Join us for an insightful panel discussion about how fashion designers and manufacturers have championed Australian wool locally and on the global stage. Discover the innovative ways leading designers have elevated this iconic Australian fibre and contributed to Australiaís fashion legacy.

In the panel discussion, Dr. Lorinda Cramer (Deakin University) and Professor Sarah Teasley (RMIT University) will share their research into the strategies used by Australian fashion designers, mills, manufacturers and the Australian Wool Board to elevate wool as a fashion fibre ñ both at home and abroad. They will explore the history of wool in Australian clothing manufacture and how its promotion transformed across the twentieth century, including into key fashion industries and markets like Japan. They will also examine the challenges posed by the rise of synthetic fibres in the mid-twentieth century and the impact of new ways of dressing and youth fashions.

The event will take place in the RMIT Design Archives, where visitors will be able to view firsthand materials such as drawings, fabric samples, press clippings and meeting notes from the archives of prominent fashion designers such as Prue Acton, Rae Ganim, Clarence Hall Ludlow, Robert Maltus, Diane Masters, and Norma Tullo.

The RMIT Design Archives (RDA) holds a unique place among Australiaís collecting institutions for its exclusive focus on design practice across all disciplines. Its nationally significant collections of fashion and textiles trace the development of the Australian fashion industry from pre-Second World War to the 21st century.