Beci Orpin is a Melbourne-based designer, illustrator, maker and a long time friend of Kowtow. Her exciting use of colour, shape and the eternal optimism shown in her art delights us. Beci’s book ‘Book of Girls’ sits proudly on the bookshelf at the Kowtow workroom.
Kowtow Loves is a regular series that spotlights intellectual crushes, thought leaders and humble challengers. In this series we speak to people we love, admire and are inspired by.
Can you describe your style in three words?
Utilitarian, relaxed, creative
What inspires the way you dress?
First and foremost my daily clothing needs to be functional and hardwearing - I ride my bike everywhere so my clothes need to be bike-friendly, this dictates what I wear more than you think! In the studio, I'm often moving around a lot making things so clothing needs to be flexible, breathable and durable - natural fabrics are a must. I wouldn't exactly say my style is classic (my roots are streetwear-based) but I do look for pieces I can wear for a long time.
What item in your wardrobe are you planning to keep forever?
I have a shirt passed on to me by my husband Raph's Aunts, on one of our trips to visit his family in Malaysia. This Aunt was the matriarch of the family and has since passed away. The first time I met her we stayed at her house in Kuala Lumpur with our young kids. She barely knew me at the time but somehow knew this shirt was very much my style. It's beautifully made, possibly from the 60's, white cotton with a peter pan collar, puff 3/4 sleeves and broderie anglaise trim and bone buttons. It's a special piece for lots of reasons.
When experiencing your work, colour feels front of mind — something we relate to at Kowtow. How do you begin to compose your palettes?
The first and most important part of any work for me is developing the palette. I sort of have colours which 'follow me around', popping out for me to notice them. I'll record these in my sketchbook, finding coloured paper or paint in similar colours, and testing out which colours work together this way. Then when I'm working on a project I'll go back and reference these, and see what is appropriate for that particular project. I also have a pretty extensive library full of colour refs in books which I will go to if I'm stuck, and of course a Pinterest board too.
Your beautiful book, ‘Book of Girls’ sits proudly in our workroom. You described it as ‘an archive of my work over the past few decades, told through the pages of my sketchbooks, photos and assorted ephemera.’ How did it feel to release it?
I'm so honoured that it's in the Kowtow workroom! It felt both satisfying and scary to make 'Book of Girls'. The sketchbooks I made were never intended for public viewing, which is part of the reason they are my favourite part of what I make. So publishing them was deeply personal, like putting a bit of my raw soul out into the world! But I think sharing those kinds of things is really important, so it was satisfying to do that, and to see how my style and influences have pretty much stayed true to what I was interested in when I first started.
Shop Beci's collection below.
