We The Makers

Model poses in a studio setting with warm white lighting casting a shadow. Wearing cream semi tailored wide leg trousers and a hand knitted vest that is collaged into various sections. Coloured pieces include green ribbing with cream and pink highlights, cream cable knit, red cable knit and bright pink accents.
We’re super excited to finally share with you a project we submitted to We The Makers Exhibition earlier this year, which is currently being showcased at the @nationalwoolmuseum until November and will be open to the public on certain days of the week or via their website https://www.wethemakers2020.com.au/
Our outfit - Home ‘Work’ - explores the future of sustainability by celebrating locality through design. This outfit brings together our love of tailoring and playful, yet workable silhouettes, with materiality as the muse. The theme of this exhibition was to express what sustainability and the future of fashion looks like for us, which for Coreprêt means taking responsibility of our creations from the beginning to end of life – grounded in biospheric values. 
In partnership with @jaimiesmithtextiles we’ve created a 3-piece look that celebrates locally sourced natural fibres [made right here in Australia by @geelongtextiles] with vintage yarns handed down through generations, drawing upon stories of our past to pave the way for a more biological and considered future.
The story right now needs to be of textile origins and the stories that go on behind the finished product. Every detail right down to the button should be conveyed to empower the wearer and the audience. With this in mind here is a detailed list of what ‘ingredients’ went into our We the Makers ensemble;
  • The Shirt and Trousers are made from 100% Australian Wool woven right here by Geelong Textile Mill and finished by Geelong Dye House.
  • The yarn is Eco Label certified which is recognised across Europe and worldwide. The EU Ecolabel is a label of environmental excellence that is awarded to products and services meeting high environmental standards throughout their life-cycle: from raw material extraction, to production, distribution and disposal. The EU Ecolabel also promotes the circular economy by encouraging producers to generate less waste and CO2 during the manufacturing process. The EU Ecolabel criteria also encourages companies to develop products that are durable, easy to repair and recycle!
  • Thread; both seams and top stitching are Scanfil 100% GOTS certified organic cotton and is dyed to OEKO-TEX® Standard 100. It is spun in the Netherlands and sourced via Sew for Good.
  • The interlining is 100% Organic Cotton fusing; 1 side is coated with Formaldehyde free resin fuse and is woven in Germany, also Oeko-Tex® certified and GOTS approved.
  • The button (trouser) is made from recycled hemp + recycled thermosetting with small amounts of binders and dyes.
The Hand Knitted Vest
Made from a combination of up-cycled wool sourced from reclaimed 100% wool jumpers [un-spin by us and re-knitted into intricate patterns] 100% Australian Merino wool from Yuruga Plains in Victoria and vintage wool inherited from Nessie’s grandmother to foster a sense of emotional and generational connectivity.
An image of a partially finished hand knitted vest. Deconstructed into each component featuring a red coloured cable knit section, cream cable knit piece, green ribbing with cream and pink highlights and a transitional shoulder piece that fades from lighter, pale pink colours right through to navy
One of the most exciting elements of this outfit is both the vest and shirt are 100% biologically circular garments; made to be easily reintegrated into the biosphere at their end of life, this is a first for our tailored pieces!
Finally, until September you can vote for your favourite outfit! If that just so happens to be ours please follow this link https://www.wethemakers2020.com.au/maker/nessie-croft/ and vote for us [voting closes in September!] 
As we sit in these dark, uncertain times I am reminded through experiences like this that the future of fashion is bright, particularly in Australia and I hope when we enter the recovery stages out of this pandemic there will be newfound value in Australian made. We have a unique opportunity to rebuild our industry and this outfit represents our interpretation of how we can celebrate local, artisanal and sustainable design. 
 
The Coreprêt Paper