Cameron Robert McCormick is a household name in Manila, which, admittedly, is a city of a few thousand.
He is well known for partnering with the local leather manufacturer to create Lady Gaga-inspired heels, dressing girls in custom dresses, and using his edgy mom as one of his models.
While not necessarily a thriving fashion hub, with only one clothing store that doubles as a hardware store, McCormick found opportunities to express himself and fuel his passion.
“I was always interested in fashion and dressing up, I loved book week at school,” she said.
McCormick recruits friends to model his clothes.(ABC New England: Kathleen Ferguson)
“There used to be Vogue magazines on the newsstand and I think there would be one or two a month coming in and I would be one of those who would buy them,” he said.
The 26-year-old is expanding his reach after launching his namesake label.
She returned home during the pandemic and used the opportunity to launch her brand, which focuses on made-to-order pieces to ensure accessibility and sustainability.
“The country has given me space,” he said.
“I’ve been able to set up a studio here and I can focus a lot more of my time on it because I’m not traveling at the fast pace of Sydney.”
Cameron Robert McCormick uses his agronomist father’s ute as a mobile studio for a photo shoot.(ABC New England: Kathleen Ferguson)
Her return home and the launch of her first line have been made even more special thanks to her talented childhood friends and a widower who donated a shed full of fabric.
The vintage floral prints in their collection are as authentic as they come.
“It was basically a full fabric storage shed because she [the late wife] I was a quilter,” he said.
“Sadly she had passed away and she thought I would be the best person to have it so I used a lot of her fabrics in my first collection.”
He also enlisted three friends to model, photograph, and provide makeup and a farm for his collection’s first photo shoot.
McCormick’s label was woven with the support of his family and community.
“My biggest fans have been from home, you know, they’re the ones that have been keeping an eye on you,” he said.
McCormick is not alone in seeking to sustainably produce high-end fashion from the NSW region.
Mufti-day rebel creates his own label
Meg Wilcher also took every opportunity to dress up during her school years.
His favorite form of rebellion during his teenage years in Tamworth was the clothes he wore.
Meg Wilcher used fashion to express herself while growing up in the country.(ABC New England: Kathleen Ferguson)
The 28-year-old Melbourne-based fashion designer would pack a couple of extra clothes on mufti-days to wear once she left the family home.
“I think I’ve always had this inner rebel side that just hates feeling trapped or conforming,” she said.
“There are pictures of me when I was five years old and my favorite outfit was a double belted tank top, mini skirt, leopard print, with multiple butterfly barrettes in my hair.”
Interestingly, the designer did not stick with textiles as her subject despite having learned to sew from her mother, who was a textile teacher.
Wilcher attributed the decision to creative differences with the teachers.
But the move was an early sign of her unwavering commitment to expressing her authentic self, which helped guide her in the world of fashion.
Wilcher’s time with major brands exposed her to the realities of mass production and the damaging effect the industry has on the environment, but also galvanized her to help create change.
“[I was] get slapped in the face with all these extreme examples of textile waste creating these big footprint garments that wouldn’t sell,” he said.
Meg Wilcher’s label has sustainability and mental health at its core.(Supplied: Meg Wilcher)
“I could use my platform and my voice to set an example and standards.”
Wilcher is working towards what he thinks should be the norm, bringing his label, Après Studios, completely grounded in improving sustainability.
But the process hasn’t been easy or cheap, especially when some brands aren’t getting on board yet.
“I’m always walking a tightrope, but the higher the demand, the higher the supply,” he said.
Wilcher is not only considerate of her impact on the environment, but also of the people who want to wear her clothes.
“I have a pretty strong feeling about creating things that fit a purpose to begin with, trying to do it as responsibly as possible, but also as inclusively as possible,” he said.
Now she’s balancing ethical fashion with a new vision for her brand, one that puts a spotlight on mental health.
“My rebranding is moving a little more towards dressing to your mood and honoring how you feel and checking in on others.”
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From grandma’s house to a fashion show
Elizabeth Murray grew up in Nemingha, just outside Tamworth, where she learned to sew at the age of four and completed a highly competitive TAFE fashion course.
The young designer said she found her style during the course, but it was her grandmother’s taste in fashion that first inspired her.
Elizabeth Murray wants people to make their wardrobes more sustainable. (Supplied: Elizabeth Murray)
She said her grandmother “always wore matching colors and matching roses.”
“We always got ready to go to church and my grandmother always dressed us.”
The couple explored styles in op stores, but some of the strands they picked up were deemed too flashy to debut on the high street and were reserved for her grandmother’s house.
A model wears clothes by Elizabeth Murray.(Supplied: Elizabeth Murray)
“The Vinnies in Tamworth was crazy, it’s one of the best operating stores ever,” he said.
Saving remains an important part of her personal mission statement as a way to limit waste, be creative, and not get consumed by the lure of a new outfit for every occasion.
“People need to realize that just having a set wardrobe of a few things is okay, you don’t have to have a new outfit every time,” she said.
Murray is taking a year off after the intensity of finishing her fashion course during the coronavirus pandemic.
When his label is ready for launch, he plans to make it Australian-made to create local jobs and ensure he does his part to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.
But there is one thing she wants consumers to do now to help the cause tread less on this planet.
“My brand is definitely going to be about things that you can wear over and over again and if you need something to spice it up… go to the op store,” he said.
Source: www.abc.net.au