Five minutes with a friend: Susie Vickery
What is your first memory of a textile?
I loved my red checked, brushed cotton trousers that my mum made me when I was 5. Or perhaps they were a hand me down. They were so soft and comfortable and comforting. Remembering this I realised that I have always had a pair of baggy checked trousers in my wardrobe ever since. I have usually made them for myself, but my most recent pair of checked trousers were made by a Japanese designer in Melbourne. The texture of the fabric and the baggy cut give me that same sense of comfort as my trousers when I was 5.
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
I love the stories and the histories that they hold. I like to wear clothes that have an extra layer of story to them, either made by a friend, made from material that I have bought on my travels, or remade from something salvaged or found, then further embellished with embroidery. When I made my Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist exhibition, the puppet’s garments were all made from bits of fabric with different stories. Stitched together they gave a whole extra dimension to his story. Only I knew it all, but I loved that when I looked at them I was seeing these layers of stories and memories.
I loved my red checked, brushed cotton trousers that my mum made me when I was 5. Or perhaps they were a hand me down. They were so soft and comfortable and comforting. Remembering this I realised that I have always had a pair of baggy checked trousers in my wardrobe ever since. I have usually made them for myself, but my most recent pair of checked trousers were made by a Japanese designer in Melbourne. The texture of the fabric and the baggy cut give me that same sense of comfort as my trousers when I was 5.
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
I love the stories and the histories that they hold. I like to wear clothes that have an extra layer of story to them, either made by a friend, made from material that I have bought on my travels, or remade from something salvaged or found, then further embellished with embroidery. When I made my Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist exhibition, the puppet’s garments were all made from bits of fabric with different stories. Stitched together they gave a whole extra dimension to his story. Only I knew it all, but I loved that when I looked at them I was seeing these layers of stories and memories.
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