Briar Will’s newest collection, ‘Winning Spirit’, features its signature method of recontextualising used clothes. The label’s creator, Briar Griffiths-Kemp (whose first and middle names are leant to her brand), sources second-hand garments, scans them, edits the images, and then prints them onto textiles before the new and final garments are assembled. On a cold autumn afternoon, Mark Bo Chu swung by her workspace, which was, fittingly, a converted sports apparel warehouse. The worktable was crowded with rhythmic garments and original pieces with upcycled source material laid besides them. Griffiths-Kemp explained her process over a conversation that warranted fingers being run through cool fabrics more than once. Mark walked away with a new take on upcycling as well as a fresh pair of pants.

Briar Griffiths-Kemp I thought I’d pull out pieces from my new collection and explain my creative process.

Mark Bo Chu You don’t need me here [laughs].

BGK Basically, I print garments back onto textiles. My process starts with sourcing second-hand garments. I do a lot of op-shopping and sourcing second-hand online. I find garments that inspire me, that I can see being recontextualised through scanning. ‘Winning Spirit’ takes ideas and colours from sports competitions—the glitz, the gold, the stars, and the iconography surrounding sporting events. That helped me focus how I sourced.

MBC What is your process?

BGK First I source the second-hand garment, then I scan the garment into sections using an A4 scanner. I play with the way it’s scanned to highlight different tones through lighting—I can capture garments in quite different ways depending on how I scan them. Flattening something so tactile and three-dimensional is something I really love. Once the scan is on the computer, I change the original garment a lot and jigsaw the pieces onto the pattern of the new garment. The image then gets printed onto textiles in segments before they're assembled.

MBC So the used garment gets scanned, and the scanned image makes it onto the new garment.

BGK Exactly. In Photoshop, I change the image of the used garment, alter the construction, change the colour or change the texture. One piece used two t-shirts combined.

MBC It seems that on your garments, you can’t necessarily see the full process. You get a sense of layers, but there’s a puzzling element. Sometimes it’s opaque and sometimes it’s transparent.

BGK Yes, it’s more than what meets the eye. If you look at a garment for the first time, you might not know the length of my process in terms of sourcing, scanning, recontextualising, and printing.

MBC Is it important for people to know the complexity of the process?

BGK It’s something I want to communicate more. My garments are very visual, but I don’t want my process or meaning to get lost. That’s what’s driving this brand. My process.

MBC What drives your interest in re-using discarded garments?

BGK To bring new life to them. When you take something from an op-shop and completely change it, you bring it into a totally new world. That’s the driving force for me. Adding new value to unwanted garments and a new perspective to things that are dated.

MBC Do you consider yourself a postmodern fashion maker?

BGK There’s innovation in what I’m doing, sure. Briar Will sits at the intersection of sportswear and luxury.

MBC What’s your definition of luxury?

BGK Clothes that are unique and exciting. My process came from my honours year, when I studied textile design. I wrote a thesis about tromp l’oeil (optical illusions).

MBC I ask because a lot of postmodern thinking has nostalgia in it, but I don’t think yours does. What I get from your clothes is that even though you’ve referenced and recontextualised, it’s really about the new. It’s looking very contemporary to me. Not a throwback.

BGK I try to make things feel fresh. And there’s an irony ingrained in my work and in the process of turning something so 3D and tactile into an image.

MBC Which happens to be printed back onto the very same type of object. I love how the textural details of the pants in the image are camouflaged by the physical texture of the actual pants.

BGK It’s very meta. I wouldn’t say I’m a big sport person, but the uniforms people wear can be amazing, all those textures and colours. Also, the comfortability of sportswear is so attractive. It makes you feel like your best self because you’re at ease. I wanted to incorporate that in my collections. All my fabrics are sports fabrics. I use cool mesh, a fast-drying fabric with real longevity. The printing is sublimation, which is commonly used in sports because it keeps its vibrancy even if you wash it many times.

MBC Do people play sports in your clothes?

BGK I’m not sure if people are being super active, but I was at the Dekmantel music festival the other week and I probably saw twelve people in Briar Will. There’s that aspect of feeling at ease when you’re dancing, feeling sexy but comfortable—that’s what people are drawn to.

MBC Did you go to the festival expecting to see Briar Will?

