me&oli produces fashion, textiles and illustrations with a whole lot of RAH! Chew teleported Down Under to chat to the delightful Lalita Lu and discover what makes a successful textile print, why she would want to be the incredible robotic cat Doraemon and what her fave thing to do is on a warm summer’s arvie…

What was your childhood dream, the thing you wanted to be when you were all big and tall?
A paedetrician for some reason. I think it was the colourful lolly jar that won me over.

Who is Oli?
A boy who once crossed my path and left behind that heady mix of adventure and exploring something new.

RAH?!
rah!
- noun
1. the sound or feeling that ricochets about your chest when you’re feeling feisty, angry and naughty
2. the unexpected dark, angry, feisty look or sound emitted that surprises, shocks or delights people when you’re looking all sweet and innocent
3. applied to something that looks or sounds too pretty or pure to give it a dark punch
- verb
4. to utter with vigour, gusto or anger

What is your favourite thing to wear and why?
It changes all the time, but at the moment it’s ‘A Nightmare Necklace’ by the talented Las Vegas-based designer, JT (Starfish Stratagies). It’s a maimed ceramic kewpie doll hanging among a sea of vintage brass chains, and I’ve worn it every day since getting it. I love it because it’s haunting and ghastly in an elegant and feminine way.

Let’s talk illustrations. What in your opinion makes a successful textile print illustration?
A textile print that looks fantastic faraway as a pattern, composed of beautiful colours and shapes, but when you look up close it is actually a detailed print that tells a story. Art Deco textiles do this so brilliantly. For example, a picture of a lady losing a bonnet, a man falling out of a tree and a windmill spinning wildly all on one windy day sweeping across a length of fabric. I think a successful textile print is one where you can’t really tell where the repeat pattern begins or ends.

What’s your favourite print illustration and why?
A 1920 textile print called ‘The Park’ by Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann. Through his fine line work, the different views of a well-manicured park (from the entrance and the bird’s-eye view) are executed with such simple elegance. As for our own textile prints, the favourite thus far has been ‘The Birds and The Beards’ where birds roam and nestle lovingly among free-flowing beards. Because it was a bit of a challenge to weave all the beards together to create a repeatable pattern and because it’s a play on the idiomatic expression ‘the birds and the bees’. Tongue-in-cheek is what we love best! ❤ Read the rest of the interview and be inspired by me@oli’s ‘Puns & Fables’ Look Book