New: A ’70s-Inspired Fashion Line Made Entirely From Terry Towelling

When Brigette Clarke, a fashion photographer from Sydney’s northern beaches, and friend Lucy Halfpenny met up one day and found they were both – by chance – wearing the same vintage terry towel bucket hat, they knew it was the start of something great.
The two friends had always shared a similar taste in fashion, design and art, and had always wanted to create something special together.

“We constantly talked about different ideas or things that inspired us and would ultimately always come back to creating some sort of product or clothing label,” says Halfpenny.

“Over the years we developed a few different ideas and concepts and then one day we both rocked up wearing the exact same hat … Terry just developed from there.”

Terry is the pair’s debut collaborative project – a fashion line made entirely out of terry towelling that looks like it belongs in a rocky beach club along the Côte d'Azur. The cotton pile fabric, typically found in towels and bathrobes, has seen a runway resurgence (Pucci, Chanel and Tory Burch are all fans) and in Australia has made its way back on to the streets and beach thanks to labels such as Lucy Folk.

Terry’s debut range is small, featuring five summer pieces done well, with a strong focus on retro styles elevated for modern, everyday wear. The short-sleeve shirts, high-rise athletic shorts and a tennis-style wrap skirts are designed to be worn together. “We wanted to really focus on a tight but perfect core collection to launch,“ says Clarke, who as a photographer worked with brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

Colours are also vintage-inspired: think bright coral and soft, muted lemon. The aesthetic is reminiscent of Goldfinger scenography and Slim Aarons’s poolside photography – and that’s no coincidence.

“We took a lot of inspiration from long European summers and American ’70s poolside attire,” says Halfpenny. “We wanted something really wearable, an everyday basic, but also slightly elevated.”

It’s only been a few days since the pair launched Terry and already they’re spending their days packing boxes. According to the duo, the response has been overwhelming – which is hardly surprising, considering the fact that Clarke shot most of the label’s campaign imagery herself, amassing over 3,000 Instagram followers for Terry before they even revealed the product line.

“It’s actually been amazing being able to create something with your best friend,” says Halfpenny. “We both know our strengths and weaknesses, even though our roles in the brand are both fluid.”

But the enterprise hasn’t come without its challenges. The pair have myriad personal and professional commitments between them, so scheduling a launch date was difficult. “We both have been crazy busy with our own independent things and also travelling a lot of the summer, so trying to figure out a time when we were both around was difficult,” says Clarke.

Looking ahead, they’re excited about what’s coming down the pipeline. They’re planning on expanding into new styles and colourways, with collaborations to be revealed in 2019. There’s also talk of a expanding beyond womenswear – though whether this is towards menswear, childrenswear or both, is unclear.

“We want Terry to be for everyone all year round, not just summer,” says Halfpenny.

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