‘People care’: Shoe icon Jo Mercer on the rise of Aussie-made fashion

Shoe icon Jo Mercer’s fashion brand Matilda Life is more than just a passion project.

Mercer, who founded her eponymous footwear label in the 1990s, is now focused on building a new business that showcases the strength of Australian materials and designers, and promotes a more conscious model of consumption.

It’s a project that is more than just a nice thing to do for the local industry – it makes strong business sense. After an onslaught of fast fashion into the Australian market over the decades, Mercer says there’s a growing group of shoppers eager to find locally made, quality clothing.

“Of course you can make things cheaper overseas – but are people being paid fairly? Are we happy with the standard and the way those people are being treated in the factory? Are we comfortable with the environmental impact?”

She sees a growing pushback against disposable fashion made offshore. “A lot of people don’t want that – and I think there has definitely been a backlash against that kind of consumerism,” she says.

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“People care – and they are prepared to buy natural fibres, organic cottons, where they know they are making a responsible purchasing decision.”

Mercer and business partner Lauren Mastromanno had this cohort of conscious consumers in mind when they developed the Matilda Life brand.

The duo launched the business in 2021 as a home of “relaxed essentials” which are made sustainably and in Australia by local manufacturers. Mercer exited the Jo Mercer brand more than a decade ago and held senior roles at department store Myer before the launch.