Annabelle Collett (1955-2019) was a South Australian designer and artist whose work embraced art, design and craft.
Her fashion designs and particularly her dramatic knitwear produced under the Ya Ya Oblique Clothing label attained international recognition. Her work also encompassed furniture design, graphics, costume and interior design, public art and environments.
From the early 1990s, Collett concentrated on making sculptural art pieces about the human form and its coverings, looking at the function and cultural meaning of attire with reference to ideas about gender, the body and sexuality.
She also investigated notions of camouflage, disguise, pattern and the affect of disruptions to pattern.
Collett is also known for a series of works with recycled and found plastics that focussed on repurposing waste and challenged the widespread adoption of single-use plastics.
Having been based in Adelaide most of her career, in 2009 she moved to Clayton Bay where she enjoyed a rich collaboration with communities in the Alexandrina region as well as pursuing her own practice.
Kathie Muir has a lifelong interest in textiles and women’s art. A former academic at the University of Adelaide, she developed a subject on fashion, work and personal identity at a time when few people were considering labour practices and sustainability in the fashion industry.
Other research interests include social movements and their use of social media. She is the author of Worth Fighting For: Inside the Your Rights at Work Campaign, UNSW Press, 2007. Kathie spends half her time on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is actively engaged in bush regeneration.
Annabelle Collett: Creator and Catalyst is published by Wakefield Press and available at all leading book retailers including Dymocks.
Image: Annabelle Collett: Creator and Catalyst – courtesy of Wakefield Press