Designers, collaborators, but - first of all, most of all, best of all - friends. I went to the studio of Mara and Iris from Thursday, Sunday when I was in Melbourne intending to do an interview but got caught up talking about 90s hip hop and eating triple chocolate brownies and drinking tea. The good stuff. Thursday, Sunday is a brand I've loved for a little while now, falling hard for their hand knits, being charmed by their oatmeal-hued tunics and coming back constantly to see the kinds of simple, unrefined minimalism that the girls spin from eco-conscious fabrics and natural ideals. Maybe it comes from being in Melbourne, maybe it comes from being so young, maybe it comes for working with your best friend. I'm not really sure - and neither are they, much! - but there's something so refreshing about their clothes. Surprising. Like a square of chocolate buried inside a croissant, the first breath after being underwater, a radio turned up too high. I love surprises. And I believe that fashion should always be surprising. So, it really is no surprise that I love Thursday, Sunday.
I was going to write up this interview as I have my other studio visits, but as I was transcribing it I didn't want to break up Mara and Iris's natural conversation and flow. They interact the way best friends do - the way I do with mine - with shared jokes and easy smiles and the confident familiarity that comes with intimacy. If not finishing each other's sentences then knowing exactly what each other would say. No wonder they make such fantastic clothes.
"Mara: It all started in 2009. We had just come back from our holidays and we hated our part time jobs, and then we were just like, 'let's do something together, let's do something fun together and not be stuck doing something that we don't like'. My mum is a dressmaker and we just started playing around... Iris: Well she already used to make stuff for you. Mara: Yeah, she used to make dresses for me. It was a hobby. And then it just got more serious. It started get more serious once we got our PR. We met Evie (the director of Portable, Thursday Sunday's first PR agency) and yeah. Here we are!
Iris: Everyone always asks us what it's like to work with friends. We had a business consultant before we got into it and she said, 'You shouldn't get into business with friends because it just gets awkward' but we knew it would be fine. We've been friends since grade 4, which is a while. It's been really good because of our personalities. Mara is more laidback, a bit more passive. And I'm just bossy. Mara: (laughs). Iris: But we're both pretty considerate I think. Mara: I think it's half-half. Iris: We've got to the point where we can say, 'I don't like that'. Mara: We can actually say to each other, 'let's change it'. That is so important. And my mum is the same, she'll just say 'what is that? no no no.' Iris: 'Girls, you can do better than that.' Mara: She's really great like that.
Iris: But I think it's good because before we had the business we probably saw each other once or twice a week. When you finish school and you're working and you have your own lives it's hard. So now it's nice, we see each other - probably - more than we see our boyfriends! Mara: Probably! (laughs)
Mara: We do most things together, but you're probably more numbers minded, though. Iris: I do all the numbers stuff, admin, accounts... And I do all the write ups. Mara does all the drawing. And Mara and her boyfriend do all the graphic design part, from look books to shoots. Mara: It actually works really well, it's a little team. If we didn't have the other person it would be so hard. Mum's really good, she's very technical and she can help us with putting things together with fabrics and all that. It's a good little team!
Iris: The aesthetic is simple. We really pay a lot of attention to fit. Pieces that are made to last, nothing really driven by trends. Good fabrics and natural fibres, tailoring. Just really simple and timeless. Mara: That sounds like a jewellery ad! (laughs)
Iris: The dream would be to commit to Thursday Sunday full time. To quit our part time jobs! Mara: If we could commit to this full time we would be able to get so much more done. It would be amazing. We could do so many more extra things on the side. Iris: We want to travel. Mara: Travel! Go on an inspiration trip together. And just be comfortable and confident enough to be doing this full time. Iris: And just to be established. To be known. Potentially overseas as well, with a few stockists over there and be known. We want to grow the brand slowly and keep learning, because there is so much more to learn. Mara: Always."
As told to me
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