Black thobes hand-embroidered with deep red jewels. A small white velvet dress. Strings of pearls that dangle like olives from a tree. These are just some of the garments and items that inspired a group of 30 young women from Birrong Girls and Bossley Park high schools to write their very own book, Free to Fashion, published in September.
In a collaboration between two Sydney not-for-profits, Story Factory and the Social Outfit, the young women participated in creative writing and art-making workshops, bringing in special items of clothing and sharing stories about them with their peers.
Students reflected on why these garments were important to them, capturing their connections to culture and family history.
“That’s when I realised that clothes aren’t just materials – they’re memories,” said Catalina, a student at Bossley Park High School. “This piece of clothing isn’t just a skirt. This is a piece of love.”
The workshops, run jointly by Story Factory and the Social Outfit, focused on memoir writing. The young women were encouraged to consider how they are able to fashion their own identities and futures by the choices they make about clothing and accessories.
They also explored the use of oil pastels, collage and hand-building and sculptural techniques to create 3D forms in clay.
Their thoughtful stories and images of their artworks have been collected in the book, stitching together a patchwork of what it means to be “free to fashion”.
Cath Keenan, CEO of Story Factory, said Free to Fashion is a unique publication.
“It not only presents visually the hard work and creativity of these young women, but also captures the importance of sartorial stories in their lives; weaving together diverse perspectives on themes such as family, home and belonging,” she said. “This book is a celebration of their voices.”
Released on September 25, Free to Fashion was launched at Carriageworks as part of the Social Outfit’s 10th birthday celebrations. Featuring photographs and designs from the young women, the book also includes personal reflections, poems and vignettes, and is a treasure trove of storytelling, musings and memories.
“Wonder” – an excerpt from Free to Fashion by Sally, a student at Bossley Park High School:
I walked into my parents’ room and saw my mother going through the closet, putting clothes away, taking clothes out, organising the pants, dresses, suits, shirts and more into their own places. All the fabrics, colours, patterns flowing, radiating, and my mind started to wonder if I had any old clothes. So I asked her: “Do I have any clothes from when I was little?”
“Well, not many, I guess,” she replied.
“Why didn’t you keep them?” I asked.
She went silent for a moment.
“I couldn’t. We had to leave.”
“Summer Sales” – an excerpt from Free to Fashion by Sireen, a student at Birrong Girls High School:
Spices permeate the air as locals flock to surround the auctions at the Tripoli markets. I’m squeezed between multiple bodies, struggling to inhale the humid summer breeze. A warm hand envelops mine. It feels like comfort. It feels like safety. Jewels of every colour, shape and length hang from a stand. They sparkle, and the crowd sighs in awe as the shopkeeper spins them round and round like a carousel. I’m not looking at them. Her eyes, my grandma’s eyes, sparkle. They shimmer as she looks down at me, as she smiles at me.
“Hundred,” she screams. “We’ll take it for a hundred.”
Surprised, the shopkeeper yelps with glee, slamming his hammer and sealing the deal. On the way back to her apartment, my grandma stops to adorn me with her new purchase. A string of pearls that dangle like the branches of an olive tree. My grandfather’s olive tree. My heart splinters with joy, tears running down my face.
Now, in Australia, where we grow eucalyptus trees, not olives, I remember her. I remember her spark, her smile, her laugh. I remember home.
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Free to Fashion is available for purchase on the Story Factory website.
