27/06/2026
When Eco Fashion Week Australia told me about the Buya Subi Project, my first reaction was probably the same as everyone else’s…
“Wait… you want me to do what?”
This incredible project is a collaboration between Eco Fashion Week Australia, the United Nations and the Indonesian Government, connecting designers from around the world with handwoven textiles from Donggala, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
It’s a pretty special thing to be invited to be part of.
Then the textile arrived and, honestly, we just sat there looking at it for a while.
This wasn’t fabric off a roll. This was handwoven cloth. Made by hand. Using traditional techniques passed down through generations.
Then came the part we’d been avoiding…
We had to decide where to make the first cut.
When you know the story behind a textile — and the time, skill and knowledge woven into it — that decision suddenly feels a lot bigger than it normally would.
Every design has been planned.
Every cut considered.
Every offcut saved.
This is a four-year collaboration, and these are some of the very first pieces to come from it — jewellery, bags, belts and a whole lot more ideas still sitting in notebooks and scattered across workbenches.
We’re still learning, still exploring, and still figuring out how to honour the incredible skill and story behind the textile while adding our own chapter to it.
This is just a little glimpse of where the journey began.
Project: Eco Fashion Week Australia
Project Photographer: Alexis Rose Photography
