. Since then for 10 years I was literally "person of the world' - I worked in over 30 different countries coming back to Ukraine just to restore my energy and see my family.
Working with famous fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle, Madame Figaro, etc. showed me a different point of Fashion - the world of beautiful garments, of unique masterpieces made by famous designers, the world of iconic items which will be in the history of Fashion for a long time! but as well I have noticed the dark side of Fashion - a huge impact on nature and enormous quantities of never worn clothing. Since then I became a big fan of Vintage clothing and op-shops, I believe that you can look stylish no matter how much money you've spent on your outfit.
In order to implement my fashion ideas in real I've done a "Women clothing constriction and production" course, made my first couple of pieces with my mum's old sewing machine and I fell in love with making clothing!
In may 2018 I have started my own clothing brand - my hobby and my love for fashion are united under a proud name OSSOM (slang version of awesome).
OSSOM strives to provide exceptional clothing and accessories for women. The hallmark of OSSOM is to create affordable, high-quality and unique outfits to inspire every woman look and feel special and confident. At OSSOM every piece is made with love using natural fabrics, bright prints and simple comfortable styles.
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