Karis zanetta the label

Grey Sheep

kariszanetta

Location

sydney / Australia

University

University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Graduation year

2020

Main Manufacturing Countries

Australia

Contact

Karis Zanetta Cheng is an emerging textile-based fashion designer. As a designer she is captivated by the emotion, history and memories embedded within colour and material. She navigates life, creativity and design with a sense of spontaneity and fun. As a vivid collector of ideas, textures and patterns, she subconsciously and intuitively mixes these together in unexpected ways. Her work is personal and meaningful, encouraging people to find, celebrate and tell their own individual stories and cultural identities as she seeks to uncover, distil and tell a narrative of what it means to be someone of multiple cultures. Karis Zanetta aims to catalyses curiosities about diverse perspectives and ways of knowing, becoming a platform to express the complex relationships we have with our past traditions, present experiences and future desires.

Latest Collection

Where Are You From?

Where Are You From? Is a personal dérive into the history, tradition and memory of generations of my family. Inspired by nostalgia, culture and family history, the collection transports the past into the present with vintage references that straddle two worlds.

The collection is grounded in deeply personal primary research, exploring vintage family photographs as a source of inspiration to masterfully weave together patterns, signs and symbols inspired by my cross-cultural identity. I take inspiration from my ancestors in China, to my parents growing up in Singapore and Malaysia in the 70s, to immigrating to my birthplace of New Zealand and my childhood growing up in Australia. In translating these various influences, I explore eccentricity, youth, a patchwork of nostalgia as well as bold and vibrant prints.

Where Are You From? draws inspiration from the myriad beauty of the Asia Pacific from vintage 1930s cheongsams, to Singapore navy uniforms and from traditional Malaysian weaving cloths to Maori motifs. The Asia Pacific becomes a rich and detailed source of inspiration, catalysing a vivid exploration of colour, print, textiles, and form. The collection is textile-led, taking a mixed media approach that incorporates both the digital and the hand generated to create rich and detailed textiles. Colour is explored in vibrant and intricate ways, using patchworking techniques, accompanied by unique methods of stitching to weave together the colours and moods of the Asia Pacific region. Explorations of print and pattern emerge at the forefront, inspired by textures located in vintage photographs, in combination with sponsored Liberty London floral printed fabrications.

Where Are You From? seeks to tell a narrative of what it means to be someone of multiple cultures and identities, exploring and celebrating the myriad beauty of the Asia Pacific.

Photography: @_natashakilleen / HMU: @elizabethclewis / Models @jadehsuu @emilycremer__ @connieou_