Easton Pearson’s next move

Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson have been afforded the kind of milestone most designers dream of. 28 years after founding their label Easton Pearson out of their workshop in Brisbane the friends and co-creators, along with patron Dr Paul Eliadis, have gifted their entire 3,300-piece archive to the Museum of Brisbane. It is the largest textile donation ever made to an Australian museum.

The collection is to be meticulously ordered, catalogued and archived in a process that could take years but will preserve the pieces for educational purposes under the supervision of museum director Renai Grace. “The Easton Pearson archive represents a momentous opportunity,” said Grace speaking at the museum, noting the cultural significance and educational potential of such a collection to Brisbane and the fashion landscape at large. “This will open up opportunities for exhibitions and programming, artists in residence and responsive artwork commissions.”

The gift includes pieces from some of the label’s earliest collections from 1999-2016, thanks in part to Easton’s Husband, a conservation architect, who encouraged the pair to rigourously save their pieces. The gift was a culmination of this interest in preserving the pair’s work. “We are all united in our love of, and belief in, where we live and in our determination to keep our history here and celebrate who we are,” said Easton at the museum. “The use of our archive as an educational resource is one of the main intentions of the gift and the thought that our history may encourage future generations of creative designers is the most satisfying of all.”

Known for their celebration of colour and use of intricate techniques in embroidery and embellishment, the duo established an aesthetic that reflected their love of travel and connection to other cultures around the world. Working closely with artisans in India and Brisbane in particular they were able to execute their designs in rich detail that reflected the labour intensive processes used to create them. It paved the way for a fashion model that has been adopted by countless designers since and showcased a mode of manufacturing that was sensitive to environmental and ethical concerns.

Reflecting at the archival facility in Brisbane, Pearson says the collection is also a deep well of memory and inspiration for her personally. “If you ask me about any single one and I’ll say to you ‘I know when it was, I can remember cutting out the sample, I remember making the pattern, I remember talking to the embroidery people, I know where the fabric came from’.”

Subscribing to ‘slow fashion’ and making room for other pursuits were factors they said contributed to the closure of their label in 2016. Their legacy - of carefully made, exuberant pieces grounded in the creativity and integrity of the artisans they partnered with and a slower, considered approach to fashion - now in the museum’s hands, will contribute to shaping future generations’ understanding of the way fashion can be made.

The museum will display a rotating roster of three looks, before a bigger exhibition planned for 2018. It will be the first exhibition of the pair’s work since a 2009 Queensland Gallery of Modern Art exhibition that attracted around 80,000 visitors.Read more at:celebrity dresses | cheap formal dresses