POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Minidress handpainted by Mary Shackman and designed by Gasworks

Object No. 2007/14/7

Mary Shackman (b.1945) is an important Australian textile designer and artist. For over forty years Shackman's textile designs have been used by some of Australia's key fashion designers and manufacturer's from Sportsgirl, Carla Zampatti, John J Hilton, Kenneth Pirrie and Mark & Geoffrey in the 1960s and 1970s to Nicola Finetti and Anthony Kendal in the 2000s. Shackman describes her style as Bohemian and artistic and this collection of clothing and textiles exemplifies the versatility of Shackman's designs from the striking large scale patterns and bright colours of her prints in the 1960s and the more free form hippy mood of her hand painted clothing in the 1970s to the dramatic painterly quality of her more recent designs for Anthony Kendals 'Thys Collective'. Shackman's textile designs from the 1960s and 1970s are particularly significant, reflecting a period when Australian fashion manufacturers and designers were using the work of local textile designers rather than sourcing all their materials from overseas or large textile manufacturers. Shackman is equally interesting for the way she has moved across the fashion and social spectrum working as a textile designer; modelling for fashion magazines, the Fashion Design Studio student parades and Akira Isogawa; mentoring young designers and involving herself in promotional events for the restoration of Oxford Street Paddington and fundraising for causes ranging from the RSPCA to the Starlight Foundation.

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Summary

Object Statement

Minidress, cotton, handpainted by Mary Shackman, designed and made by Gasworks, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1972-1976

Physical Description

Minidress, cotton, handpainted by Mary Shackman, designed and made by Gasworks, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1974-1976 Wrap around halter neck style minidress which ties together at neck and waist. It has been handpainted with design of girl's face on front of skirt and a blue flower over each breast.

DIMENSIONS

Width

840 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

This material used in this dress was handpainted by Mary Shackman and the dress was designed and made by Gasworks.

HISTORY

Notes

Mary Shackman (b.1945) attended the National Art School at East Sydney Technical College, Darlinghurst in the 1960s and began designing and screenprinting textiles in 1965. While still a student, Shackman co-founded a design studio 'Printed materials, Mary and Vicki' with a friend.. They designed hand painted and printed yardage for clothing and furnishings which they sold to department stores, fashion designers and boutiques including Georges, Farmers, Finlandia, Carla Zampatti, John J Hilton, Simona, Merivale and Gasworks. They also retailed their furnishing and dress fabrics from the Mary and Vicki Boutique in Grieg's city store on Pitt Street, Sydney. They designed a range of bold, colourful large scale designs which were printed onto cotton, velvet, jersey and Lurex. In 1972 Shackman wound down the business to look after her two children and began her own wholesale business with husband George Theodore, hand painting fabrics for Australian fashion labels Jenny Kee, Linda Jackson and Mark & Geoffrey. She established 'Mary Shackman Australia Pty Ltd' in 1975, specialising in hand painted and printed designs for her own resort wear ranges of t-shirts, sarongs and accessories. These sold through Country Road, Sportsgirl, Dynamite, Cherry Lane, Hot Shops, David Jones and Robert Burton. From the 1990s Shackman concentrated on painting, with a number of group and solo exhibitions at the Caspian Gallery, Ken Done Gallery and Valerie Cohen Gallery. She continued to work with fashion designers creating hand painted textiles for Nicola Finetti, modelling for Akira Isogawa and the Fashion Design Studio parades. In 1998 she formed a creative partnership with Anthony Kendal painting fabric designs for his 'Thys collective' collections in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Shackman is also involved in a raft of activities outside her own work-she has actively nurtured young fashion designers, been involved in promotional events for the restoration of Oxford Street Paddington and donated paintings for causes ranging from the RSPCA to the Starlight Foundation. Mary Shackman official website 2008 : www.maryshackman.com

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of Mary Shackman, 2007

Acquisition Date

29 January 2007

Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.

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