Olga Blake Mckenzie, known professionally as Ollymacs, designs fashion and upcycled wearable art with a mission to inspire individuality and self-expression through fashion.
The Kallangur artist creates one-of-a-kind designs primarily made from recycled materials.
“Using recycled materials aligns with my values of individuality and authenticity,” she said.
“There is something powerful about giving new life to forgotten fabrics and discarded garments.”
Having an eye for different styles, Olga doesn’t see fashion as the norm and instead sees fashion as storytelling.
Drawing on her interest in history, her designs are inspired by the powerful imagery of warriors, queens, and mystical beings.
“I’m inspired by the strength wrapped in elegance, and I use textures, fabrics, and symbolism to convey each garment’s story,” she said.
“The materials could be leather, silk, or velvet, and I use embellishments like buttons and braiding, which I often find at antique stores.”
According to Olda, creating something individual means seeing the beauty in imperfect and aged materials and reimagining them.
Turning Waste into Wearable Art
Each year, Australians throw 23kg of clothing into landfill, and it is this throwaway society that Olga’s creations aim to challenge.
Taking 100 to 300 hours to create one garment, there is no mass production or throwaway fashion in her collections.
In fact, Olga said she takes throwaway materials like single-use plastics and transforms them into wearable art.
Entering her first Australian Wearable Art exhibition in 2022, Olga has created garments out of Hello Fresh bubble wrap and medication blister packs.
She said her wearable art pieces are about turning trash into something.
“My Homeostasis piece is a ballgown made from 1375 medication blister packs that I cleaned and painted by hand,” she said.
“I was asking people to think more deeply about the medications we take. Are they as bad for us as they are for the Earth?”
Olga said her designs are theatrical and expressive, and she wants people to feel seen, empowered, and unapologetically themselves.
“No two people are the same, and I create in the same mind,” she said.
“That’s why every garment I make is a wearable story that carries energy to the person wearing it.”
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