This Melbourne Fashion Week, we’re taking a closer look at the things that make clothing meaningful: the stories we carry with it, the hands that make it, and what happens when we choose to keep it going.
From Monday 19 October to Sunday 25 October, our CBD Cathedral Arcade store will become home to Woven Together: Celebrating 25 Years of Friendship, a collaborative exhibition by founder Kristy Barber and artist Maryanne Moodie. Drawing from their personal wardrobes and the Kuwaii archive, well-loved garments are transformed through weaving and handwork, exploring clothing as both a canvas and an archive of memories.
Rather than starting with something new, Woven Together asks what might happen when we look again at what we already have? Giving garments another life and celebrating the stories, craftsmanship and sentiment held within them.
We’ll also have a small number of Kuwaii mending kits available throughout the exhibition, featuring remnant Kuwaii fabrics. Be inspired by the weaving and mending techniques on display and take those ideas home to your own wardrobe, experimenting with ways to repair, transform and give your well-loved pieces another life.
Then, on Saturday 24 October, Kuwaii will take to the City Square Runway: Street Style, alongside a line-up of Melbourne designers and creatives. A celebration of the individuality and eclectic spirit of Melbourne / narrm, the runway will offer a first look at pieces from our Picnic Summer collection, which begins its weekly release from 15 October.
And if you’re visiting either event or wearing Kuwaii around Melbourne this Fashion Week, tag us on Instagram. We’d love to see the pieces out in the world, being worn, lived in and made your own.