The West Australian Pulse set to debut its most ambitious fashion program to date

Fashion is a family affair for Tom Westlake. The emerging fashion designer, hailing from North Metropolitan TAFE, left no stone unturned when he began researching his prominent pioneering ancestors as inspiration for his latest collection. Family photographs were dusted off, books were scoured through, relatives were summoned for stories and he pored over private and public records in the State Library of Western Australia. Westlake is a descendent of the Durack family, a name many West Australians will recognise as leaving an eternal imprint in the nation’s history books for being among the first of Australia’s great cattle empires and establishing large stations in the Kimberley region in the late 19th century. “I broke down their story into stages, from Ireland to the Eastern States of Australia, across the continent to the North West,” the grandson of Catherine Lucille Durack tells STM. The result of his research is an eight-look collection aptly named Sons In Grass Castles. Westlake also cites the influence of his grandmother’s cousin Dame Mary Durack’s famous novels Kings In Grass Castles and Sons In The Saddle, which immortalise the family’s migration and pioneering life, as well as the colour palettes of artist Elizabeth Durack OBE’s paintings as sources of inspiration. “Each look reflects a part of that journey: waterproofed fabrics for rainy Ireland, chunky knitwear for the sea voyage, sheer layers for the Australian heat,” he explains. Westlake embraced the pioneering spirit of his bloodline and experimented with textile manipulation to translate historical garments into contemporary fashion, including creating a waterproof finish on fabric using silicon sealant and mineral turpentine. This method was used in one of his collection’s standout pieces — a silicon-coated dress that combines traditional shirt cuts with innovative waterproofing, embodying the Irish stage of the journey. Another is a reverse jacket with asymmetrical vents and visible tailoring stitches, blending old-world tailoring with modern design twists and Westlake’s love for deconstructed fashion. “It was a big challenge to make them appear modern and historical at the same time,” he admits. Westlake’s historically rich collection is just one example of the design excellence which will be on display later this month, as Perth’s fashion heartbeat returns stronger and better than ever. The West Australian Pulse, AGWA’s annual celebration of emerging talent, is set to launch its most ambitious fashion program yet, which hopes to spotlight creative talent as vibrant and diverse as our city itself. The creative masterminds behind the fashion program are AGWA Design Store curators Leith Groves and Rob Marshall, who have spent years weaving together Perth’s disparate fashion institutions into a single, dynamic tapestry. This year their collaboration with WA’s fashion colleges has reached new heights, ranging from a nine-week merchandising course with Curtin University and a buying program with South Metropolitan TAFE fashion business pupils, to working with students from North Metropolitan on merchandise that will be sold in-store. “We like to give as many of the students a moment as possible. We want to share the love and want everyone to be a part of Pulse. It’s important that everyone gets a moment to shine,” Marshall says. With the demise of Perth Fashion Festival, Pulse has become an essential annual runway experience for student designers. “Pulse is about giving students a platform to shine, to truly do their own thing without industry pressure. It’s one of the only times they can create their magic, just as they envision it,” Groves adds. For Marshall, the biggest joy of the process is the moment when a student’s months of hard work finally come to life. “Seeing their faces when we go on site and they see their work displayed, it’s a really special moment. They’ve worked so hard, and it’s a part of their soul on show,” he says. For Edith Cowan University graduate Daniel Cross, Pulse is a culmination of a deeply personal journey. His 11-look collection The Ritual Of Living, which will be part of the Pulse Runway Art Fashion Parade on May 24, explores the intimate relationship between clothing and identity and how garments can become an extension of the wearer’s rituals. “Absurdism was also a really big force in my work,” Cross explains. “The collection starts with garments that are falling apart and deconstructing themselves, there’s a lot of constriction. The climax morph suit sits in the middle of my collection, which infers defeat, consumption and despair. But as the collection progresses, the garments mend themselves to suggest moving forward in life and taking things that you learn with you to become better.” Screen-printed motifs such as chains and birds trace Cross’s emotional landscape as he put together his body of work. And despite starting university with no sewing experience, Cross ambitiously tackled complex tailoring and pattern-marking, including menswear techniques not formally taught at ECU. Interestingly for South Metropolitan TAFE graduate Jasmine Ware, the very thing she fears the most is the focal point of her collection. The monotony of the nine-to-five grind inspired Ware to reimagine corporate wear through a dystopian lense. Something perhaps Dolly Parton would get on board with, as she famously sings: “what a way to make a living”? “My worst fear is a nine-to-five,” Ware laughs. “So I built a collection around what that would look like for me — worn down, torn up, sewn back together. It’s a bit brutalist, a bit animalistic, and definitely not your usual office wear”. Humorously named Nine Lives, None Left, the collection consists of androgynous garments with distressed denim, machine-knitted textures and faux fur details. Sustainability isn’t an afterthought for Ware — it’s woven into every seam. She sourced fabric offcuts, secondhand marketplace finds and anything she could get her hands on to upcycle and reuse in the collection. Even accessories are loaded with meaning — the chains hinting at the constraints of corporate life. The gratitude expressed by Cross, Westlake and Ware’s comments about having the chance to to participate in Pulse prove it’s more than a runway. They see it as a launchpad; a way to hone their skills and project their message and talent to a wide audience. “I’d seen Pulse as an audience member and thought it’d be cool to be part of it, so it’s a dream come true,” Cross says. And as the lights go up on the AGWA runway, it’s clear the next generation of WA fashion is ready for its moment. Pulse Runway Art Fashion Parade and after-party runs 6.30pm-10pm on May 24, tickets from artgallery.wa.gov.au.