As we gear up for the Rediscover show as a part of Creative Trails we had the pleasure of chatting with Haidee Gallagher our incredible Admin Assistant and talented artist and designer. Haidee’s contribution to the exhibition is a striking handmade corset created from reuse materials, reflecting her deep commitment to sustainable fashion.
How did your journey as a designer start, and what drew you to focus on reuse materials?
I started sewing when I was in my final year of high school. I made a mini skirt to wear to my graduation ceremony. I’ll wear a mini skirt anywhere, no matter the occasion. My grandma had given us a sewing machine, I didn’t really know how to sew and I didn’t know about patterns. I just looked at clothes I had, cut out shapes and sewed them together.
It was around this same time that I became really focused on the toll the fabric and fashion industry, and most industries, have on the environment and the unethical treatment of people all the way through the supply chain. I always source as much as possible of my fabrics and trims second hand/deadstock/etc.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of working with reclaimed or second-hand materials as a designer?
There are limits. You can’t find everything that you have in your mind when working with reclaimed materials, so there is compromise. The rewards are that creativity really flourishes in compromise, it challenges you to come up with new ideas. It also feels magical to see all the random scraps become something wearable.
Your corset for Rediscover is a perfect example of this. Can you tell us about your design process and the inspiration behind it?
I saw the plastic strawberries get donated and instantly had an idea to combine them with the big rolls of white lace we had, like whipped cream, and was having visions of Katy Perry’s California Gurls music video. The rest just came together when I saw the piping, trims, and bias binding come into RG, and I combined it with a gingham bed sheet scrap that I’ve been making stuff out of for years and also using as a painting drop sheet lol.
Do you have any tips for aspiring designers who want to work with reuse materials but may not know where to start?
Well, Reverse Garbage is a great place to start! But the best place to start is just with things you already have. Cut up old clothes you or people in your life no longer wear, unpick all the buttons and zips from clothes that are too worn out to be donated, old bed sheets are great because there’s a decent amount of untouched fabric!