An Interview with RAW Sydney Fashion Designer of the Year 2013: Alexandra Malpass
With designs that enthral and inspire, Alexandra Malpass' breathtaking graduate collection "Numinous" is really something special. This emerging designer dares to break the mould of the fashion industry with her skilful use of fluid draping fabrics and unique prints. Through her exploration of the human psyche and the emotional experiences we all encounter during our lives, Alexandra has produced truly incredible garments that each tell a distinct and alluring story.
As a recent Honours graduate from the University of Technology Sydney in Fashion and Textiles, Alexandra has already made a real impact in the creative world through her pioneering techniques. By manipulating, washing and heating each piece of fabric, a rust-like texture is cleverly achieved on each item of this collection.
In her own words, Alexandra "loves exploring, be it themes, spaces or new techniques. All of these things make me happy - coming up with something new that was left undiscovered." This fearless attitude to design has seen Alexandra very deservingly awarded RAW Sydney Fashion Designer of the Year 2013, and we are incredibly pleased to be able to feature her spectacular work to you all here!
Whim recently chatted to the extraordinary fashion designer to congratulate her on her recent RAW Sydney success, and to ask her all about her dreams for the near-future:
Q: Congratulations on winning first place in the fashion designer category! Please tell us, what have you loved the most about your RAW Sydney experience?
A: Thank you so much! The thing I love most about my RAW experience is that I'm really able to present my work to such a wide variety of people, whether they came along to the event or simply scoured the website. Every arena a young designer can explore is beneficial, and RAW really is the perfect canvas for presenting my work; it's left-of-centre, testing in terms of it's subject matter and pushes every boundary of everyday fashion it could. RAW has been nothing but supportive in my, and others, venture to bring a point of difference to the industry.
Q: What was your initial reaction when you heard the news that you would go on to represent Sydney in your category?
A: Hard question, I had come out of surgery about 3 hours earlier after getting my wisdom teeth out. I turned to my boyfriend Jackson and murmured a whispy 'I'M THROUGH' to the best of my ability. He was confused, I was confused (but excited in my out of it state), a moment that the morphine doesn't let me recall completely but Jackson assures me it was exciting, haha.
Q: When did you first discover your love of fashion design?
A: That's really difficult! I have always loved being creative, and my grandmother taught me how to sew from a very young age. I'm so lucky to have her, I really can attribute a lot of who I am creatively from what she taught me. I guess it all started from there! I continued to explore my creativity through art and film, which progressively took a turn into textiles and fashion.
Q: What inspires your creativity the most?
A: Again, a difficult question! I get inspired most by the emotion of a subject. My graduate collection 'Numinous' was inspired by my emotions and visual interpretation in reaction to roaming around a derelict, abandoned flour mill. It was from there my rusting techniques developed, which really makes that collection so special. Every piece will continue to wear away just as the flour mill, and other abandoned sites, will. The collection transcends day to day fashion, and it is that feeling of transcendence that inspires me to push my creativity to the limit.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with your fashion design career in the near future – are there any exciting, upcoming plans that you would like to share with us?
A: I was extremely fortunate to land a job with an amazingly inspiring Australian fashion label, so at the moment I'm giving my all to that and learning as much as I can so I can have a long career doing what I love most. I may branch into my own accessories or simplistic silhouetted printed dresses in the future - just taking every day and opportunity as I go!
You can browse through Alexandra's Facebook page and website for an even more extensive glimpse at this designers incredible work. We hope you enjoy each and every design as much as we have! You can also support emerging artists by 'liking' the RAW Sydney and RAW Australia Facebook pages.
- Lucinda
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