INTERVIEW with Robyn Hills & Donna Waterford (HILLS + WATERFORD) || 2026 Finalist for The Australian Wearable Art Festival

SD: Hi, Robyn and Donna. Can you introduce yourself to my readers who don’t know you yet?

Yes, of course, thank you!

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

Donna has designed and sewn most of her life - including making bridal, children’s and dolls clothes. She’s also done a dressmaking course and is a perfectionist.

I (Robyn) have been printing my photographs onto fabric for approximately 15 years and have a range of Neckties, Scarves and Leggings with my imagery on them as Wearable Art.

For Opening Night of my New York exhibition, I wore my very first necktie design ‘Green Man’ which was part of my winning portfolio of Australian Professional Photographer of the Year.

While everyone thought my abstract art landscape photographs were interesting and admired them, it was my necktie that got all the attention on the night – everyone wanted to buy it.  Sophia Tezel is an Australian working in New York as a fashion designer, and at the event, suggested to print my landscape photos onto neckties.  Six weeks later, I had a solo show booked at Mercedes Benz for International Fashion Week on the Sunshine Coast.

Donna and I are friends and attended last year’s Australian Wearable Art Festival, and immediately said ‘We should enter next year!’  The perfect pairing - I was the ideas person and Donna has awesome sewing and construction skills.

After COVID, people stopped wearing neckties, and as I had 200+ still in stock, decided to use these beautiful photographs printed onto fabric, to create our entry for this year’s event.

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

Be bolder sooner!  Just start. Experiment, test designs, shapes and techniques.  

I sat on my idea for a couple years before starting it.  Being at the start of digital printing technology, the process was slow and expensive. 

My favourite designs were often the ones ‘not’ most popular with customers – so pay attention to feedback and listen carefully.  Hold a face-to-face street market stall in an area where you think your demographic customer is – people will be very honest with you, so you get instant feedback to keep moving forward.

Watch for trends in demand - I chose a fashion item that was declining in demand - neckties - whereas a couple other companies started printing photographs onto leggings and swimwear and grew more quickly.

Now the biggest trend in digital printing onto fabric is ‘customisation’.  Anyone can now design and print their own creations.  Is there a way you can be part of this trend direction?

SD: What keeps you inspired?

Taking on new challenges, both of us are ‘highly visual’ and see creativity and design as a natural part of our skills. 

I have a constant ‘video reel’ going on inside my head with ideas and designs.  I get inspired by architecture and nature, as well as fashion and travel.  Being a helicopter pilot, I get to see a different perspective of the landscape.  I can ’see’ the finished fashion item or framed photograph inside my head, before I’ve even taken the photograph.

Found myself saying ’for our entry next year…’ so there are more designs in there.

Creativity gives me energy.

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

Because my initial fabric choice for the neckties was a good quality Duchess Satin, which allowed the photographs to be printed with excellent colour accuracy and detail, it’s been a great fabric to work with to re-purpose.  

The category that we’ve entered is ’Trashion’ - stopping items that are discarded/ no longer worn (neckties) from going into landfill by up-cycling them into Wearable Art and giving them a new life.

Going forward, we need to be using ‘re-cycled/ repurposed’ fabrics to avoid waste and create new beauty out of existing items.  Using better original manufacturing techniques that are environmentally friendly will also help our planet.

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

The opportunity to showcase our skills and vision - Donna’s sewing talent and my art.  

We’ve taken on such a large project that it’s gobbling up a lot of time to construct, and we’re both good planners and problem solvers.  There’s been hundreds of small and large decisions we’ve had to make to resolve issues at every step – just when we think ‘that’s sorted’ then the next issue pops up to find a solution for.

It’s been exciting to ask for help from people to bring our vision to the runway - we’ve consulted an aircraft engineer, a sail-maker and a windsurfing harness supplier.

It’s also very heartwarming that when we share with people about being Finalists - they get super excited for us, giving us energy and encouragement.  It’s a beautiful feeling.

Tickets are going fast. Go and buy tickets to see HILLS + WATERFORD 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/

Robyn Hills’ links:

Website: https://robynhills.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robyn.hills1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobynHillsPhotography
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ROBYNgraphs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robyngraphs/