When her daughter finished year 12 a decade ago, fashion designer Jacky Ayres offered to rework her and her friends’ uniforms into something a little more fashionable for the annual Schoolies Festival in South Australia’s Victor Harbor.
“At that stage they were cutting their uniforms in half and drawing on them in puff paint and getting everyone to sign them,” said Jacky, who’s based in nearby Port Elliot.
“We did a few extra things, put lace on and fitted them a bit better than what some of them were.
“By the time my second daughter came through it evolved into putting waistbands on and making a proper outfit.
“It’s just snowballed from there.”
Growing business
As the Year 12s work through their last assignments and prepare for exams, Jacky has been busily making alterations to a growing pile of their patterned dresses, skirts and trousers to transform them from everyday school uniforms into eye-catching fashion statements.
Her clients were originally mainly from the three local high schools in the area but now most of her business comes from Adelaide.
She expects to do about 90 alterations this year, spending about an average of about three hours on each.
Jacky said the quality of the materials in the uniforms made them easy to work with.
“Some of them are very worn out and they’ve got holes in them and paint stains but that’s all part of the story,” Jacky said.
“That’s why you have your uniform transformed. You remember that paint stain that you put on there or the rip that you made on the playground or whatever.”
Jacky said it was always a thrill seeing her designs being worn by her clients and it was an “absolute joy” to see the Schoolies having fun as they celebrated the end of school or muck-up days.
“They obviously feel confident wearing them and they’ve helped design them.
“We put our ideas together or they come to me with an idea.”
Mrs Ayres said the requested designs this year tended to be layered, and very girly and frilly.
She tells the girls to make sure they keep each piece as they can hire them out to the next crop of year 12s from their schools or hand them down through families and friends.
She is yet to get her first uniform alteration request from a male school leaver.
“I think boys tend to just cut the sleeves off their blazers and their shirts and cut their jeans down.”
“But I’m sure it will happen.”
South Australia’s Victor Harbor Schoolies Festival is set to run from November 17 to 19.
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