bassike resort 22 at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. Image: Dave Blake
Art imitates life in Deborah Sams’ latest collection for beloved Aussie label, bassike.
Her starting point for resort 22, was the agate gemstone, which has a range of wonderful properties such as rebalancing and harmonising the body, mind and spirit, and promoting feelings of security and safety. So, energetically, it’s what we all need, and it just happens to also be incredibly beautiful, turning up a collection in rich tones of jade, malachite and redwood.
“I was really drawn to the depth and the chaos of [the stone], and throughout the collection I have called on its rich and bold tones,” said the label’s co-founder and creative director. “Influenced by the lines and movement of agate stone, resort 22 is a balance between the noise of vibrant, experimental print, punctuated by moments of pause through streamlined, tonal pieces.”
In effect, she has synthesised visual cues from the natural world with the dynamics of our current human experience, and expressed it into something we can all enjoy and is a sort of salve for the senses in these peculiar times.
That is what only the best artists and creatives can do: produce items that resonate with us on many levels, whilst we are mostly unaware of what’s taking place.
Knot detail agate printed dress
Moments of pause are such a theme of our new covid reality. And there are silver linings there, says Sams. “It has certainly given us all more time to think and enjoy our families, get back to nature and slow right down. I feel extremely grateful that I have been fortunate enough to use this time to reset and sit with my creativity,” she said. “Mindfulness and meditation have always been a central part of my routine, which has helped me to embrace this transition period.”
Sams says that while we can all acknowledge some of the benefits as well as the ongoing hardships that covid has caused, she hopes that the fashion industry as a whole is able to learn from this period of pause and implement the change we wish to see in the world.
Image credit: Bart Celestino
“These times are not easy, but they will pass.”
“There is a big opportunity now for businesses to operate responsibly; for fashion brands to adopt more ethical and environmental practices. At bassike, we are doing this by cementing our position as a responsible business. We have used organic cotton in our collections since the very beginning and have always championed our local garment manufacturing industry, by producing over 90% of our collections here in Australia.”
“Reducing our carbon output was considered in every aspect of the resort 22 show, from venue, to energy usage, banning single-use plastic and sending digital-only invites. Our greenhouse gas footprint is to be offset through forest regeneration initiatives in the Amazon and Tasmania.”
Today, at time of publishing, bassike has just been certified a carbon neutral organisation by Climate Active, the most rigorous and credible Australian standard. Another good reason to love and support the label that just keeps giving, season after season. And here’s hoping that more labels will use this moment of pause to organise themselves and follow suit.
Thanks for the chat Deb.
If you’d like to spend two more minutes with Deborah Sams, head right this way to find out what her covid revenge outfit would be and what she’s wearing in lockdown and, let me just say, it’s a whole mood.