Chantelle Lucyl

The design process began in studio with critical reflection on previous works, identifying how materiality and technical construction could be further evolved.

Starting from archived patterns and regenerated lycra offcuts, each design was trialled and reworked to explore stretch tension and sculptural adjustments. Straps, button loops, and openings were experimented with to create versatile fit across different bodies, allowing each garment to exert a comfortable hugging pressure that aims to release oxytocin and nurture the wearer’s sensuality.

Fittings and fabric testing were ongoing, reworking samples multiple times to refine functional durability, tension, and aesthetic impact. Contrasting dead-stock fabrics were integrated to explore tactile sensuality and visual tension. Each piece was draped, pattern cut, sewn, fitted, and reworked in studio to ensure professional execution and seamless construction.

The garments were then implemented into a collection that merges current styles with previous pieces, creating cohesive looks that embody longevity and reusability. Customers are shown how to style old pieces with new, extending life cycles and encouraging circular creativity.

Made-to-order production ensures no wasted stock. Additionally, a garment rental system was introduced for events to create cyclical access, making pieces available to a wider community while minimising production waste.

Each design has been professionally finished to withstand movement, swimming, or performance contexts, meeting and exceeding the brief by creating sculptural, sensual, sustainable garments that celebrate liberated expression beyond binaries.

This collection satisfies the criteria for good design by prioritising functionality, versatility, sustainability, and aesthetic innovation. Each garment integrates regenerated lycra and dead-stock fabrics to minimise environmental impact while ensuring quality and durability.

The designs use strategic stretch tension and adjustable straps to fit a range of bodies and genders, ensuring accessibility and a holistic user experience. The user experience is central to the design solution. Garments are constructed to create a hugging sensation, triggering oxytocin release, and encouraging trust and sensual liberation between wearer and garment. This emotional connection, combined with timeless sculptural aesthetics, fosters longevity in use and value.

Chantelle Lucyl sets a new benchmark for design excellence by bridging swimwear, activewear, and evening-wear into a unified sensual language. This approach challenges conventional garment categories, positioning fashion as an intimate ritual rather than seasonal consumption.

By producing locally in Melbourne’s Nicholas Building and collaborating with underground artists, musicians, and performers, the brand supports Victoria’s design culture while showcasing its innovative practices internationally.

The focus on slow fashion, craftsmanship, and community empowerment communicates the benefits of professional design investment, encouraging consumers to support local industries, value intentional design, and engage with fashion as a cultural and environmental force.

This work exemplifies how design excellence can transcend aesthetics to nurture embodied, social, and ecological transformation.

This collection solves the challenge of designing garments that are functional for swim and active contexts while existing as sculptural, sensual art pieces. The innovative approach merges regenerated lycra with adaptive construction methods to create pieces that adjust to the body with hugging tension, enabling liberation of the sensual self beyond traditional swimwear’s functional focus.

Ground-breaking design features include strap and button-loop systems that create versatile adjustments, enabling each garment to shift in form to fit different body shapes and expressions without restriction. This blurs the boundaries between gendered fashion, creating inclusive, fluid design solutions.

The design is deeply user-centred, rooted in lived experiences, sensual fittings, and reflections on body, identity, and sexuality. Each garment becomes a conduit for self-expression, intimacy, and embodied empowerment.

The work repositions swimwear and activewear as multi-context garments for nightlife, performance, or everyday wear, challenging norms of when and how such materials are worn.

Chantelle Lucyl’s SS25 collection offers a world-first design ethos where swim and active garments become sculptural objects that worship the body while remaining fully functional. Its approach to reworking old fabrics into new designs while renting out samples also pioneers a cyclical, sustainable business model that redefines garment use.

This innovation not only answers individual user needs but also creates a new opportunity in fashion for transformative sensual sustainability.

The collection creates positive impact socially, environmentally, and commercially.

Socially, it empowers wearers across gender expressions to embrace their sensuality unapologetically. The garments nurture confidence, intimacy, and freedom, becoming more than clothing but extensions of the wearer’s identity.

Environmentally, the use of regenerated lycra made from ocean plastics and dead-stock fabrics reduces textile waste and carbon footprint. Made-to-order production eliminates overstock, while the rental system extends each garment’s lifespan, promoting circular economy principles. Cutting patterns utilise all fabric, further minimising waste. The brand’s commitment to sourcing and producing locally regenerates the local fashion ecosystem, maintaining low-impact processes throughout each garment’s life cycle.

Commercially, the brand creates a new market niche between swimwear, activewear, and evening-wear, offering pieces that transcend contexts and expand consumer imagination. By fostering community collaborations with emerging musicians, performers, and nightlife artists, Chantelle Lucyl contributes to Victoria’s creative culture, strengthening its status as a global design hub.

This design process highlights the importance of investing in professional design by showcasing how garments can simultaneously nurture sensual, ecological, and economic transformation. It builds Victoria’s reputation as a region of radical, world-leading design innovation while cultivating sustainable, inclusive cultural movements that ripple into international markets.