Coined a storyteller of Australia fashion, the label Easton Pearson will feature in the Museum of Brisbane’s (MoB) major exhibition, titled The Designers’ Guide: Easton Pearson Archive from 23 November 2018 until the 22 April 2019.

The exhibition showcases the most daring technical innovations, fabric and embellishment choices of the fashion house over its 28 years and will be complemented by sketches, accessories, samples, look books, photographs, interviews and anecdotes from the designers. The exhibition will feature more than 200 garments, each technically and creatively ground breaking. The Designers’ Guide: Easton Pearson Archive will reveal the leading role Easton Pearson played at the forefront of slow fashion and ethical manufacture, working closely with artists, artisans and workshops across India and Vietnam to ensure good conditions, fair pay and respectful collaborations.

Chair Sallyanne Atkinson AO said the Museum of Brisbane is home to the Easton Pearson Archive which, comprising more than 3300 garments and more than 5000 objects, accessories and ephemera, it is the largest collection from a single Australian fashion house held by a public art gallery or museum. “From their base in Brisbane, Easton Pearson took their unique designs to the world, showing in Paris from 1997 and stocked by Browns in London, New York’s Bergdof Goodman, L’Eclaireur in Paris, Joyce in Hong Kong and David Jones across Australia, as well as Japan, Italy and the Middle East at the brand’s height,” said Sallyanne.

MoB Director Renai Grace said the Museum had been preparing for The Designers’ Guide: Easton Pearson Archive since receiving the collection in 2017. “Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson were the storytellers of Australian fashion. Their unique approach referenced art, travel, film, literature and music to create a bold aesthetic characterised by daring patterns, innovative materials, meticulous techniques and a sustainable ethos,” says Renai. “Their designs remain cutting edge, even today, due to Easton Pearson’s experimental, demi-couture processes and their passion for creating bespoke textiles, prints and embellishments as diverse as champagne bottle tops, raffia, silver thread and sequins, copper chain, felt, feathers and beads of almost every variety.

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