Alexi Freeman's Freeform

With breezy elegance and simple silhouettes, Australian fashion designer Alexi Freeman creates basics laced with subtle luxury. Originally from Tasmania, Freeman moved to Melbourne where he became involved in the city’s budding fashion scene. Influenced by Melbournian’s penchant for a monochromic palette and clean shapes, Freeman has brought his background in printmaking and sculpture to create a S/S 09-10 collection rich with effortless grace.

Dazed Digital: What do you like most about Melbourne?
Alexi Freeman: Having lived in New York, I find Melbourne a smaller, more livable, version of that great city. Like New York, it’s a melting pot of different cultures, and no matter what you’re into you can probably find it here. I’m able to live and work in close proximity to the CBD and there is a vibrant fashion culture and a flourishing fashion industry here.

DD: Have you always wanted to be in fashion?
Alexi Freeman: Well I grew up in Tasmania, where I literally had no idea that fashion was a career option as there is no fashion industry there whatsoever. But I had the creative bug from a young age so I went to art school and initially studied to be a painter and sculptor, but once I moved to Melbourne I realized that I wanted to pour all of my creative energy into fashion.

DD: How does your background in printmaking and sculpture inform your designs?
Alexi Freeman: Studying fine art has provided me with a different set of skills to a fashion graduate, and I think it has helped me create a label that isn’t dictated to by the way things “should” be done. I design all my own textile motifs and sketch all my silhouettes before sampling, and I think my art school days have helped inform my artisanal approach to design and production.

DD: Who do you have in mind when you design?
Alexi Freeman: Well this might sound a bit strange, but I imagine what I would want to wear if I was a woman. So I guess I visualize my female alter ego! I try to design pieces for all occasions. That is to say, garments to wear to work, to a party, to the gym, to the supermarket and for a casual drink. I hope that my collections offer pieces that are relevant for all lifestyles and situations.

DD: What is inspiring you at the moment?
Alexi Freeman: I’m constantly inspired by the natural world. Nothing is more beautiful then the palette of dawn, the perfection of a wave or the ephemeral trail of a shooting star, so I attempt to distill the perfection of nature in my work. I hope that my collections are perceived as a graphic tribute to the world in which we live. I am also inspired by our incredible need for the new, so I am excited to be in a position where I can potentially add to the vernacular of fashion that has gone before. In doing so, I hope that I design that perfect piece for someone out there who is dissatisfied with what they have seen elsewhere, but can find what they’re looking for in my collection. 

DD: Who would be your ultimate designer to collaborate with and why?
Alexi Freeman: Alexander McQueen, he never ceases to amaze me. Closely followed by Martin Margiela, his genius takes my breath away.

DD: What’s your first memory of falling in love with fashion?
Alexi Freeman: I’m not sure if this is the first, but I recall lovingly folding my clothes after laundering, before returning them to my wardrobe when I was all of about four years old. Long before I ever knew it was fashion that I would one day devote myself too, I was always very particular about what I wore as a child, and I think this early obsession with my own wardrobe was the genesis of my journey to becoming a designer.
 
DD: What are your plans for the future?
Alexi Freeman: Put simply, to design and offer fresh, beautiful and ethically made collections that are relevant to the needs of women today.