Indigo Stuart wins Australian Fashion Foundation Scholarship Award
In December 2024 Old Girl, Indigo Stuart was named the winner of the Australian Fashion Foundation Scholarship Award, along with Ethan Bergesen. With a US$20,000 prize courtesy of Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar’s The Next Generation foundation and a six-month internship at a New York fashion label, the award is considered one of the most significant for emerging local fashion talent. Previous winners have gone on to complete internships at international luxury brands including Alexander McQueen, Altuzarra, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Narciso Rodriguez, Oscar de la Renta, Proenza Schouler and Thom Browne.
Indgo studied an Honours degree in Fashion Design (BA) at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and developed her own weaving technique while studying at the Swedish School of Textiles. Her collection is zero-waste and is woven using kidsilk and alpaca yarn.
Comprising of eight hand-woven looks, her collection, Inheritance was created using a four-shaft table loom. “Developing a fully hand-woven, zero-waste collection was an ambitious challenge,” Indigo says. Weaving, as a method for garment construction, is incredibly time-consuming and precise, leaving little room for error. Yet she was determined to find a way of making it work.
Indigo's collection is featured on the curent edition of Vogue Australia.
Three of Indigo's works are currently being exhibited as a part of Craft Victoria’s Fresh! Exhibition, which is on until March 8. Listen to an interview with Indigo, who shares how her Scottish heritage and passion for sustainable, emotionally durable fashion shaped her designs. From the inspiration behind her use of traditional tartans to her vision for the future of fashion, Indigo offers an inside look into her creative process and journey as a designer.
Read more about the story behind Indigo's works HERE.
Follow Indigo on Instagram HERE
Photographer: @jono.rrell
HMUA: @moochimade
Model: Sparrow @chadwickmodels
Assistant: @bellaconquest
