'Tactile Memories’: An interview with emerging designer Eloise Chang-Hunter on her recent collection Growing Pains

The clothes we choose to wear each day are undeniably a form of self-expression. A way for an individual to outwardly communicate their personality, interests, culture, politics or way of life. But our clothes do more than communicate between the wearer and those viewing them. Often, we are attached to our clothes due to the very personal expressions they speak to us as individuals. Sentiments communicated via memories, how they feel, where they were bought, our relationship with their prior owner, their brand, their material, or the way they fit our body. 

Through her latest collection Growing Pains, emerging designer Eloise Chang-Hunter plays on this inherent sentimentality we hold over our clothes. In her interview with Vertigo, Eloise admitted that the collection was born from one memory in particular—being allowed into her mum’s wardrobe to try on clothes. For Eloise, this memory represents a naivety and playfulness towards dressing that she emulates through her design style. In an industry which takes itself as seriously as fashion, it is this playfulness that Eloise believes distinguishes her as a designer. 

“I’m not a very serious person and I think that can be seen in my work. It's a bit of tongue-in-cheek silliness, which I enjoy. I want my work to feel lighthearted and fun,” Eloise told Vertigo.

Playing dress up – whether in your parents’, your sibling‘s, or even a friend’s wardrobe, is for many, the first time we are introduced to a higher world of fashion. In this space, clothes are carefully looked after and stored, they express an unimaginable quality, and they hint at an inherently ‘adult’ style of dress. The vivid tactility of this experience, either by introducing you to new materials, new habits or new styles, is what Eloise calls a tactile memory—a memory which expresses itself in a purely physical sense. It is this physical sensation, drawing emotions and memories from wearers and viewers alike, that has informed the design, sizing and materials in Growing Pains. The collection’s aim, Eloise explained, is to explore this nostalgia, and how it manifests in a tactile way.

“In look one, the dress is made from tanakaed doilies and silk sandwiched together. I sourced the doilies from an elderly woman on Facebook marketplace, who I spoke to when collecting them. She told me how she had acquired and maintained each piece of her collection, and it inspired me to think about my own. I wanted to honour the trace of these inherited items, and have them present without destroying them. This was done by layering the silk over the top, in turn distorting the doilies to feel like a memory,” said Eloise.

Another tactile memory that Eloise notes as inspiring look two of Growing Pains was:

“[T]he feeling of eating fruit in the summertime, waterlogged after a swim with sticky hands… I’ve also really loved getting into textile development—it's probably been my favourite part of the design process so far. In particular, I’ve really enjoyed wet needle felting, which allowed me to make the gingham shorts entirely by hand. I love the handmade elements, because I feel like they bring a lot of personality and individuality into the garments. It's where I feel most excited to experiment and allows me to inject a part of myself into my work. The shorts in look two were made to look like a gingham picnic rug I used to eat fruit on as a child—I wanted to emulate the feeling of messiness and play, alongside the actual tactile stickiness of the fruit.”

Eloise also noted that her work was informed by experimental research she conducted on her seven year old niece, who, when playing and draping cloth alongside her, displayed a looseness in form and expression that inspired her. 

“She had quite a maximalist approach, draping layers upon layers. This is what inspired me in the layering and puffy silhouette of the collection’s jackets. I aimed to make my garments present a doll-like quality similar to her toys, which was achieved by rough stitching, raw edges, wadding and oversized buttons.” 

Yet for all Growing Pains and Eloise’s childlike qualities, which of course are so apparent in her pieces, there is an underlying sophistication present. Through her careful curation of colour, texture, materiality and silhouette, Eloise's work presents the entirety of a child’s experience—from the fun, to the loose, to the fragile, to the soft, to the bold. 

Eloise is set to complete a Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles at UTS in 2025. While she expressed that she possessed some initial apprehension regarding the fashion industry and fashion ‘scene’, Eloise’s community of fellow fashion students has been a highlight of the course. 

“I’ve made some really great friends in the course and everyone is always so supportive and willing to help each other–it doesn’t feel competitive in the slightest,” Eloise said. 

Looking to the future, Eloise admits that she is open to all opportunities, and expects she will be drawn to the less rigid, and more experimental spheres of design. 

“I would love to eventually get into costume design for film–-I’m really passionate about sustainability and I just think there’s enough stuff going into landfill at the moment and I just would prefer to make one-off garments which are not for production.”

For more information on her process of garment design, construction and presentation, and to stay up to date on Eloise’s upcoming collections, head to her Instagram (@Weez.wip).