Fashion designer and creator Elaine Booth opened the doors to The Fashion Booth in Roxburgh’s main street yesterday.
Ms Booth said with its exposed brick and stone walls, the shop, which housed a bakery more than a century ago, was the perfect setting for her creations, all made from natural fibre from the Teviot Valley.
From pillows filled with wool to possum-skin throws and cushions, to bespoke coats with exquisite linings, everything was handmade and locally sourced, Ms Booth said.
She began sewing as a school leaver at Odenberg Industries’ clothing factory in Dunedin, sewing ‘‘thousands and thousands of pairs’’ of black rugby shorts.
It might not have been high fashion but it was a good training ground in commercial production, she said.
At the time, her partner was working on the Clyde dam construction, so she moved to Cromwell.
However, looming industrial strife on the work site encouraged them to cross the Ditch and move to Adelaide.
There Ms Booth went to work for House of Mystique, which made bridal gowns.
It was light years from production-line shorts.
She made gowns from the designer’s pattern, altering as necessary as she fitted the garment for a model.
Her work appeared in bridal magazines and at fashion shows for major buyers from around the country.
Lightning-fast adjustments would be made to garments as models headed to the runway.
She also tweaked garments for customers to ensure a perfect fit, something she does to this day.
After 30 years away she returned to the Teviot Valley about eight years ago to spend more time with her father, and in doing so she left two sons, and their families, behind.
Her years working in high-end tailoring led her to make bespoke wool coats, each one a one-off, never to be repeated, she said.
Linings were all natural fabrics — cotton, linen or silk — and the buttons were covered in the coat fabric with metal backs so no plastic was used.
After struggling to source natural-fibre shoulder pads, she learned how to felt and makes her own.
The wool all comes from Teviot Valley properties, including the Booths’ family farm, Benger Burn.
Similarly, the possum skins for her throws and cushions are locally sourced.
Each has a label explaining the animals are an imported pest — and who captured that pelt.
Opening the shop was an exciting venture and she hoped to show more people how wonderful natural fibres were, Ms Booth said.
