BEHIND THE SCENES: Supporting the local economy through Australian-made clothing

As you might already know, over 80% of Obus products are made in Australia (the majority of them right here in Melbourne!). Today we introduce you to our designers and production team, and take a tour of one of our local manufacturer’s factories.

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It starts with considered design 

Each Obus collection is designed in collaboration by our founder Kylie, designer Joni and general manager Natalie. At any one time the team could be working on three seasonal collections at once, each at different stages of production.  

Kylie’s inimitable prints are always the core of each collection, bolstered by coordinates in unexpected colourways. Depending on the season, the team could be conjuring up styles and silhouettes in light breezy cottons or cosy knitwear.  

Kylie, Joni and Nat are concerned not just with creating single-wear items – that concept is wholly against Obus’ philosophy. Instead, they are committed to building wardrobes of pieces that are at once on-trend and timeless in their design aesthetic.  

Truthfully, there is a lot of talk about YOU in these meetings – how are you, our lovely customers, wearing our garments? Where are you wearing them, and why? How do we want you to feel when you put them on, and what features do you love that we can include in a new design? Surrounded by fabric swatches, yarn samples, and tons of colour inspiration, the pieces of each collection puzzle come together slowly but surely at these meetings, before being passed on to our production team and makers.

Remie, one of our pattern makers, Tamsin our sample machinist and Sam our production assistant take the design team’s ideas and get them closer to a final product design. When making samples, Tamsin records her time spent making a garment, and this helps to ensure bulk manufacturing is costed at a fair wage price. 

From 2D sketch to 3D garment 

Before we make dozens of an Obus garment, we must first make just one! Our pattern makers Ros and Remie, and sample machinist Tamsin, work in our Northcote studio taking the sketches from our design team and turning them into a three-dimensional garment. Through fittings and some informal ‘wear tests’ (meaning the Obus team wearing samples around the studio to see how they perform in real life!), the design team tweak each design until it feels just right.  

Once a garment is perfected, Ros will create garment patterns and Remie will grade them to different sizes, before our production assistant Sam gets these patterns ready to deliver to our makers.

Meet one of our Melbourne makers 

Liem, one of our Melbourne-based makers, with a fresh batch of our LOVE AND FURY styles! 

Our commitment to manufacturing locally has a been at the heart of Obus since its beginnings 20 years ago. While once-upon-a-time Kylie made many of the garments herself, over the years we have been in the fortunate position to work with other small businesses, primarily in Melbourne, to manufacture our clothing.  

The benefits of working with local makers for a business of our size is two-fold.  

First, we can keep our order quantities small, so garments are not over-produced (contributing to myriad environmental problems down the track!). Yes, many of our garments sell out quickly when we produce in small quantities, but we think this is actually a good thing. Each one becomes a treasured possession for years to come.

Sam regularly visits our maker Liem’s factory to check in on how things are going with upcoming styles like our WINTER GARDEN print, pictured here (really though, we think she just loves to regularly cuddle Liem’s puppy Luna). 

Secondly though – and importantly – by manufacturing locally we have ready and easy access to the working conditions of the people making our clothes. Based in Melbourne’s West, our maker Liem’s small factory is equipped with all the space and resources needed to make small-batch clothing. Timelines for production and delivery of our products are dictated by our makers. This means they can manage production of garments without requiring excessive overtime from their staff, all the while ensuring fair remuneration.  

Sam, and our production manager Alison, are in regular contact with Liem and our six other local manufacturers, coordinating everything from fabric delivery to garment details. Whether we go and visit them, or they come to us, they’re a visible part of the Obus family. (One maker regularly brings us donuts, so they are obviously our favourite. Kidding, Liem, kidding!).

Details of Liem’s studio. From our large rolls of fabric, his team seek to maximise the use of the fabric for the style (thereby reducing fabric wastage), before producing and pressing each garment. 

Just like our customers support us – a local business – we feel proud that we can support small local businesses as well. We’d like to make everything we produce in Australia, but unfortunately this is not always possible. Why? Tune in tomorrow for information about our overseas manufacturers and the steps we’ve taken to ensure our high ethical standards are upheld when we produce offshore.