By Roxanne McCartyO’Kane
At 13 years of age, Glasshouse Christian College Year 8 student Lilly Rawlins was one of the youngest models to grace the runway at the Australian Wearable Art Festival this year.
An emerging model, this was the biggest show Lilly has participated in so far, with four shows over two days on August 8 and 9. Lilly was paired with Ipswich designer Stephanie Vale, who created the piece she called Gather Community using just two materials – dog hair from her husky and a friend’s poodle, and long grass.
Stephanie worked for eight months to weave the hair into a yarn-like thread that she double-crocheted to create a top and poncho. She was then able to felt the thread to make the mushrooms. The long grass was also crocheted to make the overalls.
The combination of Stephanie’s wearable artwork and Lilly’s captivating performance as a post-apocalyptic gatherer saw the design awarded Winner of the Textile & Fibre Award and Runner-up in the Elements of Nature category.
Lilly says the experience was one she will never forget. “The people were so friendly and made my nerves disappear almost instantly,” she says. “It was so funny having to be a serious character, but then people meet me and I’m not serious at all.”
It’s only a matter of time before Stephanie and Lilly collaborate on another project.