MELISSA SINGER
Welcome to our Inspiring Women in Australian Fashion and Art Series, and our conversation with the beautifully talented Melissa Singer, National Fashion Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Melissa Singer captured by Megan Harding.
We are seeing some beautiful Australian fashion labels launching into the market, shifting the focus to core and transeasonal collections. What do you feel makes Australian designers and our fashion so unique?
Australian designers are so in tune with their customers, regardless of where they are. There is something so intrinsically Australian about maintaining that genuine connection - perhaps it's our relative lack of formality compared to other parts of the world that makes Australian designers seem like real people who are in touch with issues.
I have been so proud to see how the fashion community has responded to COVID-19, the bushfire crisis and Black Lives Matter - and where mistakes have been made, to own them and learn from them. Australian designers are also showing a world-leading commitment to sustainability and it's so encouraging to see how many new brands have it at the core of their DNA. Truthfully, if it's not at the top of the list of priorities for brands I struggle to see how they can remain relevant in this world.
You work with a collective of very talented women, who do you love to collaborate with?
My team is made up of women with so many different experiences. We are mothers, single women, women from different ethnic backgrounds, and so on. I am so lucky in my role that I get to create content born from my relationships with incredible people across design, PR, arts and culture. And let's not forget the amazing men who work in our industry who champion and support women as much if not more than we do ourselves!
What are you currently working on?
One silver lining of the cancellation of so many events this year has been the ability to tackle some meatier features. I'm really interested and curious about how this moment in history will reshape the fashion industry for the next five,10 years. These questions aren't easy to answer in a constantly shifting landscape but I am having one heck of an interesting time trying to get there.
2020 has been a year that no one could predict. What have you learned personally and how have you drawn inspiration and positivity this year?
I have learnt to appreciate simplicity, and slowness. I have used the pandemic to really step up my yoga practice and tap into my inner self more. I draw inspiration from the stories of struggle and survival I hear every day from within the fashion industry and in the wider community. So many people in my life have made incredible sacrifices this year just to keep their family above water and I am in awe of them. It has made me so incredibly grateful for all I have, the work I get to do and the people I hold dearest.
Thank you Melissa for your contribution to this series.