Over two years ago, Fashion Journal spoke to designer Amy Cottrell ahead of her graduate showcase at Melbourne Fashion Festival. At the time, Amy had just wrapped up her studies at Whitehouse Institute of Design and was awarded Designer of the Year a few months earlier at Melbourne Fashion Week for her collection, Plasticity.
As part of her graduate showcase, Amy developed her own form of edible bioplastic, made from harmless household ingredients. Along with other recycled materials, she used this create chandelier-style skirts, sculpted bodices and jewellery. The runway led to Amy’s first industry opportunity, where Kacy Heywood, the creative director of Melbourne retailer Error404 and herself a designer, approached Amy about stocking her designs in-store.
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Since then, Amy’s shown little sign of slowing down. She officially launched her eponymous fashion label in 2023, built an online store and has connected with other retailers across Victoria and South Australia to stock her work – no small feat for an emerging designer.
More recently, she’s been laser focused on sourcing and design. “I’ve been busy with the production of my AW25 collection, and designs for small releases and summer, as well as some more experimental one-of-a-kind pieces,” she says. Every piece Amy creates is exclusively made from vintage, recycled, deadstock and sustainably produced materials, and handmade in small quantities. Last year, she remembers finding a bundle of chandelier crystals at a flea market in Barcelona, which she’s since used to embellish bags.
With her latest collection out in the world, Amy’s next plans involve an overseas sourcing trip and one day, opening her own bricks-and-mortar boutique.
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Fashion Journal: Hi Amy! It’s been over two years since we first interviewed you. For those who aren’t familiar, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Amy: I’m a fashion designer and I graduated from Whitehouse Institute of Design in Melbourne in 2022. I grew up in a fourth-generation agricultural family on the Murray River near Mildura. This gave me with a strong understanding of the importance of sustainability, protecting the environment and reducing climate change. I have always loved fashion and enjoy the challenge of creating garments and accessories that leave a much smaller footprint than most of the fashion items that are sold in Australia.
When we last spoke, you were showing your graduate collection, Plasticity, at Melbourne Fashion Festival’s National Graduate showcase. What have you been up to in the years since?
Since graduating I have launched my own sustainable fashion brand, Amy Cottrell. I was inspired by Kacy Haywood, who saw my work in the graduate runway at Melbourne Fashion Festival and approached me, interested in stocking some of my pieces in her boutique, Error404. From there I have been able to build my own online store and stock my work in a couple of retailers in Victoria and South Australia.
Each piece I sell is made from carefully sourced materials that are vintage, recycled, deadstock or sustainably produced. The garments and accessories are thoughtfully handmade in small quantities in Australia, resulting in the creation of pieces that are very limited edition or one-of-a-kind. I was also lucky enough to be given the opportunity to be featured at Melbourne Fashion Festival again this year which was an amazing experience as an emerging designer.
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Is there a key theme or message underpinning your latest collection?
With this collection I aimed to make pieces that still held true to my brand but were much more commercially viable and wearable. The collection was inspired loosely around the concept of ‘anti-venom’. I gave thought to things that are poisonous, toxic or threatening and wanted to create pieces that show the beautiful elements of this.
Within the collection I aimed to balance feminine, embellished pieces made from recycled lace and delicate sheer remnant fabrics, against stronger, bold statement pieces made from pineapple leather, with thick belts and heavy metal hardware. I was inspired by the colours and textures of lots of ‘dangerous’ animals and how they use their beauty to attract their prey.
Can you tell me a little about the design process behind your AW25 collection?
Part of my work involves spending a great deal of time sourcing suitable remnant or deadstock fabrics and looking through vintage and secondhand stores, where I collect interesting fabrics, buttons and belt buckles. Often the pieces I find inspire designs and from there I begin sketching. I also spend time experimenting with materials, dyes and bioplastics and the results of this can grow and form key elements within my designs as well.
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Sustainability was a core part of your work when studying. What role does it play in your design process today?
Sustainability forms the foundation of all my designs. I would like to think that eventually it will just be the expected universal practice and won’t need to be discussed. I work hard to ensure that my sustainable practices enhance rather than hinder my design process but it can sometimes be frustrating as I’m limited in production by things like small quantities of fabric.
What’s been your favourite alternative material to work with?
Experimenting with the use of bioplastic has been really interesting and challenging. It’s quite unstable and changes depending on the humidity and temperature, and dries out and goes brittle over time. It also dissolves if it gets wet. I’ve been experimenting to find ways to minimise these problems without introducing harsh chemicals.
I’ve also been using small pieces to make sequins and flowers that can be used as embellishment, which has eliminated many of these problems and is much more practical in terms of commercial viability.
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Your garments are all hand-made in small batches in Australia. How did you negotiate selling your work online?
Setting up the website and selling online works really well for our business model as it provides lots of flexibility. I use social media to advertise and plan to release more regular small drops of things as they’re produced, rather than big collections.This allows me to be more creative and use more of the small volume fabrics and hardware I have collected to create more one-of-a-kind garments.
The challenge has been in building a following and getting my name out there. I also realise that people do like to see, feel and try on garments before they buy and not everyone loves online shopping. The dream would be to eventually be able to open my own store.
When we asked you what needed to change about the local fashion industry, you said consumers needed to change their spending habits and that the industry needed to provide better education surrounding sustainability. Is your answer the same, two years later?
I feel like there’s definitely been a bit of a shift towards valuing sustainable fashion. The interest in vintage and secondhand shopping seems to have grown quite a lot in the last few years and bigger brands are starting to include and promote sustainable fabrics and processes more and more which is really positive, however I still think we have a long way to go in reducing consumption of poorly produced, low-quality fast fashion items that inevitably end up in land fill.
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What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve been busy with the production of my AW25 collection and designs for small releases and summer, as well as some more experimental one-of-a-kind pieces. I’m also heading overseas soon where I will spend a bit of time sourcing. In October last year I found some amazing remnant fabrics in Barcelona and discovered a flea market where I found a big bundle of vintage chandelier crystals, which I’ve been using to embellish bags. I’m excited to see what I might find and what that may inspire this time.
How do you feel about the fashion landscape in Australian right now?
It’s exciting to see so many talented new emerging Australian designers that are embracing sustainable practices. I think it’s both an exciting and super challenging time to be involved in the Australian fashion industry and I’m honoured to be a part of it.
Find more from Amy here.
This article Amy Cottrell’s impressive evolution, two years on from her award-winning graduate collection appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-05-26 12:41:00
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