After watching the delightful
Coco Avant Chanel last Friday, I thought that on my way home I should very much like to sip tea with a dashing designer who looks somewhat like Arthur 'Boy' Capel, the love of Coco's life. Naturally,
Alexi Freeman was top of the list.
Freeman doesn't just make clothes in his tiny studio in Collingwood, he makes significant contributions to "the discourse of style and vernacular of fashion" with complicated pieces such as his 80-piece reversible black and white Nylon coat which takes 5 hours to cut and 12 hours to sew. A complex yet apparently simple one-piece mesh hoody is party of his coming summer range.
Intense and passionate, yet charming and disarming, Freeman was raised in Tasmania, his father a Jewish man from the Bronx, his mother the child of a German Nazi. Can you imagine the angst and passion of that conception?
His tiny hub of a studio continues the spirit of bohemian creative Melbourne that is increasingly priced out as warehouses and creative spaces are converted to apartments. The shrunken size of his space - let's say, 3 x 4 metres - is testament to the power of Freeman's imagination. "For each new range, I basically sit down and I draw. I used to draw a lot when I was young. Something like I thought I could save myself through art!"
To date, his drawings have impressed DKNY's head of design Jane Chung, who, when he was 21, told him she'd never seen anything like it. He also impressed
Tourism Victoria this year, who have commissioned a uniform from him as part of their campaign to push Victoria as our country's capital of style and design.
And so there is a very practical side to the man. He describes the coming collection as something that you could throw over a bikini after a trip to the beach, wear to work and the accessorise up for dinner. He points out light jackets that are ideal for warming your shoulder just so on a summer's night and a dress that is light enough for a 40 degree day but glam enough for an exhibition opening. The piece I am keen on can be worn in about seven different ways thanks to some clever straps and buttons.
Australian buyers being conservative, and this being a global economic fuck-up, buyers have picked up the grey and black pieces of the summer range. So if you fancy a bit of the peachy stuff - which includes silk and cotton mesh "peek-a-boo" pieces - you'll have to order straight from
Alexi himself.
Alexi Freeman's exhibition will be at Comme for the
State of Design July 15-25.
Photos:
Nicole Reed