SHAYLI HARRISON
‘CRIMES AGAINST NATURE’

SHAYLI HARRISON
‘CRIMES AGAINST NATURE’

This collection is based on my life in Western Australia, growing up surrounded by native bush-land near the ocean. I’m very much tied to the landscape there. The scenery is so amazing and you don’t really grasp that until you leave. My parents and grandparents each owned a bus, so every chance we got, we would all go drive for hours and hours. We would stay in the national parks and go fishing, bush-walking… I spent a big part of my childhood just being outside. It’s something that I really missed when I came to Antwerp. Last year, I took a year off and got to experience that again. All of this inspiration ties in with me seeing an exhibition that friends of mine, Loren Kronemyer & Ian Sinclair put on.

What was the exhibition called?

‘Ecosexual Bathhouse’.

I’m intrigued.

That’s where I learned about the idea of ecosexuality through the Ecosex Manifesto by Annie Sprinkle & Elizabeth Stephens. A concept I immediately loved. It’s about treating nature as your lover. Or looking at what you and nature have as a relationship. Perhaps, in that way, if we see it as something reciprocal, then we might stop abusing it. Just viewing the environment as another living entity, which you can take it as far as you want. Some ecosexuals perform marriage rituals with the dirt, the ocean or the sun, for some it is very much a kink and for others it is simply a filter through which they view their relationship with the environment. For this collection I created a character that embodied my own love affair with nature: she is an Australian, white-trash goddess with a fetish for mother earth.

THANKS TO:

I would like to thank my family – Mum, Dad, Shane, Jay & Lani and both my grandmothers for your never-ending love and support. To my partner and love, Rhys Savage, who has been through it all. Shout out to Robbie Van Mierlo, the best personal assistant ever and all those who gave a hand.

I would also like to thank Maddy North and the Think Positive Prints team for the beautiful fabrics, Jan-Willem from Metzler Intl. for the incredible sunglasses and Django from Furlabs, for his patience and expertise. Thanks to my collaborator, Sophia De Groot for the stunning jewelry pieces, Haidi and Chris who made the fabulous knitwear and Eleni Kai who worked so hard on those killer boots.

Merci to Hasna Labreg, who cut and styled all the wild wigs – as well as Adrien Gras, and the fabulous shoot team who made the magic happen. Thank-you to those who have helped me with the show and exhibition – to Lieven Slabbinck for the special effects, Joris Thoné and his green thumbs and Mark Florquin, for his technological prowess.

Last but not least, a big thankyou to all the teachers at the fashion academy! x x

The full interview will be published in the Antwerp Fashion Department’s yearly magazine, available for purchase at SHOW2018


♥ to Dominique Nzeyimana and Knotoryus.com for the interviews.

The full interview will be published in the Antwerp Fashion Department’s yearly magazine, available for purchase at SHOW2018


♥ to Dominique Nzeyimana and Knotoryus.com for the interviews.

The full interview will be published in the Antwerp Fashion Department’s yearly magazine, available for purchase at SHOW2018


♥ to Dominique Nzeyimana and Knotoryus.com for the interviews.

EXPO 2018