Designer Pamela Berbigier’s work focuses on seasoned garments for endless wear. Elegant short-run pieces evidence a passionate dedication to line. The drama of theatre and the movement of dance form the archives for Berbigier's exploration of the body. Deeply influenced by the grace and charisma inherent in stagecraft, she creates work for the everyday that emphases the role of its wearer in bringing life to the garment.
Berbigier’s work in theatre and dance span over a decade. Immediately after graduation from Vienna College of Fashion she worked for the Volks Theatre in Vienna. Her design for choreographer Milli Bitterli led her to theatre work in Australia with the Belvoir and Griffin theatres in Sydney and as the principal costume designer on sculptor Ken Unsworth’s Opera.
With dual design citizenship of the old and new worlds, the designs reflect her weaving of Austrian heritage and Australian home. Made in Australia, they resonate with bare skin southern summers and the jacketing northern snow of Vienna, blending the natural fabrics that suit both climates in sculptural jackets and delicate dresses.
Clean and cut to ride with the body, EllA arrives with quiet confidence and leaves with quiet calm, the air rushing to follow the pieces out.
Manufacturing process:
All garments are proudly made in Australia.
The designing, patternmaking and sampling is undertaken in our Sydney studio. We work closely with our cutter to ensure as little fabric waste as possible. Small productions and custom orders are made by myself.
Our manufactures are a lovely husband-and-wife team who run a small factory, where they choose their own hours and pay legal wages.
Predominantly natural fibers are used in the collections, such as cotton, linen, silk and wool blends. We choose vegan leather (which is laminated Cotton Ponte) as a sustainable alternative, only working with real leather on custom orders.
The most used fabric in our collections is Cupro (Tencel) made with wood pulp from sustainable tree farms. The production process is non-toxic and it is completely biodegradable.
On our care labels we recommend washing garments in cold Water as it is better for the durability of the garment and for the environment.
Each garment is designed to last and to be loved! Garments can be passed on to a friend, taking with them years of stories.
Environment:
We love our planet earth and we are concerned with our environmental footprint! Securing accountability through our supply chain is important to us and we know this starts at home.
In Australia, we are proud to work from our new studio powered by solar.
80% of the fabrics we use in our collections have been purchased from a local fabric supplier who sells dead-stock fabric - which means this fabric is left over or over-ordered by other designers or manufacturers. This allows me to reuse and divert these materials from landfill and breathe new life into them.
Our other supplier is located in China (Zhejiang). The factory has monthly inspections by the government to ensure compliance with carbon emission offsetting – non-compliance results in factory closure.
The government also regulates worker conditions to ensure compliance with labour laws and that our factories have cooled purified air.
Fabrics are produced in compliance with regulation which require the use of non-polluting dyes.
Once fabrics make it to Australia, and are lovingly shaped into EllA garments, any unsold items are recycled into new garments.