Replica Project x National Trust of Victoria (Melbourne Design Week 2024)

Each Replica Project begins by analysing historical costumes, with this project exploring the differences & affinities of womenswear from the interwar period (1919-1939) & contemporary fashion.

Beginning by examining & documenting the biographical wardrobe of Mrs Pattilini Wilson held in the costume collection of the National Trust of Victoria, each artefact was documented using flat lay photography as well as exterior & interior details to identify materials & cut & construction techniques. A single coffee coloured silk crepe dress (ca.1923), embellished with silk floss & metallic embroidery was selected as source material to respond to the brief. Apart from the enduring style of the dress, it was selected for its humble cut & construction probably custom made locally, in contrast to the luxurious materials which were most likely purchased abroad.

Materials, techniques & design details uncovered were explored & replicated through initial swatching & prototyping, leading to the development of multiple iterations exploring methods from costume production for filmmaking addressing form, movement, posture, time, magnification of detail, & notions of high street versus luxury ready-to-wear fashion. Collaborating with a reactive dye digital print practitioner & an art finishing costume practitioner for film, specific costume methods are explored through the manipulation of the flat lay photographs to produce the facade of the dresses. Specialised skills acquired through Amanda’s costume career & experience in Haute Couture are used to interrogate & produce the exposed interior anchoring the dress & produced by utilising traditional hand techniques juxtaposed with commercial production processes.

Each dress contains a pocket housing headphones & an audio recording of creative writing, narrating the story of the specific iteration of the dress being worn. The script is compiled of samples of female writers from the interwar period & contemporary fashion writing. The dresses, excepting two styles, are multi-sized, include generous seam allowances & hem finishes allowing for alterations & repairs & consider our social responsibility as consumers & custodians of clothing & fashion.

Replica Project is a micro-enterprise producing limited garments in parallel with a PhD research project exploring how historical costume & fashion is made & consumed & how replicating, reproducing, & translating traditional methods of making, presenting & consuming clothing can offer alternate models of fashion practice. Replica Project is conscious of the criteria for good design with an intention to positively impact our industry through the following:

A purpose to produce clothing which tells a story by creating a ‘passageway into history through desire’ & connection to the wearer. Encouraging considered purchases from consumers, the garments are designed to be worn, altered, repaired & shared. The production of Replica Project clothing applies the technical skill & knowledge Amanda brings from a career in film & Haute Couture alongside her PhD research, which contributes to producing premium garments embedded with historical references & storytelling. In an increasingly disconnected world facing problems of overconsumption, waste & bad design, Replica Project is human-centred artisanal practice offering garments embedded with history, storytelling & value through their research, development & production. Garments are produced on a pre/custom-order system, contributing to minimal material, energy & time wastage.

Design Aesthetic:

Replica Project explores the ‘replica’ as a design method to cite history & traverse the fields of costume & fashion, offering a unique aesthetic point of view. Developing & producing thoughtful propositions which consider current issues faced by the fashion industry & consumers, much care is taken when selecting archival garments to reference for the projects as well as their potential to be translated to a commercial contemporary context.

Industry engagement:

Replica Project is involved in industry engagement through relationships with suppliers & creative collaborators. Regularly presenting work across multiple contexts from consumer fashion presentations, installation & exhibition, & publications. More recently Replica Project has partnered with the National Trust of Victoria through Amanda’s PhD research as well as collaborating with Melbourne based furniture design office BMDO.

Replica Project in collaboration with the National trust of Victoria costume collection explores notions of how garments can be designed, produced, & presented with an intention to propose alternate models of fashion practice and channels of consumption.

The project referenced a single dress (c.a 1923) which had been altered, re-cut, & repaired, however presented in near perfect condition after almost 100 years. Fourteen ”replica” iterations of the original dress were made for this project.

The dresses produced demonstrate specific methods of costume production for film-making as a proposition to explore storytelling through fashion, aiming to create connection & care towards our clothing as well as presenting thoughtful design processes, skilled production & a dialogue addressing the value of garments & the practitioners who produce them.

The project advocated for more considered production & consumption of clothing & fashion through the installation of the original 1923 dress alongside the recreated replica dresses which were carefully wrapped in tissue & housed in archival boxes ready for purchase. Within each dress a pocket housed headphones & an audio recording of creative writing, narrating the story of the specific iteration of the original dress and its methods of production.

A fashion film was produced to accompany the installation which was presented in the hallway and drawing room of Tasma Terrace, a National trust historic house in East Melbourne.

Replica Project intends to contribute in an impactful way through the garments and experiences produced as well as the logistical operations of the practice. From a social perspective, replica project seeks to contribute to discussions surrounding alternative methods of fashion practice including slow & responsible, critical & expanded.

An integral intention of Replica Project is to present alternate models of presentation & consumption which tell the story of the garments, focussing attention toward the various skills & practitioners involved in their production & the value of clothing with an aim for more considered purchases & care for our clothes.

Garments are manufactured locally from our Prahran studio with a small team of contractors and all Knitwear is produced locally in Victoria. Collaborations with Victorian practitioners include dye-houses, laundries, textile printers and art finishers are integral to the outcomes produced. We work with Melbourne based suppliers in order to source our raw materials. We work with Melbourne based pattern cutters and grading services.

We collaborate with Melbourne based creatives to deliver imagery associated with each project. This includes photographers & studio spaces, stylists, models, hair and make-up artists. We collaborate with Melbourne based creatives for brand & marketing collateral from the design & copywriting through to publications and products including packaging & stationery. Working with these Victorian based freelance practitioners means highlighting the skills of each Victorian based practitioner as well as re-investing finances within the victorian community.

Circular Design and Sustainable Features:

1. Sourcing raw materials from fashion companies deeming the textiles as dead stock.
2. Biodegradable materials are used for our packaging and any marketing collateral.
3. Collaborating with artisanal Victorian practitioners to produce specialty textiles included print design and knitwear
4. Projects are developed slowly and on a small scale and are designed in a way to reduce fashion consumption.
5. Replica Project offers garment alterations and repair services for our garments.
6. Replica Project offers custom order design consultations.
7. Fostering emerging fashion practitioners by sharing technical skills and knowledge through the design and making processes, keeping these skills alive and strengthening creative community and practice.