About by Audrey & Grace
Ethical, sustainable and slow fashion. How it should be.
At by Audrey & Grace, we offer a slow fashion model for our Australian Made women’s and children’s clothing. Our designs are created to last, giving you the opportunity to create your own style over time.
Every aspect of by Audrey & Grace is considered carefully so as to reduce our impact on people and the planet. To achieve this we work hard to source fabrics that have had as minimal an impact on the environment as possible, whilst also supporting the workers who produce the fibre and fabric.
We are an ethical, sustainable and slow fashion brand in Melbourne, with all garments being hand made in our Melbourne based studio. We want high quality Australian women's clothing to be more accessible to all.
An Introduction to the Owner, Designer and much more.
Hi, my name is Jo and I am the woman behind ‘by Audrey & Grace’. My life has been about creation since I could walk, and possibly before even that. Learning much of my skills from my mum and grandmothers, my hobby worked its way into a successful boutique and fashion label in Collingwood in 2001.
After the business closed I turned my attention to costume, which led me to move to Macau where I worked with Cirque du Soleil for over 2 years. I then returned home to Melbourne to work as a dresser in Musical Theatre. During this time I became a costumiere and then one of the Gentlemen’s Cutters at the Australian Ballet.
Once again I received the opportunity to travel and work overseas with Cirque du Soleil, this time to South America with my husband, on one of their beautiful Big Top shows ‘Corteo’.
Now happily back in Australia with my family, I hope that this one small, ethical, sustainable and slow fashion brand can make a big difference in how we view our relationship with clothing and the detrimental effect of fast fashion on our world. Slow Fashion is the way forward.
Every day I am searching for ways to make by Audrey & Grace as sustainable as possible. From finding new ways to design and cut, reduce waste, to researching and sourcing good quality fabrics which produce as little negative impact upon the planet as possible. I currently use a range of fabrics including organic linens and cottons, alongside deadstock fabrics and one of my favourites, repurposing doona covers and sheets found from local op shops.
I have recently discovered an Australian owned business who is supplying fabrics which are milled and printed in Australia from Australian cotton. This is a major step for me as this reduces the carbon footprint of my materials hugely. Australian made womens clothing made from Australian product is a massive step forward for our local industry.
I am currently looking into how I can establish circularity within ‘by Audrey & Grace’. One of my goals is to work with 100% natural materials to create compostable garments. Currently, some of the garments I produce have non compostable materials, for example some repurposed or dead stock fabrics, and for these I am looking at garment end of life options for you, the customer. These may include second hand clothing platforms like airrobe , currently unavailable to this platform, but hoping this will change soon. Also, there are companies like Upparel who take clothing, fabric scraps etc and re home or repurpose them.
Also, my studio is in my home, where we have solar panels and tank water. Solar panels help to reduce emissions and the use of tank water when washing fabrics reduces the need to use precious resources. Paper offcuts are used for labelling and notes and then recycled.
At ‘by Audrey & Grace’ we have embarked on a partnership with One Tree Planted, to help offset some of our emissions as a business. Nurturing our environment is so important and it is a priority to give back. We commit to having one tree planted for every piece we sell.