EVERY designer feels a connection with clothes, but it's a rare feat to draw the consumer in as well.
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However, it's a challenge that Canberra designer Alice Sutton is tackling head on.
With fellow designer and CIT fashion graduate Amy Taylor, Ms Sutton is using local sights to capture the essence of Canberra in her clothing.
''We really want to ingrain our garments with stories,'' she said.
''We want to create garments that stay in a person's wardrobe forever, because there's something ingrained in there.''
Through their separate labels - EDITION and AYLOR - the pair aim to embed a story into every garment they design, drawing inspiration from the local landscape and undertaking shots at sites such as the Yarralumla Brickworks.
For her own collection, Ms Sutton spent hours photographing the Mt Stromlo Observatory and working the captured lines into her EDITION designs.
''The whole collection is based around that site, its stories,'' she said. ''Every garment is inspired by a photograph.''
The designers are also working within a more sustainable practice, using a system of zero waste which incorporates the whole piece of cloth into a garment.
Ms Sutton said the practice addresses the role of zero waste design and the importance of a more sustainable fashion industry, ideas which grew out of a sustainability symposium the pair took part in several years ago.
''It was really inspiring,'' she said. ''It was more than just sustainable, it was beautiful as well.''
More information at selvedge2selvedge.blogspot.com.
This reporter is on Twitter: @stephanieando