Overview
madre natura is a Sydney fashion label founded by designer Jackie Galleghan with Chris Kiprovski and launched commercially in December 2020. Galleghan had begun collecting deadstock textiles in 2017 after a decade working across Australian fashion design and production, then developed the archive into a small-run label when the pandemic interrupted her commercial career. The clothes are made through a local Sydney network of pattern cutters, machinists, graders and production specialists, with Galleghan directing the garments and Kiprovski shaping the visual identity through Cak Studio.
The label has grown through a deliberately irregular release rhythm. Its 2023 collection Wish You Were Here 23 mixed soft tailoring, handwork and 1960s pop references with colours drawn from Australian flora; in May 2024 those same garments were restaged at Australian Fashion Week as The Last Season Collection, a live-commerce protest against overproduction. By 2026 madre natura was stocked through The Iconic, had returned to Australian Fashion Week through The Frontier, and had become a recurring National Designer Award finalist while maintaining its Sydney production base and circular aftercare services.
Philosophy
Galleghan builds collections from the limits and possibilities of existing cloth. Deadstock, repurposed denim, organic cotton, TENCEL thread and carefully specified hardware shape a wardrobe of relaxed tailoring, bombers, trousers, knit separates, dresses and hand-finished pieces whose proportions can move across a compact size range. The finite yardage of archived fabrics encourages small runs and restrained grading, while details such as Corozo buttons, recycled-PET zips, beading and silk organza bring precision to an otherwise easy, coastal silhouette.
The same discipline extends beyond the first sale. Lifetime repairs through mn_Mends, garment take-back through mn_Circular, maker transparency through mn_Makers and native-tree planting through mn_CPP treat maintenance, production and material afterlife as part of the garment system. The 2024 Australian Fashion Week show made that position visible by sending unsold 2023 stock back onto the runway instead of replacing it with a newly manufactured season, linking the label's design rhythm directly to inventory, use and longevity.
Timeline
Disclaimer
Creative timeline
Button Textmadre natura made its Australian Fashion Week debut at Carriageworks on 16 May 2024 with <em>The Last Season Collection</em>, a runway built from its existing 2023 <em>Wish You Were Here 23</em> garments. Developed with Orphan and Greener and streamed through TikTok, the event turned unsold stock and live shopping into a public critique of fashion overproduction.
By late 2023 madre natura was participating in the wider Australian discussion around Seamless, the national clothing product stewardship scheme. Galleghan's advocacy connected the label's repair, take-back and local production practices with emerging industry-wide responsibility for garments after sale.
madre natura divisions and related structures
The label supports its clothing with named services and initiatives covering repair, take-back, maker transparency and environmental restoration.
Circularity and aftercare
- mn_Mends
- Lifetime repair service
- Complimentary aftercare covers button replacement, zipper repair and trouser-length adjustments, extending the useful life of madre natura garments after purchase.
- mn_Circular
- Garment take-back and textile recycling
- Returned or end-of-life pieces are directed into textile recycling channels, alongside studio off-cuts, to keep recoverable material out of landfill.
Production transparency and restoration
- mn_Makers
- Sydney supply-chain transparency
- The initiative identifies the pattern makers, machinists, cutters, graders and production specialists behind the label's local manufacturing network.
- mn_CPP
- Climate Positive Project
- Developed with One Tree Planted, the initiative funds native-tree planting in connection with garments manufactured by the label.
madre natura collaborations
Selected partnerships have extended the label's circular retail model, visual identity and public presentation without shifting garment authorship away from Jackie Galleghan.
Brand and retail collaborations
- Cak Studio
- Visual identity and creative direction, 2020–present
- Chris Kiprovski's studio developed the restrained identity, typography and environmental design that frame madre natura's clothing across digital and physical touchpoints.
- The Harmonic
- Pre-loved resale initiative, 2022
- The partnership created a dedicated resale channel for previously owned madre natura garments and extended the commercial life of existing pieces.
Runway and presentation collaborations
- Orphan
- The Last Season Collection concept, 2024
- The creative agency helped shape madre natura's Australian Fashion Week presentation around the decision to reshow unsold 2023 inventory and connect each runway look to live digital commerce.
- Greener
- Clean-tech partner, 2024
- Greener supported the Australian Fashion Week project and its environmental messaging around clothing waste and lower-impact commerce.
- mimmi
- Melbourne Fashion Festival runway, 2025
- The two labels appeared together in the mimmi x madre natura presentation during Melbourne Fashion Festival, extending madre natura's runway activity beyond Sydney.
