The Thousands

Local designer and Chasing Bow owner Kylie Ellis appears to come from one of those annoyingly talented families that conjure bitterness and jealousy from the average human. She’s taken her design talent, along with her stepfather’s photography skills and created a beautiful clothing collection that is prim and sexy, Australian and exotic, fun and sombre. The photos, by Col Ellis, are digitally printed onto the fabrics and turn you into a walking nature book or news story.

For ornithology fans, there’s the grey silk crepe Brides Maid Frock with a procession of Lake Nakuru flamingos across the hemline. It’s super floaty and drapey; so much so that the fabric may cause you to forget you’re wearing anything. Repeated cycles of panic, looking down, then feeling relieved you’re not naked may occur – it’s that goddamn soft.

The winning piece for me is the Bow Tie Shirt Dress. Here’s where things get sombre. The photo on this little number is of Duffield’s Grave in Canberra after the Black Saturday bushfires. The dress feels poignant and important, and elicits the overwhelming desire to paw at it admiringly for awkwardly long periods. Believe me.

The rest of the collection features jumpsuits, dresses, skirts and tops in a variety of prints and textures. They’re all recent arrivals and limited edition so the chance of you seeing someone in the same feeling-naked frock or awkward-pawing dress is slim to none.