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| Green Shed Upcycled models waiting their turn to take the catwalk during the "Clothing the Loop" fashion parade. |
Initiated and co-ordinated by Alison Plevey and Kelli
Donovan.
The Vault – Dairy Road Precinct – 18th October
2025
Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
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| A model from Harry's Clarry modelling one of their designs at "Clothing the Loop". |
Promoted as a collision of fashion, art, design and activism the Clothing The Loop, Sustainable Fashion Festival, was the brainchild of Australian Dance Party Director, Alison Plevey, and sustainable fashion activist and designer, Kelli Donovan.
Inaugurated as a full day event, the morning was devoted to practical
workshops among which Carol Cooke demonstrated how to turn scraps into
treasure, Nikki Hogan shared some sewing machine basics, Michele Grimston demonstrated
the art of turning favourite pieces of
worn-out clothing into wearable statement pieces, and ever-practical Crystal
Prior shared her secrets for mending and darning clothing.
In addition to all-day displays by local designers and
sustainable fashion practitioners, the afternoon sessions included a variety of
well-attended panel discussions and open forums during which speakers shared ideas
on dealing with the challenge of over-production.
The event culminated in a spectacular evening fashion parade during which some fifty-five models paraded innovative designs, some extraordinary, others practical, some strictly for fun, but all created by ten local and national designers working in the field of sustainable fashion.
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| Dancers from the Chamaeleon Collective modelling creations from the CIT design course. Photo: Alison Plevey. |
Prior to the parade, sustainable development professional, Julie Boulton, introduced Senator David Pocock, who spoke of his concern regarding over-production in the garment industry, and praising the organisers of “Clothing The Loop” for their initiative in drawing attention to this problem in such an innovative way.
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| CDP Dancer Gabriel Sinclair being assisted by Kelli Donovan, to model a garment created from fifty-five discarded garments sourced from Salvo Stores. |
Highlighting Senator Pocock’s remarks the spectacular parade began with the modelling of a remarkable garment fashioned by the team from the Fashion Design Studio, TAFE NSW, created from fifty-five garments sourced from Salvo Stores, representing the average number of clothing items purchased by every Australian last year.
Among many outstanding features of the parade were two dance
creations inspired by ideas expressed throughout the event and performed by dancers
from the Australian Dance Party performing within a circle of discarded jeans.
The first was a complex duet, choreographed and performed by
Patricia Hayes Cavanagh and Jason Pearce, mentored by Alison Plevey and Sara
Black.
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| ADP dancers Jason Pearce and Patricia Hayes Cavanagh performing during "Clothing The Loop" |
Attached to each other by repurposed fabric, and inspired by the actual process of weaving, stitching and stretching involved in the making of garments, the two dancers performed intricate manoeuvre’s involving lifts, tugging against each other, then coming together again and finally emerging, individual and entire.
Also choreographed by Plevey in collaboration with dancers,
Mia Rashid and Jahna Lugnan, the second work featured the two dancers who resembled
elegant Spanish dancers as they performed in lacy flowing white costumes, designed
by Kelli Donovan, who also utilised repurposed fabrics.
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| ADP dancers Mia Rashid and Jahna Lugnan performing during "Clothing the Loop" |
As the work progressed however, the white fluff and frilly texture
of Donovan’s whimsical designs began to conjure up images of nature, especially
birds and drifting clouds, artfully reminding the audience of how much the
world depends on nature for the production of every garment worn.
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| ADP dancers Mia Rashid and Jahna Lugnan performing at "Clothing the Loop" |
Then without pause this elegant creation was absorbed into a
seemingly endless stream of models, parading outside the circle of discarded
jeans, eventually forming a spectacular mass of extraordinarily clad humans celebrating
the possibilities of creative solutions to perplexing challenges, as DJ Ashley
Feraude turned up a pounding beat which definitely signalled party time.
Unless marked otherwise, all images in this report by courtesy of David Jenkins -Ghetto Media.
