Models ditch the heels for 3.6km catwalk in regional WA

Once a thoroughfare for tree loppers and whalers, a jetty in Western Australia has played host to a completely different kind of industry: sustainable fashion.

Dozens of models ditched their heels to strut the length of the Busselton jetty on Friday, parading the handcrafted work of 54 designers from across the country and overseas.

Organisers have unofficially claimed it as the longest catwalk on record at 3.6 kilometres in length.  

Extending 1.841km into Geographe Bay, the jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.

While many of the designers have grown up surrounded by the “fast fashion” industry, some have been around long enough to remember when sustainable fashion was a necessity and not a movement. 

The oldest designer showcased at the event was 81-year-old Waroona local Llynnette Neil.

Ms Neil grew up in England during the period of post-war rationing that lasted until 1954. 

She said those formative years instilled in her the importance of recycling — something she would later use as inspiration for her designs.

“The one thing that sticks in my mind is when the parachutes came down, [women] would rush out and get the silk from the parachutes. That’s how they would make their wedding dresses and underwear,” Ms Neil said.

“I’ve used silk, cotton, and all-natural fibres to simulate what we had during the war.” 

After a career as an interviewer with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Ms Neil went back to university at the age of 72 to study contemporary fashion and textiles. 

It was through her studies that she got involved with Eco Fashion Week Australia and the eco-sustainable fashion movement.

“We’ve really got to turn a corner. We can’t just use something once and toss it,” she said. 

“There’s so much wastage and something has to give.”

Unofficial but no less impressive

Eco Fashion Week Australia founder Zuhal Kuvan-Mills hoped setting the unofficial record for the world’s longest sustainable fashion runway on water would raise awareness of the sustainable fashion movement.

“The public needs to understand the efforts we are making towards a sustainable future,” Dr Kuvan-Mills said.

She described sustainable fashion as fashion that does not harm the planet. 

This includes a heavy focus on recycling used clothes and, when possible, other items, to extend its longevity and to reduce the reliance on “fast fashion”.

For most designers, the sustainable fashion movement also extends to ethically sourcing the material and fabrics used in the production process, so that no animals are harmed in the making of the clothing.

“So many people are here from all walks of life, many age groups, and many diverse backgrounds,” Dr Kuvan-Mills said.

“But you see, no matter where they are or where they come from, everybody here has the same feeling. Everyone wants a sustainable future. 

“The way things are going it’s heartbreaking, so that’s why we need to do something.”