FRIDSPIRATION: MEET ANNABELLE COLLETT, CREATOR AND CATALYST

Sometimes you come across the work of an artist whose visual language doesn’t speak: it roars.

Such is the case when I first encountered the wonderful world of Australian artist Annabelle Collett and her ah-mazing work spanning textiles, furniture design, interior fitouts, knitwear - the whole shebang!

Collett worked in Adelaide, Australia from the 1970s til the 2010s and produced a wide range of objects and clothing. From graphic knitted jumpers, to mosaic lounges and conceptual dresses made from discarded plastics, Collett’s work has that postmodern penchant for abstract motifs and slashes of colour that I’m ‘pacifically’ partial to.

I was given the book chronicling her career called ‘Annabelle Collett: Creator And Catalyst’ as a gift and finished it in one night, pouring over the stories over how she played a pivotal role in the South Australian art and design community’s development throughout the ratbag 1980s.

This is the kind of person who had Adelaide divided into zones in order to be able to pour through the op shops in a systematic way every month - aka my kinda woman.

It’s a sterling read for any art/fashion pop culture vulture, full of fabulous stories from the era, as is this article written by Kathie Muir and this article by Stephanie Radok.

Collett has since sadly departed this mortal coil, but her incredible legacy lives on in her body of work.

So without further ado, here is some serious design inspo from within the pages from ‘Annabelle Collett: Creator And Catalyst’ in the spirit of sharing the vision of a true eccentric whose work from the pre-digital era truly deserves to be shown (and remembered) for yonks to come.

Mwa X Stavroula