Dress Up says Namaste to autumn/winter
Melbourne label Dress Up is encouraging wearers to harness a quiet mind and pleasantly stretched physique when donning its latest autumn/winter collection, Namaste.
Dress Up designer Stephanie Downey has drawn inspiration from concepts of rejuvenation and relaxation taken from yoga and meditation practice to form the cool-weather collection. The structure of the pieces brings to mind a likeness to Japanese cuts, as well as 1960s outfits within the turtlenecks, trousers and sweaters.
Ease of movement and stillness have been a central intention behind the designs, using Milano knitted fabrics to soften traditionally tailored pieces like blazers and coats. Rib knitted fabrics on cuffs and necklines emulate sportswear, connecting ideas of yoga for fitness – the kind, of course, that leads to a relaxed body and mind. Namaste is also Stephanie’s way of projecting a personal, and societal, reminder to slow down in the every day.
Ceramicist Chela Edmunds of Takeawei is behind the two-tone geometric pattern that features in Dress Up’s autumn/winter offering, with the screen-printed shapes representing negative spaces created by the body when engaged in yoga poses.