Newly relocated to Melbourne from New Zealand, designer June Joy Hullena describes herself as an ‘artist’, rather than as a designer or maker. Her garments are three-dimensional reflections of the world around her, transformed through her own perspective.
HOW IT BEGAN
“My interest has always been in creation, whatever the medium. I made a last-minute decision to switch from architecture to fashion design and since then it’s been my life force,” June explains.
“Starting my own label was the only way forward for me. It developed organically while I was still studying and since then I’ve kept producing.”
The label, June Joy Hullena — named for herself, her mother and her grandmother — was launched in 2022, but June has been creating fashion since she was in high school.
“I started learning to sew thanks to my mum. However, creating ‘fashion’ didn’t happen until I was at uni. My first solo runway show ‘birth’ was at the end of 2024 and prior to that my first group show was in 2023.”
ARTISTIC DEVICES CONVEYING STORYTELLING
According to June, her main fashion inspiration comes from history and 18th and early 19th century European art.
“From the elegance of Rococo and the moralising of Neoclassicism, to the depth of Romanticism and the grit of Realism. I love the storytelling within the art from these periods and the way in which artistic devices are used to convey storytelling.
“I feel the best art and design comes as a reflection on current events that is transmuted through a personal lens into something physical; good art and design in my opinion is a reaction,” says June.
June also says that designers who are “anti-fashion in practice” inspire her personally rather than her work per se: “Alexander McQueen, before he passed away. Paul Harnden. Elena Dawson. Limi Feu.”
The way these creatives work — mostly eschewing the public eye, focused on the details and creating with intention — echoes the way June prefers to work as well, explaining that the main concept behind JJH is: “Anti-fashion. Empowering feminine artifice. Provocateur.”
Likewise, she says that her brand’s aesthetic is “Soft goth. Seductive, not sexy.”
Rather than being focused on production, June explains that she aims to contain her work: “At this stage I don’t produce stock to sell, I produce made to order garments and for runways which I archive.
“I [also] reuse past garments, finishes and scraps within new projects keeping my practice as circular as possible.”
See more of June Joy Hullena on the runway as part of the QUEER BY DESIGN show on Thursday 19 February 2026. Tickets available from https://www.trybooking.com/DGPPG
For more information about June Joy Hullena, go to @junejoyhullena or contact June at hullena.June@gmail.com
