INTERVIEW with Alle-Jane Sellens || 2026 Finalist for The Australian Wearable Art Festival

SD: Hi, Alle-Jane. Can you introduce yourself to my readers who don’t know you yet? 

AS: Hi I’m Alle and I am originally from Warrnambool, Victoria but have recently relocated up to the Gold Coast just over 6 months ago. I have a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and I am currently working as a costume maker for Village Roadshow theme parks and the Brisbane Opera Company. Before moving up to the Gold Coast I had my own alteration and custom-made home studio and started entering the Australian Wearable Art Festival as a yearly creative project after university to push myself artistically and do something different from my everyday job.

SD: How and when did you get into wearable art?

AS: I created my first wearable art piece back in 2019 when I was in Year 11 at high school. It was for my art class final project, and I didn’t want to draw, paint or do photography so my teacher introduced me to wearable art as she knew I loved to sew. I made a Victorian ballgown from plastic bags by fusing the pieces together to make big enough pieces to cut out a sewing pattern and constructed it just like it was fabric. This was the start of a whole new passion and interest for me and I started using wearable art pieces like from the World of Wearable Art as inspiration behind a lot of my high school and university projects.

SD: What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself when you were starting out in wearable art?

AS: I find this tricky to answer as I’m only now 24 and I feel like it wasn’t long ago when I made my first piece back in High School. But what I have noticed is the advancement of ideas, new and defined construction techniques and skills every time I make a new piece. Everything just keeps progressing…my ideas get crazier, and I keep pushing myself. So, I would tell myself to keep creating and striving to create new things because with each new wearable art piece I am adding to my collection new skills, processes, and construction techniques that I can use in the future. I would also tell myself to keep dreaming big.

SD: What keeps you inspired?

AS: During my Fashion Design Degree I realised that I am a silhouette, colour and texture driven designer and this is what inspires me most. Shape is a driving force when I design, and I’m drawn to making things BIG! Making BIG things is cool and a fun challenge however it is not fun when you have to transport it!! I have been asked numerous times why I don’t make something smaller or easy to pack into a suitcase as often I am travelling interstate for competitions however, I find it limiting and harder to initially come up with wearable art ideas if I have to consider size restrictions, so I just dream big and figure out transportation later.

 “Figuring things out” is my design moto and after I come up with an elaborate design, I normally don’t know how I am going to do it or have the skills and knowledge to execute it. However, that is the fun of it! I force myself to learn new things and get out of my comfort zone just because I am motivated and trust that I will be able to bring my crazy vision to life. I don’t want to make it easy for myself and I think that’s what keeps inspiring me, by not limiting myself I can be inspired by anything and let my imagination run wild as I have the drive and passion to figure out how to execute it and make it into a reality which is very motivating.

SD: Explain your understanding of sustainable fashion practices and how you incorporate them into your design process.

AS: Sustainable Fashion Practices is about considering not just the materials used to make your design but its entire lifecycle. It is becoming increasingly important not just for myself but for the whole fashion industry to become more sustainable and think about the impact that your creation is having on this world. For me personally sustainable practices include thinking about where I am sourcing the materials from and ideally finding materials second hand like deadstock fabrics and being creative with materials/objects I already own or have local access to and figuring out a way to incorporate them and give them a second life. I also like to consider what or where I am putting any waste that is created from my wearable art piece and thinking about how I can re-use it for my current or any future projects. 

SD: You’re a 2026 finalist in The Australian Wearable Art Festival. What excites you most about this?

AS: This will be my 3rd year at the Australian Wearable Art Festival and every year I leave so inspired and motivated to keep creating. I love the energy of being surrounded by so many like-minded, creative individuals and I enjoy getting to know these people and how they create as I get to learn so much from them. It’s like a little community and even though I don’t see everyone until competition time, everyone is so welcoming and is genuinely excited to see what you have created and been up to in the past year.

Besides the people the competition itself is fantastic. It gives me a purpose each year to push myself and do something that brings me joy as this isn’t something I do as a day job. It gives me creative freedom to do whatever I want and find interesting in that year and then have a set event to showcase my design. I find that I get so emotional seeing my piece come together when it gets put on the model for the first time and then seeing it come down the runway with the music and lighting, I just feel so much joy and pride. It is the best feeling and that’s what makes me come back every year as I don’t think that I would be making wearable art in my spare time if there wasn’t an event such as the Australian Wearable Art Festival.

Tickets are going fast. Go and buy tickets to see Alle-Jane Sellens in The Australian Wearable Art Festival here

The Australian Wearable Art Festival Website: https://australianwearableart.com.au/
The Australian Wearable Art Festival Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/australianwearableart/
The Australian Wearable Art Festival Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/australianwearableart/

Alle-Jane Sellens:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allejane_fashion_design/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allejanes_designstudio/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allejanesellens

Photo Credits:

First Photo: Modelled by Maddi Clayton and taken by Colin McLellan
Second Photo: Modelled by Jasmine O’Brian and taken by Colin McLellan