The hottest trends in sustainable fashion are expected to be set at Manningham Art Gallery’s upcoming exhibition, Beach Couture: A Haute Mess.  

The exhibition from 27 February to 30 March will feature wearable pieces, created by international artist Marina DeBris, from objects and rubbish collected from suburban beaches.  

Beach Couture: A Haute Mess encourages viewers to reflect on the use of single-use materials and ‘fast fashion’, and the ability of materials to be transformed and reworked for new purposes. It is an area of growing interest and responsibility in the fashion industry. 

Manningham Mayor Cr Paula Piccinini said the exhibition highlighted the ever-growing problem of pollution in our waterways, created in part by our contemporary reliance on single-use items. 

“We can all play a part in preserving and protecting our waterways,” she said. 

“What enters the stormwater systems finds its way to smaller creek and eventually down the Yarra River and into Port Phillip Bay. Everything is connected and everything we do impact the waterways.”

Marina Debris said this exhibition also challenged audiences to question their own efforts in sustainability. 

“I really want people to think about reducing, reusing, recycling and repurposing or re-gifting fashion, rather than dump them on the street and see them end up as beach pollution or landfill,” she said.  

The exhibition also includes two public programs: a Fashion Conscious Tour that visits the Costume Collection in Bulleen, exploring the social history of Australian Fashion and a free Fashion Drawing Workshop led by an artist from the Manningham Art Studios. 

Beach Couture: A Haute Mess is part of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival Arts Program.  
For more information about the Exhibition and public program bookings, visit manningham.vic.gov.au/beach-couture-a-haute-mess.