FK chats to Michaela, one half of Sydney based clothing label Field House. All their gorgeous designs can be found at the upcoming Sydney Markets!
Tell us a bit about Field House and what products we can expect to discover?
Field House is a clothing label that make beautiful women’s wear pieces using all natural fibre fabrics including cottons, linens and silk. We use a combination of new sustainable fabrics including organics, and recycled fabrics like vintage silk prints and beautifully aged cottons. Each season we aim to present a carefully curated selection of beautiful yet functional pieces fit for the season, and ready to last for years to come. Our SS12 collection includes feminine wrap skirts, luxurious silk tops, playful dresses and colourful patchwork scarves just to name a few!
What inspired you to start your own label?
I’ve always had the desire to start my own business, and I was drawn to fashion a few years back when I became increasingly interested in fabrics and design. With this interest I decided to take a course in fashion design where I was drawn to the beauty of natural fibre fabrics. I met Chris during this time who has a background in the fashion industry and a skill for all things graphic. It was apparent our skills were quite complementary so we dove in and started work on Field House together.
The initial concept for Field House was to create beautiful pieces in all natural fabrics. Learning more about the sustainability impacts of the fashion industry we decided to focus attention on using sustainable materials, both new and recycled, in all natural fibre fabrics of course. The creation of Field House has sprung organically from these initial ideas to be what it is today. We are only in our first season for SS12 so no doubt we will continue to learn, change and grow.
What inspires you daily?
I personally draw a lot of inspiration from my materials which really is the starting point for me when designing, so in that sense I would say I am often feeling most inspired when sourcing fabrics. Traveling to new places, art and music also inspire me as do the creative people I encounter daily, friends and strangers alike.
What do you love about living in Sydney?
We’ve both lived in Sydney all our lives and we really love it here! There’s always something new to check out and a really cool creative community. We love to spend our weekends lunch-ing at the many amazing local cafes, browsing the markets, catching up with friends over dinner and drinks and of course creating Field House in our Marrickville studio. We also love that it’s so easy to get out of the city and escape to a more relaxed scenery. We regularly venture up to the Blue Mountains for some fresh air, mountain views and vintage shopping.
What do you most love about working with clothing? And what are some of the challenges?
I absolutely love working with clothing, and I feel very fortunate to be able to work on my own label where my vision can spring to life just as I imagined. Working purely with natural fibre fabrics is wonderful because there is a real natural quality about them that simply can’t be found in a synthetic like Polyester. I also love sourcing recycled fabrics and being able to give beautiful but otherwise unwanted fabrics new life.
Despite my many ‘loves’ of working with clothing there are challenges too! The process of clothing creation can be very tedious at times, from styles that take many toiles to fit correctly to the pains of grading patterns out into size breaks. All in all though I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else!
What can we expect to see from Field House at the upcoming Sydney Markets?
At the upcoming Sydney Markets we’ll have our Summer 2012 range on display where you’ll find a beautiful array of summer essentials including our popular Orchid wrap skirts, luxurious silk tops and dresses, colourful patchwork scarves and our beautiful yet practical Sienna Bag featuring Vegetable Tanned Leather and vintage recycled Silk. To check out what we’ll have on offer visit our website Field House. Of course we’ll also have a few market exclusives so don’t forget to pop by our stall at the Sydney Markets and check out our range in person.
