Michelle Potts

I graduated with a Diploma of Fashion in 2001 and have been sewing professionally since, working with Brisbane fashion designers Easton Pearson, Sacha Drake & Maiocchi. I entered the costume world in 2016 with Opera Queensland and then Queensland Ballet since 2019. I have a thorough understanding of garment construction including pattern making, sewing, textiles and hand finishing. I have run a successful slow fashion business part-time for the last 5 years, and design exclusively with vintage and upcycled fabrics and trimmings. I currently have 2 Brisbane stockists and regularly participate in runway shows and pop up events with Fashion Queensland. 

I am passionate about reducing the impact that garment making, whether it’s fashion or costume, has on our environment, with textile and fashion manufacturing contributing enormously to pollution and climate change. In 2020, during Covid lockdowns I completed an online course with London College of Fashion on Fashion and Sustainability, furthering my understanding of the textile industry’s staggering impact on our environment. I have most recently designed and made dance costumes for the 2025 Brisbane Ekka Natural Fibres Runway, using beautiful vintage cottons, as well collaborating with QB designer Zoe Griffiths, to create the costumes for Queensland Ballet’s 2025 Bespoke piece, Curious Beings by Amelia Waller, utilising fabrics and garments already in stock. I’m currently working on a runway collection for Brisbane Fashion Month made exclusively from vintage fabrics and featuring two designs made from patchwork fabric that I have created using off cuts and waste fabric.