What drew you to become a fashion designer?
My love of Australian wildflowers lead me to create patterns that naturally translated into beautiful fabric. I love giving women the opportunity to celebrate the flowers that they love through their clothing. It's been a very organic process that has been customer driven from the beginning. Western Australian women love to connect to the great natural heritage that we are so lucky to be part of.
Why was it important to you to offer a sustainable, responsible, Eco fashion line and how do you incorporate ideals such a Zero Waste into your work?
Making sustainable, responsible fashion production choices is just commonsense for us. We have a very hands on approach to all the products we create and ultimately we want to be involved in processes that have integrity. And as passionate lovers of the Australian environment we understand that we need to support the natural world in our business as well as our personal lives.
One of our fundamental design principles is to create trans-seasonal clothing that sits outside the fast fashion cycle. It's really important to us that our garments are of high quality and classic design so that they can be enjoyed for years. This is a way of ensuring value and sustainability. We limit packaging for our products wherever possible, and where we use packaging we make plastic-free choices and favour materials such as unbleached cardboard and jute string. We also use our scrap materials in inventive ways to create maximum value for the fabrics we produce.
Our retail space is also influenced by our sustainability values. We repurpose, reuse and recycle, and love to find creative ways to create shop fittings with character.
Where do your find inspiration for new work?
In the abundance and diversity of Western Australian wildflowers and our beautiful landscape. The colours of the Australian landscape and the sculptural forms of our flora are constant inspiration
What materials do you work with – organic, reclaimed, etc.?
We work with natural fibres - linens, cottons, bamboo and silk. We love playing with unbleached fabrics like calico and raw linen and seeing how the qualities of the fabrics influence our patterns.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an sustainable designer?
The competition from large fashion producers. People are so used to fast (and cheap) fashion that it's not always easy to communicate the value of sustainably made clothing, which necessarily has a higher price point.
How do you help customers understand the higher cost of sustainable garments when they are so inundated with sweat shop-produced cheap merchandise?
We communicate the value of our garments through our online presence - our website and social media. We are currently running a series of posts based on the #WhoMadeMyClothes campaign - the social sustainability of the garments we create is something that we really want to highlight. Our clothing isn't the same price as the chain stores because everyone in our production line is being paid a living wage and working in ethical conditions.
What can we look forward to seeing on the runway at Eco Fashion Week Australia 2018?
Lots of flowing fabrics celebrating the feminine, with big, bold and beautiful designs. Hand batiked silks will be our focus and the collection will be based on resort wear. As always, Western Australian wildflowers will be the true stars of our show!
How do you incorporate sustainable living in other areas of your life?
We focus on maintaining a low waste lifestyle, and being lucky enough to live in the Swan Valley we are able to shop from local growers. Purchasing handmade and high quality products designed to last is also a priority. We're lucky enough to have relationships with a lot of other makers so things like tableware, jewellery and wine are created by people who we are personally connected with. Supporting other small businesses is really important to us, as local is always more sustainable.
Links -
- Website - https://judetaylor.com
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/artistjudetaylor/
- Facebook - https://www.instagram.com/judetaylor
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/judetaylor_wa/