Fashion is fun but the fashion industry generates huge amounts of waste and can be exploitative. Close to home, who is making a difference and how can we buy better? Join fashion designer and educator Lisa Piller in conversation with three local fashion creatives each offering a different take on sustainable clothing. Retailer, stylist and vintage fashion collector Leith Groves is joined by made-to-order swim-wear designer Luka Rey and designer/pattern-maker Nita-Jane McMahon in a conversation on how to be both fashion- and future-conscious.

This event is part of the Fremantle Design Week Conversations Series. Tickets are available for individual sessions, a whole day or the whole weekend.

Lisa Pillar

A researcher, academic and advocate for systemic change to the fashion supply chain, Lisa lectures in innovation, fashion design and fashion business at the University of Canberra and South Metropolitan TAFE. This follows a 16-year career working in fashion product design and development, and sustainable supply chain management.   

Author of Designing for Circularity: sustainable pathways for Australian fashion small medium enterprise, Lisa is active in the National Product Stewardship Scheme led by the Australian Fashion Council and is currently partnering with Curtin University to lead WA research that will provide a local context to the national agenda. 

With a passion for holistic and conscious design models and zero-waste approaches, Lisa is dedicated to supporting students and industry in lasting careers as ethical, sustainable and innovative designers. 

Leith Groves

Leith Groves is a fashion and design consultant based in Fremantle, WA. Leith has a dedicated relationship with the fashion industry spanning over 30 years.

Founding the iconic Varga Girl boutique in 1999, Leith’s experience and expertise encompass buying, styling, visual merchandising and fashion consulting.

Leith has recently developed ‘Popup by Leith Groves’ a series of curated popup stores in unique spaces with rare designer pieces sourced globally. Leith is currently consulting, buying and merchandising for the new AGWA design space, in collaboration with Rob Marshall.

Luka Rey

Luka Rey is a brand interested in making useful things that solve a design problem, creating functional swimwear that suits people across a variety of ages and body types.

The focus is on balancing form & function, utilitarian design principles coalesce with pure aesthetic fervour.

Classic shapes and colours lend an element of nostalgia to the designs, using emotion as a form of connection. All the swimwear is made to order by Luka in her Fremantle studio using Italian recycled nylon fabrics with quality hardware detailings.

Nita-Jane McMahon

Nita-Jane is the creative lead behind Pattern Fantastique.
After a decade of working in design studios for Melbourne-based fashion brands, Pattern Fantastique began as an experiment and response to the growing home sewing community. We offer design-driven sewing patterns, including the same drafting excellence existing in high-end contemporary fashion. Our sewing patterns come as digital files to print yourself or hard copies we retail and distribute through textile stores globally. We also offer pre-order garments and textiles.