BGK [Laughs]. My pieces are quite identifiable. You could see them across the field. People say they see it all the time and I think it’s just because it stands out. It draws the eye. And it’s an original concept that you don’t see often.

MBC Pants on pants. Is it always the same type of garment on top of the garment itself?

BGK That’s the process I’ve followed so far.

MBC So the silhouette matches.

BGKI have my pattern pieces digitised. They are printed as one, then sewn. A lot of people think I’m sourcing plain garments, but I have the pattern pieces physically made.

MBC It’s not just an ordinary print.

BGK I wanted to have control knowing where things are sitting on the body.

MBC [Touching a garment.] I see that images go over seams.

BGK It has a different feel. The recontextualised image is part of the new garment. By embodying the image, it emphasises the structure. In my thesis, I talked about how printing an image cuts down on labour and materials. You don’t have to have elaborate processes of making leather when you can just print it.

MBC You’re committed to your academic background. Do many brands have this foundation?

BGKI think it’s true for most long-standing brands. Every collection should be founded in research, because otherwise it becomes meaningless and vapid.

MBC Some brands do so well and my gut instinct is that they’re quite meaningless. Could any serious thinking have informed Country Road, for instance?

BGK I think some brands are informed in non-genuine way and the research isn’t as thorough as it could be. It’s very fleeting. That’s the difference between fast fashion and slow fashion.

MBC Is Country Road fast?

BGK It’s fast.

MBC What makes it fast?

BGK The fact that they’re probably producing things every two to three weeks.

MBC New items?

BGK New items.

MBC Just to mix up the floor?

BGK With commercial brands, that’s just what they do. They take very fleeting points of inspiration and turn them into something very quickly. That’s the whole basis of H&M, taking trends and developing them quickly. They mass produce for a quick buck without any consideration for the quantities they’re producing, or the waste. Consumers buy something, get sick of it within six months, donate it to an op shop or throw it in a landfill. We have a huge problem of excess textiles and garments and there’s no solution. That was a big driving force for me. Being able to use second-hand garments and create a product that people love that stands the test of time. When a design is considered, you develop a stronger attachment because it holds more value.

MBC For a lot of shoppers, it’s hard to know how ethical something is, especially because scale is a sign of success. I like PAM, which I guess must be a relatively small Australian brand. I know they do collaborations with Puma, which is about as big as it gets. How do we think about lines like that?

BGK It’s a fine line. Ultimately, it’s about consumer habits and being wary about where things come from. It does take research from the consumer. Independent brands collaborate with bigger brands for people who might not be able to afford the usual range. The accessibility is a good aspect, but the downside is that it is mass-produced. I stand against mass production.

photography TIM HARDY stylist KEVIN CHEUNG casting & production MIMI CASTING make-up COLETTE MILLER talent FINN and NAYNDNG

MBC When something is labelled ‘slow' fashion, how can you trust that this label is honest?

BGK It’s hard to identify greenwashing. There’s a responsibility for brands to be transparent. I know I could do it further. But even though I have a strong demand for my brand, I still want to produce small runs and manufacture locally. I get all my textiles from a sports wholesaler in Preston. My original collection was upcycled synthetics—deadstock or small rolls, ten metres at a time. When I did upscale, I was unable to source discarded fabric but continued the process of souring second-hand garments that I recontextualise.

MBC I’m realising that the best is to buy less clothes, not to chuck stuff out, and don’t buy stuff without learning about it. The stuff you do buy, wear a lot, and cherish it. If I end up with a Briar Will garment, would you want me to wear it all the time?

BGK Yes. I design my pieces so they’re versatile. Something you can just chuck on and feel stylish too.

MBC I’d thought of buying a pair of pants.

BGK I’ll put through the sale [laughs.]

MBC Let’s do it! If I were to buy these white and blue pants, how often should I wear them?

BGK Every day [laughs.] I personally live in my pants. I wear them to a lot of different occasions, at home, lounging, out, with a sexy top, to the pool, and walking.

MBC It seems like often the very people who are into thoughtful, ethical clothes, also have huge wardrobes. Is part of looking good changing it up?

BGK There’s variance in my colourways. If you load up on two pairs of pants, I think that’ll do it.

MBC So if you just wear Briar Will, two pants should do it.

BGK [Laughs.] Sure! Just wear Briar Will.

photography BEC MARTIN styling ROMY SAFIYAH talent TUN THAN OO