This weekend we’re hosting a celebration of - and a chance to shop - artisanal pieces from Rare Candy’s archive.

Rare Candy was a studio practice based in Melbourne that worked within the realms of art and commercial fashion. The label, designed by Rohan Whiteley and Rex Veal, used handmade garments, accessories, jewellery and installations to explore the similarities between craft, couture, and the readymade.

Unexpected materials and processes in their work challenged popular ideas of product value and desirability, framing commercial fashion design within the context of an art practice. Rejecting the seasonality of the fashion industry’s trend-based consumption and its wastefulness, Rare Candy favoured the serendipity of discarded, used or unwanted materials that are readily available.

Hinting at, but also trashing the exclusivity and coveted nature of couture, their method of production employed improvised craft techniques, hand detailing, repairs and alterations, patchwork, prints, natural dyeing and staining processes. These processes revealed an intimacy that can be lost in mass production and reevaluated what can be seen as a desirable commodity. With these garments, Rare Candy has also produced an ongoing series of

collaborative fashion performances that engage with the politics of the body on display.

The label ceased production in late 2016.

Join us after hours on Saturday to be the first to explore Rare Candy’s archive and meet one half of the creative duo, Rohan Whiteley.