Having grown up on a farm, fashion designer Emma Bond is stitching a link between fashion lovers and farm. Through a digital runway, not only is Emma telling the story about Australian grown cotton, she is also showcasing how fashion can be ethical and sustainable with seven of the garments modelled being 100 per cent biodegradable.
Gold Coast fashion designer Emma Bond has captured her cotton fashion collection in the field for an upcoming virtual runway project.
Emma, 31, conducted a fashion shoot at Mitch Brimblecombe's Lockyer Valley property near Brisbane in Queensland, highlighting her label Madi & Pip.
Born and raised on a cotton farm in Nevertire, New South Wales, using cotton as the fibre of choice came naturally to Emma, and this year, Emma was selected to participate in Cotton Australia's 2022 Australian Future Cotton Leaders program.
Fashion can be transparent, fair and considerate of our planet without compromising aesthetics and useability."
The shoot coincided with Fashion Revolution Week – a week dedicated to raising awareness for a fairer, safer and more transparent industry. It also allowed Emma the opportunity to film footage to create a digital runway for future fashion showcases.
"I wanted to showcase Australian cotton and the story behind our natural fibre," Emma said.
Farmers and fashion
For the shoot models wore bespoke millinery pieces made from Australian cotton in its various stages of processing, adorned with Swarovski and freshwater pearl.
"Fashion can be transparent, fair and considerate of our planet without compromising aesthetics and useability," she said.
Emma was joined by Lockyer Valley locals for the shoot including Mitch's wife Mariah, his sister Kate, and first-time cotton farmer Raneece Lerch.
The Madi and Pip collection included circular and universal pieces with textiles sourced from Australian Super Cotton, Ada Fibres, the New Denim Project alongside deadstock and upcycled fabrics.
Seven of the 12 garments modelled are 100 per cent biodegradable - down to the fastenings and bindings in the garments.
Designing out waste
According to Emma, fashion today needed to become more sustainable for the future.
"We've reached a point where we cannot continue with business as usual. The way the population is growing and the amount of waste we are producing can't continue. We must change the system from linear to circular, designing out waste. Designing so our that garments cycle for as long as possible and then feed back into the system," she said.
"Society is also becoming increasingly aware of where their garments came from and how they were created.
Kim Robinson and Laine Neale wearing Madi and Pip. Photos Natalie Trainor. 
Mariah Brimblecomb wearing biodegradable millinery.
"It's important that more people begin to be curious about the origins of their clothing and the people involved in the whole supply chain and I'm contributing to that through my fashion label and education."
Living in regional NSW she studied fashion in Sydney during her high school holidays, and after university began teaching fashion in 2014. Emma was one of seven designers selected to participate in Queensland University of Technology's Fashion Accelerator program; and a national finalist in last year's Melbourne Cup Fashions on the Field, for the category of Emerging Designer.
Emma launched Madi and Pip - a luxury fashion label in 2020.
This article was originally published by Australian Cotton. View the Madi and Pip collection here.
