Summary

Green printed wrap designed and made in Melbourne by New Model Beauty Queen. It is made from screen-printed army surplus wool, which had been dyed and printed in the Brunswick studio of NMBQ.

It is one of four garments donated by the company to Museums Victoria, to be displayed in the 'You Can't Fight Fast Fashion' section of the exhibition 'You Can't Do That', held at Melbourne Museum in 2018. That part of the exhibition looked at the role of local producers fighting the influx of fast fashion through the production of clothing produced ethically and sustainably.

Physical Description

Khaki fabric skirt with large eye pattern printed on the front and back. There is a light green edging sewn along the top and bottom of the skirt, and a zip opening along the top left hand side, secured with a green plastic button.

Significance

This garment is part of a small collection of local designed sustainably and ethically made clothing compiled for the exhibition `You Can't Do That', held at Museum in 2018. They were featured in a section entitled `You Can't Fight Fast Fashion', which looked at local companies operating and succeeding in offering alternatives to the fast fashion brands. The collection was assembled with input and assistance from the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival and Ethical Clothing Australia. New Model Beauty Queen donated this four piece outfit to the exhibition, and it has been decided to transfer it to the State Collection to represent this movement, currently not represented. The collection of four outfits and three backpacks are a great snapshot of the different elements of the contemporary Slow Fashion movement.

The outfit consists of a bubble skirt, top, leggings and wrap. The skirt and wrap are made from screen-printed army surplus wool. For the top and leggings, NMBQ printed dead stock knit fabric from local knitting mill Topknit, located in Hall St, Spotswood. The eye motif is NMBQ's signature.

NMBQ are passionate about local, sustainable and ethically produced clothing and it is with this ethos they print and manufacture our brands NMBQ, So Forgotten, One2Tree4 and Post-Modern Delinquent in their own manufacturing facility, behind their Brunswick store/

New Model Beauty Queen was established in 2005 with capabilities of printing and manufacturing so they can make products in an ethical sustainable way. All fabrics used for their various brands are 100% up-cycled as they acquire their fabrics from sustainable sources; such as auction houses and other non traditional methods. These fabrics are non-seasonal stock and by using these sustainably sourced fabrics they do not contribute to the excess fabric production which is a major contributor to the world's waste.

They believe in slow fashion and, as such, do not follow trends. Every garment is part of a limited edition collection and unique as they only make small quantities of a style and everything is made to last.

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