Meet our EFWA 2024 Upcycler: Erica Bates

Erica Bates is a Queensland-based textile artist, designer and pattern-maker with a background in fashion and sportswear design and manufacture. Beginning with vintage garment reconstruction in the mid-1970s, Erica’s career evolved into high fashion with her garments wholesaled to boutiques across Queensland and New South Wales under her label Erica Bates Design. This transitioned into EB Sportz Australia when she pioneered the development of purpose-built triathlon clothing in Australia with the label being worn by triathletes across the world.

After a stint running her family’s farming enterprises, in 2012 Erica rediscovered her love of being creative with needle and thread, and joined the Knitting Nannas Against Gas using craftivism and gentle protest as a method of exposing the environmental and social destruction happening in the Qld gasfields. In 2014 she returned to working with vintage garments and table linens to create upcycled clothing, soft toys and accessories under the label Just Be It. 

Erica’s recent achievements include being involved in three WornOUT showcase events run by Reverse Garbage @reversegarbageqld in Brisbane, initiating community sew-ins following the 2020 Black Summer bushfires, and teaching children the skills and joy of working with repurposed cloth through soft toy-making workshops.

For the EFWA Upcycling Challenge, Erica’s hero textile is a roll of floral cotton kimono/yukata fabric that she found in a Tugun op shop more than a decade ago. Erica says, “I love this fabric. I will pair it with thrifted denim to create a showcase outfit. Teaming ancient Japanese design with modern denim fabric.”

Erica is on Instagram @it.justbe