cheeky

The Butcher and The Crow

Last week, for tafe we were asked to interview a designer, so Chenoah and I interviewed Elisha from "The Butcher and The Crow" http://www.thebutcherandthecrow.com/. The philosophy for Elisha's brand is that every garment is hand made in Western Australia, She embraces traditional construction and art techniques to design and create soft draping beautiful garments. So here is a little insight into her creative mind :)

When did you first want to be in the industry?

probably at the age of 14. i have a distinct memory of being in art class an knowing thats what i wanted to do - make clothes. however the plan didn't really come into fruition until 11 years later. after studying art and then moving into fashion.

How would you describe your signature style?

unexpectedly feminine, an appreciation for the hand made and its processes. 

What is important to me is that my label carries a sense of uniqueness. that it is not mass produced fast fashion. the items are carefully hand dyed rendering each one unique.

Does anyone inspire you? How?

Theres lots of people that i take inspiration from. artist like Lee Ufan for his quite simplicity. 

designers like damir doma for use of  fabrics, falls, layering and drapes on the male form.

designer Jun Watanabe for his organic tailoring and colour pallet.

textile artist Shindo Hiroyuki for his exquisite application of indigo dyes.

alot of people inspire me for different reasons.

What is your creative process? How do you get your initial ideas?

what i have recently noticed it that alot of my influence for my colour pallet comes from travel. my new collection The walk to hanging rock is reference to the dark rusting of oranges from australian landscape. Looking back, a trip to the  a kimberlys a year earlier had sparked a piont of inspiredfor this collection.

I generally start with a colour pallet that i decide on through story booking. then start sketching and toiling. here, this is where a lot of the refining process happens for the silhouette and drape of the garment. 

then after a lot of tweeking a collection will start to appear.

Do you visualise eventually branching into an international market?

yes, eventually. for now though after completing my post graduate studies last year i am happy to let the label grow step by step.

What are you plans for your brand in the next few years?

To eventually branch out into an international market. start exploring options to have my dyeing done by dye masters in india and grow the collection to a larger body of work.

Showy

This is my other lady wearing the showstopper piece. I created her by doing a live trace on a original drawing and then altering the original image

Sassy

Just drew this little lady up in illustrator using a few different images placed ontop of each other