Above work not only as a pair but also as part of a continuing studio collective. The name, ‘above’, is certainly void of any personal ownership. Conceptual and transcendental perhaps? “I wish we had a better story but the truth is it came out of the studio we shared called ‘All of the above’. We’d worked in the space for two years when we slowly started to make a few things together and when the time came to make a logo it seemed to work as Above, since ‘All of the above’ was meaningful to both of us as a home base.”

The label was founded in 2008 by Kerry Findlow and Nyssa Farrow. Findlow runs the business, having worked in high fashion retail for ten years; Farrow is the designer. “Nyssa was born into design and was always making ponchos and vests with belts for all her dolls,” explains Findlow. “Later she studied at RMIT and has been working as a freelance patternmaker, sample machinist and consultant designer for about four years now.” And whoever else happens to be in the studio also gets involved.

Above essentially work with a central ideology in mind. “We produce classic, wearable shapes that have the foundations of a well-cut pattern. The collections always center around the basic wardrobe (shirt, shift dress, cardigan) but are re-imagined from a structural point of view.” Importance is put on the cut. “We choose classic base fabrics because the focus of the collections is always to do with construction and/or cut and something that was less traditional or busy would distract from that.”