Made in Melbourne Pt 2: Jude Ng - How to Make in Fashion in Your Own Hometown
WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare PressShow Notes
In the second of our mini series on emerging designers based in Melbourne, my guest this week Singaporean-Aussie designer Jude Ng.
Jude started out selling at design markets, and we talk here about how some people might view that as not elevated, somehow not fashion enough. And what rubbish that is! As Jude says, it was having these direct relationships and conversations with potential customers that helped him build his business. To this day, he's set up his workshop on view in his Fitzroy, Melbourne store, so that people who are interested in his work can actually see him do it.
In his own words, he offers: "ethically Melbourne made, zero waste slow fashion production and in-house bespoke mending". His pieces are unisex, and he talks about: "a different perspective in the realm of fashion by playing with a signature asymmetry and a relaxed, gender neutral sense of tailoring... using an artisanal approach and respect for the traditional craft techniques."
And it works. It's beautiful and people love it. Six years in to his independent business, he's proving you can thrive as a directional designer outside of the obvious fashion capitals.
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