The next Vivienne Westwood unleashes her inner punk on the red carpet

Fashion designer Indigo Stuart dug deep to connect with the punk spirit of the radical Vivienne Westwood and reclusive Rei Kawakubo, who are being celebrated with a joint exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, opening to the public on Sunday.

The polite Stuart, whose copper hair falls in gentle waves rather than standing to attention in a rigid mohawk, has been commissioned to create two gowns for the NGV collection that will be unveiled on the red carpet at the Westwood/Kawakubo opening gala on Saturday night.

“I’ve never been that rebellious,” says Stuart. “Perhaps I am a rebel in the weaving world. I feel out of place around traditional weavers. I studied at the Swedish School of Textiles and when I would ask these incredible weavers to do something, they would say, ‘You can’t do that.’”

Models Amelia Morgan and Paris Cassar in gowns created by emerging designer Indigo Stuart for the NGV Gala celebrating Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo.Credit: Simon Schluter

Like Westwood, with her model-toppling heels and Kawakubo at her layered brand Commes des Garcons, Stuart has closed her ears to the limitations of others, producing garments that explore the spaces beyond flattering first impressions. Highland checks woven in her Brisbane home studio drape, fold and fall in a manner that requires second, third and fourth looks.

Since receiving the National Graduate Award in March for the collection she produced in her final year at RMIT, Stuart has quietly focused on pushing her craftsmanship further, refining her zero-waste process and developing her signature.

“Westwood and Kawakubo were both challenging traditional techniques and making something new with it, which is really exciting and that’s what I try to do. You need to question how the act of making and craftsmanship can place value on pieces.”

“This commission was such a vote of encouragement. Working in your own bubble, it’s easy to wonder whether you’ve already been forgotten.”

The NGV’s fashion benefactor, Krystyna Campbell-Pretty, is making sure that Stuart’s name will be remembered by visitors to the NGV, providing support for the commission.

Winner of the Australian Fashion Foundation Scholarship Indigo Stuart with a model wearing her design.Credit: Wolter Peeters

“Her work on the loom is so innovative and unique and it’s thrilling to see young designers like her making their own textiles and finding their own unique point of view,” Campbell-Pretty says. “It’s important to provide opportunities to our emerging talent, and the NGV Gala is the perfect national stage for designers to express themselves and push their practices creatively.”

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For the gala gowns, Stuart has embraced the red carpet setting, adding metallic threads to her textile mix. Since graduating she has focused on wearability, but this is an opportunity to prioritise the wow-factor.

“I get to pull all the stops out and see how far I can go, and how far I can take the technique in an environment where the public can see my work,” Stuart says.

As punk band The Clash sang, London is calling, with Stuart taking up an internship in the city next year as part of an Australian Fashion Foundation Scholarship prize. Greater doses of punk can wait until then. In the meantime, she prefers to party with her loom.

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