By Sophie Carter
Photography by Bex McGill
Featured in Capital #91.
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When World of Wearable Art comes round, it’s all hands on deck for the Lintons.
The ocean has been a constant in the Lintons’ life. Brett Linton is a sailmaker; his wife Lyndal creates handbags using sailcloth and swims year round at Worser Bay. When Capital spoke to the family in August, 21-year-old son and sailing coach Harvey was somewhere in the Atlantic, delivering a boat from the UK to Spain.
Last year the ocean was a source of inspiration for the family’s World of Wearable Art (WOW) entry, X-ray.
Lyndal has been entering the annual design competition since 2005, after attending the show in Nelson. “It was like nothing I had ever seen before and I just knew I had to be part of it,” she says. Since then, it’s become “quite an addiction” for Lyndal, who has submitted 20 garments, 14 of which have made it to the finals and onto the WOW stage. “I can’t imagine not entering!”
Among her extravagant outfits have been the EdinBra, a bra inspired by the Scottish thistle; a human-sized fabric sandwich called Lunchbox Night Nightmare back in 2007; and in 2013 The Messenger, a garment made from 1,000 coloured pencils.
But of them all X-ray is her absolute favourite. Not only did this garment win second place in the Aotearoa section of the competition, it was the first time she, her son, and her husband entered as team.
Their design used carbon fibre and Nomex honeycomb to mimic the skeleton of a stingray, with the creature’s “spine” running from the model’s back down to the floor, and an oil painting of its organs peeking out from within the structure. “We are fascinated by these mystical creatures found here in our coastal waters,” says Lyndal. “Wrapped in its outer skin there is a surprising elegance that lies beneath the surface.”
Although it was their first time officially collaborating, the whole Linton family have always had input into Lyndal’s WOW creations. “Brett is the technical one, who knows how to make the garments fit on the body,” says Lyndal. “Harvey has the skill of being able to put onto paper what is in his mind and mine. And if there is any fabric or sewing involved, that’s me.”
Brett has a lot of useful skills from his years working with boats. “Carbon fibre, rivets, rope, and sail sewing have all been utilised in our entries,” he explains.
In 1997 Brett started sail-making company Linton Sails. Lyndal was eight months pregnant and he and a friend “thought it would be fun to open a sail loft.”
This led to another Linton venture in 2004. For her birthday, Brett made Lyndal a handbag from yacht sailcloth, which got lots of attention at a kindergarten meeting. “One of the mums thought it could be a business opportunity and she helped me in the initial startup phase,” says Lyndal. AQ Bags eventually moved from being a sideline business to her full-time job.
Their two businesses now share a workshop in Rongotai, which means although there’s some competition for floor space, they do get the convenience of shared tools and sewing machines.
This year the trio have made it to the finals again and will see their piece on stage at the WOW show in September. Lyndal wouldn’t give too much away, but says: “This year’s entry is again related to the sea.”
With Harvey and daughters Penny and Alice currently scattered across the world, Brett and Lyndal will be attending the WOW awards night without them for the first time in five years.
And then, of course, it’s straight back to the drawing board for WOW 2024.
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