INTERVIEW with Bulley Bulley || Cutting Edge July 11 Event - Fashion Designer 2024

Photographer: James Caswell // HMUA: Sarah Smith // Model: Makeda

Kiara and Bianca Bulley: What should we expect at the Fashion Queensland July 11 event for your designs?

Cutting Edge is a runway event that partners Qld fashion designers with researchers from The Institute of Molecular Bioscience. For this event Bulley Bulley will be creating an original runway look that is inspired by the research of Dr Zeinab Khalil, an emerging leader in antibiotic biodiscovery research.  

We were incredibly drawn to her citizen-driven research project Soil for Science, which asks the broader community to contribute soil samples from across Australia to be tested for microbes that in turn can help in the discovery of new antibiotics. As fashion designers, creative communities and collaborations are incredibly important to us. We are always, encouraged and inspired by the people around us. We really resonated with Dr Khalil’s work as science that is accessible, inclusive and incredibly important to our future. 

From our designs you can expect runway drama, a nod to nostalgia, hand painted prints and tailoring. 

KB + BB: When did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career as a designer?

We have both always been interested in dress as a creative practice. From a young age we were making our own clothes, recreating things we saw in magazines that you could never dream of owning or seeing in real life. I think, it was around that age of six that we got a little battery powered plastic sewing machine, and we haven’t looked back since. 

KB + BB: What was your biggest fear when going out and starting your own line?

I don’t think we have had much fear in starting out because we have always aimed to keep out brand small and slow and manageable. We decided to start the business because we were excited to make our own things after years of working for others in fashion and costume. 

The only thing I worry about now as we are a few years in, is managing creative burnout. Small business is always challenging with workload balance because you just end up working on it every spare minute you have.

KB + BB: Does fashion design run in your family?

Haha! Well we are sisters, so I guess it does now!

We have always been encouraged into creative careers from a very young age and creative pursuits and hobbies were always very important to our parents. We have a lot of teachers in our family. I think that has led us to have a deep respect for learning and curiosity, which have been significant drivers in our careers. 

KB + BB: What does a typical day look like for you?

We get most of our organisation done over the weekends as Bianca still works full time for Opera QLD. 

Our weekends usually start with what I call “Morning Motivation”, an early morning café date where we can plan, design or finish any weekly admin over a coffee before we get to the studio. In the studio we will split out time between working on new designs and finishing customer orders. We have a couple of fun projects in the works at the moment so we are doing a lot of visual research and concept development before we start draping these ideas to the dress form. 

At the end of the day we have a little ritual of turning off all of the lights and machinery, tidying things away and closing the doors of the space. Our studio is in our house, so we find it an important part of our routine to officially finish for the day, so we can switch off and relax.

KB + BB: What advice would you have for aspiring designers?

If you have been dreaming of it just jump in, don’t wait.

Buy your ticket to see Bulley Bulley on July 11 2024 event:

Fashion Queensland: https://fashionqueensland.com.au/whats-on/cutting-edge-a-gala-dinner-exploring-the-fabric-of-science-and-artisanal-design-presented-by-fashion-queensland
Fashion Queensland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fashion_queensland/
Fashion Queensland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FashionQueensland

Bulley Bulley’s social media presence:

Website: http://www.bulleybulley.com/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bulleybulleylabel/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bulleybulleylabel/

Photographer: James Caswell // HMUA: Sarah Smith // Model: Makeda