Our 2024 headline Design Store event features an up-close and personal moment rockstar fashion label WAH-WAH Australia and designer, Kaylene Milner.
Milner will fly in from the east coast to host this meet-the-maker talk and discuss her career evolution. She will give an insight into the development of her latest knitwear collaboration with AGWA featuring international contemporary artist and rising star, Anna Park.
When AGWA first introduced me to Anna Park's work, I had two reactions. The first was, "how on earth am I going to make this work in a knitted jumper!?" But the second was, "who cares, because I LOVE IT!!! I'll figure it out". The frenetic energy and glimpses of recognisable motifs and text one associates with her work are not an obvious fit for knitwear, but Park's latest work introduces a more graphic pop-art element that contrasts with the chaotic movement of her charcoal illustrations. Having the opportunity to reinterpret this aspect of her work has resulted in a fresh, unexpected and exciting approach to wearable art.
Kaylene Milner is a designer and musician living and working on Dharawal land. Originally a musicology student at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Milner changed path and enrolled at the Fashion Design Studio Ultimo TAFE, and followed it up with a postgraduate certificate in design at UNSW Art & Design.
In 2015 she founded WAH-WAH AUSTRALIA. The brainchild of Milner, WAH-WAH is a one-woman led project that defies definition. Part fashion design, part art curation, part activism through wearable art, WAH-WAH has redefined what a brand can be by rejecting traditional seasonal models of selling collections and instead focusing on each garment as a piece of wearable art with a story and a mission statement. Every garment sold gives back to the artist, and in some cases all profits are donated to a cause Milner cares passionately about. In the last 2 years alone, she has donated over $130,000 from sales to: The Climate Council, Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation, Carbon Positive Australia, National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition, Teenage Cancer Trust, Full Stop and the Red Cross. Her sustainably produced garments are more than just items to keep warm in: they are conversation starters.
In addition to running and designing for WAH-WAH, Milner is the drummer for the post-punk band Loose Fit, signed to Spunk Records in Australia and Fatcat records in the UK.
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GALLERY OPEN
Wed to Mon 10am-5pm
Closed Tuesdays, Good Friday and Christmas Day
Entry is free, donations welcomed. Special exhibitions may incur a ticket fee.
