Artist and designer Keegan Hunt has a passion for combining relaxed, minimalist silhouettes with her own brilliant, creative prints. Her eponymous brand Keegan is all about slow, considered design, that is also comfortable and stylish.
“I studied fashion at ‘the Melbourne school of fashion’ and graduated in 2007. I was still young and hadn’t really decided where I would like my training to take me,” explains Keegan. “I went on to study a visual arts and graphic design degree, with a goal of taking these three disciplines into a career in education.
“While studying, I began selling vintage clothing at local markets. After a while I introduced some of my handmade designs to my stall and to my surprise, they were picked up by wholesalers. From there, the brand grew organically and by the time I graduated, I was ready to open my first store in Hawthorn and to officially launch my brand.”
According to Keegan, the brand was “founded on a love of fashion and a hatred of overconsumption”.
“After spending nine years establishing the brand through my bricks and mortar stores in Melbourne’s North, South & East, I now work from my Gippsland (Gunaikurnai) based studio to produce durable garments with longevity in mind – from their timeless cut and aesthetic, to the way each piece is constructed. Each year a trans-seasonal collection is released, designed for layering and year-round wear,” says Keegan.
Keegan the label has a timeless, versatile aesthetic. Keegan describes it as having ‘relaxed, minimalist silhouettes combined with statement hardware and textiles … [and] original artworks feature on many of our printed fabrics.”
Aside from clothing, the brand also has a small range of jewellery that is also assembled in-house using a mix of locally sourced and imported materials. Keegan the label is also size-inclusive with most items available up to size 18-22.
Since Keegan is also a talented artist you can also buy prints of her fabulous artwork that are the original inspiration for the unique prints of the clothes.
As part of the slow fashion movement, the Keegan brand focuses on a series of sustainable fashion aspects including using “predominantly bio-degradable materials during cutting and all off-cuts are collected and stored for future projects and up-cycling. Any pattern-making paper offcuts are collected then composted and compostable mailing satchels and tape are used for packing clothing orders. The studio is also powered by powershop, Australia’s only accredited carbon neutral energy retailer.”
“All products are manufactured in-house from our Gippsland based studio and many pieces are now produced on a ‘made to order’ basis, to reduce the likelihood of deadstock. Being accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia, we receive annual audits, to ensure ethical standards are met within the business’s manufacturing supply chains,” says Keegan.
Although the brand is definitely doing well now, it wasn’t always easy. Keegan says that sorting out the overall aesthetic and concepts took a while, but customer support really helped.
“Launching a brand on my own was difficult, particularly because of financial constraints and accessing information and resources in a well-guarded industry,” explains Keegan.
“I definitely played with different styles in the beginning, but I was lucky to have the opportunity to test them in a retail setting and get face to face feedback from customers. I was able to develop the brand’s aesthetic from there and build a loyal customer-base, which is still growing.”
Despite the ups and downs, Keegan loves what she does: “I’m constantly learning new skills and wearing many hats, which keeps my workday varied. Expressing myself creatively is definitely the best part of running a label and it’s always very rewarding when my vision resonates with customers.”
Website: keeganthelabel.com.au | Instagram: @keeganthelabel
Discover more interesting independent Australian fashion brands in Our Fashion Stories section.
