During Melbourne Fashion Week 2025, our Seamless Circular Changemakers event brought together industry leaders committed to reshaping the Australian clothing landscape through innovation, intention and circularity. Among them was ELK, the Melbourne-based label known for its thoughtful design philosophy and commitment to creating clothing with enduring value.
We reconnected with the ELK team to explore what conscious fashion means to them, the circular systems they’ve built, including their (RE)NEW program—and the garments they selected to tell their story during the Seamless event at Melbourne Fashion Week.
You describe ELK as ‘conscious fashion.’ What does that mean?
For ELK, conscious fashion means being deliberate about every choice we make. It's about resisting the pull of trends and instead building something with real longevity through consistency, quality and purpose. That's led us to design pieces that endure rather than follow fast fashion cycles, to be thoughtful about our materials and production methods, and to keep our customers and values central to everything we do.
Conscious creation for us is about examining the impact of our decisions at every stage, from the raw materials we select and who we partner with, through to production, and ultimately what happens when a garment's life comes to an end. It’s about creating with intention and creativity, whilst grounding our decisions in evidence and measurable outcomes because the sustainability landscape is constantly evolving.
Can you tell us about the circularity initiatives ELK has implemented?
(RE)NEW is our flagship circularity initiative, which is our way of extending the lifespan of our products. The program covers several circularity initiatives that include repair, resale and recycling, and offers our community a practical way to participate in the circular economy.
Our dedicated repair workshops in Melbourne restore and extend the life of garments – our small team repaired over 500 items in the last 12 months, extending their life and keeping them in circulation. Our customers can also return pre-loved ELK pieces in-store through the (RE)NEW take-back program. These items are then resold through the (RE)NEW Preloved collection; we accepted 800 items in the past year and resold 550 pieces.
Pieces that can’t be repaired are upcycled or sent to ELK’s textile recycling partner, BlockTexx, which converts blended fabrics into new materials used in textiles and agriculture. This partnership ensures end-of-life garments are responsibly managed and diverted from landfill. We are so proud of what we can accomplish in this space.
During the event, we showed some garments from your latest collection. Can you tell us about them?
For the event, we showed three looks, each telling a different part of our story. The first was from our (RE)NEW collection, our take-back program. This vibrant swing dress is 13 years old, returned by a customer, and features the very first print we ever designed at ELK. Seeing it still loved after all this time reinforces why we design for longevity.
Then there’s the Jopa Dress in that beautiful copper tone, one of our most popular pieces. It’s made from French linen blended with viscose rayon. We choose French linen because it’s grown using less resource-intensive methods, such as dew-retting, instead of the water or chemical-intensive retting used for conventional linen. For the viscose, we partner with Canopy, a not-for-profit that works to minimise the risk of wood—the raw material for viscose, sourced from ancient and endangered forests. Our supplier has earned Canopy’s highest “Dark Green Shirt” rating for strong sourcing policies that protect high-conservation forests.
The final look was the Hullu Top and Pant in Bright Olive, made from NAIA™ Acetate, a fully traceable cellulosic fibre produced in a closed-loop system where water and solvents are continuously reused. It has a beautiful drape and soft feel and is a standout style in this collection. Each piece reflects our mission: to responsibly create products with enduring value through a thoughtful, intelligent design philosophy, crafted with an artisanal aesthetic.
