I had a conversation with Maki Taguchi this morning regarding zoom sessions I’m organising for sponsored riders. Our phone call quickly morphed into a wonderful discussion about the beauty of re-purposing things, about the vintage embellishments I work with, and how my use of vintage pieces resonated with her. We chatted about the fabrics & trims I use - some salvaged, some carefully extracted from found garments, some bought at auction, some new old stock, some redundant to the original owner, but all speak to me about how they can morph into something functional, valued & beautiful.
Maki & I spoke about how a crack, a hole, or a wrinkle should not be viewed as an imperfection, but as part of a story. We spoke about the Mingei principle of unconscious arts, & the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi.
I’ve always done big. Seriously huge in Australian terms. In my 30+ year professional life I’ve been directly involved with the sourcing, design, manufacture, importation, supply & retail of 100s and 100s of millions of garments across every category imaginable; footwear & other consumer items. I’ve supplied to and / or worked for every large retailer in the country. The waste associated with this is incomprehensible. Immeasurable. Horrible.
My quiet rebellion against my former professional life is to take something that would have otherwise sat idle for years, or been discarded, & make it into something functional, performance enhancing, beautiful. To get family jewellery that’s squirreled away out of hidey holes & breathe new life into it by getting it onto the necks of riders. To create stocks that when cared for will perform well for years.
Cantaloup stocks are worn all over the world & people often think Cantaloup is a big company. In all of my communications the references have been “we” & “us”. Cantaloup is actually me, not we.
The Cantaloup mission is the fusion of a beautiful façade, performance fabrics & anatomical fit. I quietly work out of a small studio; everything is made by my hands, there is intention for every stock I design & make.
Conversations like that I had today are powerful & energising – thank you Maki!
Ros Fraser.
cantaloup.com.au