Alice Edgeley reports on Melbourne activist group Fast Fashun’s ingenious response to a shocking global crisis. (It’s seriously good fun.)
Words: Alice Edgeley (scroll to meet your VoxFrocker) Photographs: Rebekah Halls/Theresa Harrison Photo Agency and Alice Edgeley
It’s a bright sunny Saturday and I’m weaving through a warren of artist studios, cafes and pockets of greenery pinging with spring blossom at Abbotsford Convent. I’m following the signs: “Wasteworlds”, a five day interactive experience in the convent’s former Magdalen laundry inviting audiences into a post-apocalyptic landscape where creativity and safety pins are humanity’s last hope.
It’s the brain child of Teneille Clerke (a.k.a Tenfingerz) and artist Sebastian Berto (a.k.a Famous Artist Sebastian Berto) core members of the art collective Fast Fashun who, together with a wider group of creatives, have orchestrated subversive immersive fashion events since 2019.
What hits me first; mountainous piles of clothing, sickly mint green walls, a scatter of people in various stages of undress. Then Tenille greets me dressed in bright layers: a frilly pink nylon apron, an oversized head bow, badges and shoulderpads pinned to a floral top and stripey tights.
“You are entering the future,” Tenille explains, “It’s 2125; civilisation has collapsed, humans have bought, worn and thrown out their clothes so many times that fashion waste has taken over the whole world. Everything is made of old clothes: the rivers, forests, seas and land…”
Photo: Rebekah Halls 
Photo: Rebekah Halls 
Photo: Alice Edgeley 
Photo: Rebekah Halls
There are four stations with helpers, pins, sewing machines and scissors, ready to realise our vision. The space is also wheelchair accessible, open to mobility aids, non-verbal communication and every energy level.
This is the first of three two-hour sessions; virtually a six-hour near-non-stop runway across the day. As participants, we are encouraged to pick through the mountains of clothing waste then pin and sew outfits to wear in the show.
Tenielle is a big fan of dystopian fiction and this is evident as she cleverly creates the scene. For those who know the horrifying statistic, that Australia has surpassed the US as the world’s biggest consumer of textiles per capita, this is more than confronting. Pushing your hands deep into piles of discarded garments is an uncomfortable symbol of this growing global crisis.
But here it’s not all gloom and doom. Wasteworlds may be a dystopian horror but it’s also an engaging and fun experiment, a rare chance to dress up without self consciousness, prance around indulging your inner fashionista.
I notice there are no mirrors. Is this a conscious choice? It gives participants the chance to cobble together outfits that feel good without the constant need to scrutinise their reflection.
And then. As we rummage and pin and sew looks together, one of the giant piles starts to move. Like a clothing volcano it bulges then bursts revealing a mouth big enough to walk through.
Creative collaborators Snuff Puppets have joined the show. “This collaboration brings together our love of large-scale sculptural worlds with Fast Fashun’s sharp commentary on mass consumption culture,” says the performance troupe of giant hand-made puppet’s Nick Wilson. “Together we’ve created a space where environmental crisis becomes creative catalyst—complete with a giant clothes monster puppet with ten-meter arms.”
Snuff Puppets’ monster then caresses the runway with its giant arms as participants skip and strut in and out of its cavernous mouth.
And, herein lies the cunning confluence of Wasteworlds. Despite the distressing subject of fashion waste and climate emergency, this is a joyous celebration. Wasteworlds is willfully inclusive, a powerful expression through clothing and fashion, seamlessly blending creativity, play and performance while drawing attention to the climate crisis and social consciousness. That’s definitely something I’d like to consume more of.
Meet the VoxFrocker: Alice Edgeley
Alice Edgeley is a fashion and costume designer. After 30 years she’s branching into a range of new fashion projects including this foray into journalism with the Voxfrock Rookie Crew. Alice cut her teeth in the studio of revolutionary British designer Christopher Kane. Since 2010, her eponymous label has been sought out by some of fashion’s most fabulous characters from London to New York, Paris to Melbourne, including DJs, performance artists, drag queens and music’s most flamboyant stars. Edgeley’s work across film, theatre and fashion is thoroughly grounded in the deep historical research she brings, not only to her designs, but to her astute analysis of contemporary clothing codes and trends.
