Small and Bright

VoxFrocker Theadora Violet reports from Sustainability in Style one of the 80-odd typically smallish events – warmsweet sophisticated gatherings of like-minded Melbournians – on the vast MFF Independent Programme. Scroll down to meet Theadora, one of the stars of our VoxFrock Rookie Crew of emerging fashion journalists and photographers, and click back here and there for more VoxFrocker updates from MFF 2025.

Words and photographs: Theadora Violet

An intimate crowd gathered at Richmond furniture store, Jardan Richmond on Thursday night for Sustainability in Style, a celebration of innovation, creativity and a more thoughtful approach to fashion, one that values quality, longevity and the health of the planet.

Collaborators for the event were Love It Longer, an innovative go-to platform of pre-loved designer fashion, and Jardan, known for its stylish and sustainable Australian-made furniture.

Hosted by the ever-engaging Melissa Leong, the night kicked off with a thought-provoking panel discussion with Mattia Hunter and Giulia Ferrari, founders of Love It Longer and Nick Garnham , Director of Jardan. Conversations tripped into laughter but also deep-dived into the blossoming concept of consciousness among consumers of ethical fashion and sustainable design: how we can all make better choices.

Guests were also treated to a runway showcase of carefully curated pre-loved fashion (all available to purchase through Love it Longer) proving style and sustainability can go hand in hand. 

Over an impressive grazing table created by LaManna&Sons and What Would Kayla Cook, guests networked, making use of the display beds and sofas in Jardan’s airy, beautifully crafted showroom before departing into the warm Melbourne night.

MEET THE ROOKIE: THEADORA VIOLET

Theadora is a photographer and videographer increasingly in-demand for fashion, commercial event and private client projects. She is a science graduate and studied film animation and photography at Deakin University. Theadora is also a seasoned traveller, equally passionate about photographing fashion as exotic locations and far-off destinations. Her fashion photography is nuanced, narrative-driven and tends to reportage. This is Theadora’s third tour on the VoxFrock Rookie Crew.

THE VOXFROCK ROOKIES

The Voxfrock Rookie Crew is a selective industry-based mentoring programme for tertiary graduates of journalism, photography and related study majors who have a genuine interest in developing high quality strategies to report, write and photograph fashion as a complex and inspiring social construct. Crews have been run for more than a decade by veteran fashion editor Janice Breen Burns (mentoring journalism) and legendary VogueAustralia shooter Monty Coles (mentoring photography). Star graduates of the Voxfrock Rookie programme, Chrissy Dore and Tilly Parsons, have also been appointed crew mentors. Many VoxFrock Rookie Crew alumni – too many to list here – have progressed to stellar careers in fashion, media and related industries. In 2023, the VoxFrock Rookie Crew was folded into the mentoring programme run by FashLab, Melbourne’s community of independent small brands and related creative professionals and craftspeople working in all categories of Victoria’s fashion industry.