We know personal style is a journey (I’m looking at you, Tumblr years) and our series Hey, I Like Your Style! dives into the fashion psyche of our favourite creatives. We’re talking the good, the bad and the 2007.
While the internet has made our fashion icons feel closer than ever before, even the most effortless outfits come from a closet with some (well-dressed) skeletons. Clickable product tags, photo archives and lives chronicled in 30-second clips just don’t tell the full story, and in the case of Zara Duffy, there’s a lot to tell.
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The Brisbane-based textile recycler has a knack for spotting treasure where others see trash, leading her to launch a series of initiatives that creatively divert unwanted clothing from ending up in landfill.
Alongside her own label, Aster Store, of upcycled garments and accessories, she’s started Australia’s only consignment store (Loop Exchange) that accepts items in need of repair, and launched Fab Loop, a free textile recycling service that rewards its users with store credits. She’s also the brains behind Bloom Op Shop, a Brisbane-based social enterprise that benefits from Zara’s curatorial prowess and eye for design.
With Australia named one of the world’s worst culprits when it comes to sending textiles to landfill, Zara’s work is driven by making a positive change to the way we consume fashion. But it’s also creative, inspiring and fun. A long-term op shopper (though she’ll tell you she hated the first time she set foot in an op shop), Zara has developed a deep understanding of how to salvage the best bits of old clothing and repurpose these for future wear.
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Fashion Journal: Hey Zara! Who are you and what do you like to wear?
Zara: I’m a textile recycler by trade, running three businesses and a social enterprise op shop in circular, slow and secondhand fashion. I love clothes so much, I’ve made it my life’s mission to keep them out of landfill! I love wearing clothes that are old, weird and unexpected.
What has your style evolution looked like?
With some minor tweaks and experimentation over time, I would say my sense of style has remained pretty consistent! A lot of pieces in my wardrobe have been there for over a decade, or if they’re new, I’ve lusted over them for quite some time or have made them myself. I think I can credit shopping secondhand for finding and cementing my personal style so quickly. I often tell people that even just flicking through an op shop rack is helping hone your personal style – you’re subconsciously deciding what you do and don’t like! My confidence comes from having pieces that are one-of-a kind!
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Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
The only time I’d say I felt I had to fit into a particular ‘fashion box’ was in my previous life, working in education. Obviously, schools have dress codes to abide by, but I also felt there was an expectation to dress corporate, which really isn’t me. I did find it influenced my wardrobe for a time. Now working for myself, I get to wear whatever I want. [My outfit choices] just usually come down to practicality, as I’m very hands-on!
Take us back to those awkward teenage years. Do you have any fashion regrets?
I was recently looking through old photos of my teenage years and honestly, I regret parting with some of the clothes! I got into op shopping and vintage when I was 14 or 15. While it may come as a surprise now, as someone who runs a social enterprise op shop, I hated the first time my Mum took me into an op shop, almost 20 years ago. I was so embarrassed that someone from my school would see me and judge me. Oh, how the times have changed!
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What are the most expensive and least expensive items in your wardrobe?
The least expensive pieces in my wardrobe are a couple of clothing items I picked up from the dump. My partner owns a house on a mountain where there aren’t any garbage trucks, so we have to go to the dump. It has this amazing free section where people take and contribute items in good condition. The most expensive item would be a secondhand pair of Chanel shoes I bought about five years ago from Vestiaire Collective.
What is the most meaningful fashion piece you own?
I tie a lot of my love for clothing to the stories they can hold; the lives they have lived. I’ve been really fortunate to have inherited items from all four of my grandparents. While it doesn’t come close to having them with me now, I find it really special to be able to have their clothing or jewellery live in my wardrobe always. They’ve lived a whole life in these clothes and now, I get to live my life in them too. To me, it’s beautiful!
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Who or what influences your style?
I find it really hard to pinpoint what influences my style, because it’s everything! I love a good Pinterest search, but I’ll also be excited by a pattern, shape or detail of an outfit I see on the street. I love clothing and brands that have a little point of difference, or something really eye-catching.
I would say, practically though, my work right now is influencing my style a lot. I have to dress quite pragmatically sometimes. Although operating textile recycling machinery in designer vintage is a slay, I’m meticulously careful with preserving all my clothing for as long as possible, so will opt for a more toned-down, pragmatic look for work and save the extravaganza for events and outings!
What fashion pieces are you saving for right now?
My fashion wishlist is always a mile long – thank you, wishlist apps! Currently, I am saving for a pair of Dirt boots and a necklace made by an Australian designer living in Mexico, both of which have been on my wishlist for years! I’m also on the lookout for more fun sneakers to wear to work, but I’m yet to find a pair that tickles my fancy!
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What are the wardrobe items you wear on repeat?
I would say the hardest-working pieces in my wardrobe are my two pairs of jeans, blue and black. You’d think I would have more, but I just keep reaching for these jeans time and time again!
I’m a proud outfit repeater (I mean, why wear clothes once when many more people could see and appreciate them!), and my newest repeat is to wear the same outfit non-consecutively in a week so I feel like I’m shaking it up, but it’s not taking too much of my brain space. I’m not really a ‘uniform’ type of dresser but I do feel overwhelmed by clothing sometimes. I see more clothing in a day than most people see in their lifetime, so having a cute, no-brainer outfit to put on when my mind is racing is perfection!
Who are your favourite local designers?
As Brisbane fashion’s biggest cheerleader, it’s my duty to shout out my favourite stores that host local labels! My two favourites to shop right now are Practice Studio and Array Store! Both are bursting with local talent. I think it’s really important that we try our best to support shops like these, who act as incubators for new and upcoming talent in fashion. Otherwise, fashion gets stale and boring.
Keep up with Zara here.
This article Hey, I Like Your Style! Inside the upcycled wardrobe of textile recycler, Zara Duffy appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-06-10 07:49:00
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