From green jumpsuits to knee-high socks and jelly shoes, the street fashions of Nambour are being celebrated on an Instagram page that embraces individual style across all walks of life.
Mill Street Fashion Walk is the online space for Maleny photographer Ketakii Jewson-Brown and Mapleton seamstress Shaye Hardisty to share their respective passions of imagery and fashion.
The creatives wander the Nambour street – Ms Jewson-Brown with camera in hand and Ms Hardisty with her keen fashion eye – to capture the quirks, colour, individuality, style, beauty, glamour and fun of fashion in a series of images, which are posted to the Instagram page.
Ms Jewson-Brown said most people loved the opportunity to be photographed and feel honoured to be picked from the crowd for their style.
“When we see things we think will work, we give each other a sideways glace and sometimes might have to increase our pace to catch up with someone,” she said.
“Some people are taken aback and wonder what we are doing, but once we’ve spoken to them and tell them what they are doing I think many are quite flattered they have been sort out.
“A few people, especially the younger generations, have seen similar (Instagram) pages and felt pretty chuffed they have been stopped and asked.”
Making its first appearance on the social media scene in July 2019, Ms Jewson-Brown told Sunshine Coast News the page was dedicated to celebrating the varied fashion of strangers observed on just one street, right there in the moment.
“It’s showcasing how unique fashion can be and how it’s a form of expression, it’s a form of creativity and it’s a form of communication from yourself to the outside world,” Ms Jewson-Brown said.
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“We are trying to remind ourselves and others that fashion is for everyone. It’s not just an elitist thing that you have to go to high-end stores and spend lots of money on or have a certain look that you are told is in for this season.”
The friends had not long retuned from a fabric-buying trip to Japan, where they fell in love with similar Instagram pages, when the idea bloomed and they decided Nambour was the perfect location.
“We both had followed similar fashion pages based out of Japan. The Japanese are insane with their fashion and taking style to all sort of levels.
“We discussed doing something like that on the Sunshine Coast and I asked Shaye where we would do it and she said, ‘well Nambour of course’.
“Nambour is its own place. It takes no hints from anywhere else and we love that about Nambour. It reminds me of Collingwood in Victoria, or Brunswick Street in Melbourne.
“Those places where you get every generation and every demographic and they are co-existing and a reminder that you can be whoever you want and exist beside someone who is being whoever they want even though they may be complete clashing fashions and lifestyle choices.
“We love being able to talk to people and get their views and build a wider connection in the community of Nambour.”
While sitting at a local coffee shop people watching, the ladies spotted an older gentleman wearing a full green velour tracksuit who became the piece de resistance.
“Sitting in that cafe we decided we needed to capture everyone who captures our attention,” Ms Jewson-Brown said.
“We’ve never seen that man in the green again and we hope one day we do so we can photograph him.”
As a photographer, Ms Jewson-Brown said she loved the opportunity to take a step back from “carefully curated content” and just going with the flow.
“It’s really nice to be a bit more on the spot. You don’t get to curate the background or ask them if they don’t mind going a few streets down where there is a cool bit of graffiti; you just take the photo as they are.
“That is really refreshing to do that to be able to capture and compose something that you have been given or have seen. It keeps it spontaneous and fresh.”
The pair hope the page will continue to grow with potential in the future to compile a postcard book of the images or show the images in a pop-up display around Nambour.
“We would love to showcase the photos we have taken of the people of Nambour within Nambour, perhaps at a council arts festival or a book of images to showcase the diversity.”
The artistic friends are also working to construct about 10 coats that tell visual stories of living on the Sunshine Coast, thanks to a $1000 grant.
Find @millstreetfashionwalk on Instagram.
