Ericaamerica
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fashion, Menswear |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Erica Wardle, Lucas Bowers |
| Headquarters | Australia |
| Products | Menswear, Womenswear (Dressage by ericaamerica) |
| Website | www |
ericaamerica is a menswear brand originating from Australia, established in 2001 by Erica Wardle and Lucas Bowers. The label is distinguished by its precise technical tailoring, nods to historical styles, and an unconventional mix of bold irreverence with refined sophistication, often characterized as intensely masculine.
Education and career
Erica Wardle’s background includes training in costume and millinery at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAPAA), where she initially collaborated with dance ensembles before launching her first fashion boutique at age 19. Lucas Bowers pursued painting studies at Curtin University School of Art and later shifted from graphic design into the fashion industry. Together, they founded ericaamerica in 2001, securing the Mercedes Benz Start Up Award nationwide and making their runway debut at Australian Fashion Week in 2002. The brand rapidly earned acclaim for its inventive approach, with Australian Style praising its emphasis on garment tailoring and construction techniques.
Ericaamerica holds the distinction of being the pioneer to present a dedicated menswear collection at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week and was the first label from Western Australia to participate in New York Fashion Week in 2005. In that same year, Bowers was honored with the Western Australia Citizen of the Year award under the Syd Donovan Youth Arts category, and both founders were listed in the Who's Who of Western Australia.
Fashion Collections
To date, the brand has launched nine commercially available collections, each underscored by cohesive thematic storytelling. Their design philosophy merges references to historical attire with influences drawn from contemporary subcultures, which Harper’s Bazaar has described as "Victorian dandies meet modern tailoring."
The 2003 "Revival" collection on the runway solidified ericaamerica’s reputation for dramatic presentations, introducing slender suits crafted from bespoke fabrics and elevating menswear show standards. The following year’s "Victoriana" collection was notable for being the inaugural all-menswear solo runway event at Australian Fashion Week, featuring some of their most daring designs. The Curator of Fashion at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum later identified this show as one of her top ten highlights across fifteen years of Australian Fashion Week.
In 2004, ericaamerica broke new ground by unveiling "Viva Le Incroyables" as a short film screened at The Australian Centre for the Moving Image, marking their initial foray into alternative modes of fashion presentation.
After presenting the "Wanted" collection during Spring/Summer Australian Fashion Week 2005, they extended its reach to New York Fashion Week, marking their entry into the US market. That year also saw the creation of their womenswear line, "Dressage by ericaamerica," which achieved international retail distribution and was featured on UK Vogue’s online platform.
Since 2006, following their final runway appearance at L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, ericaamerica has concentrated primarily on non-traditional presentation formats to convey their creative concepts beyond conventional catwalks.
Artwork
Recognized globally as a cult fashion entity, ericaamerica has also attracted attention within art circles. By emphasizing installation-based projects and unconventional fashion expressions, they have effectively merged art and fashion disciplines, showcasing new collections in gallery settings alongside traditional runway environments as immersive artistic experiences.
Their participation spans numerous solo and group exhibitions such as Fashion Moments (Art Moments Gallery, Bondi, 2006), Viva Le Incroyables (Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne, 2004), Mine Own Executioner (Mundaring Arts Centre, 2003), Graphicalogistics (national tour, 2001), Art in Bloom (Art Gallery of Western Australia, 2002), Looking Out (John Curtin Gallery, 2008), and Innovators 4: Linden 1968 (Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, St Kilda Victoria, 2008).
Ericaamerica’s gallery installations integrate diverse disciplines with a strong focus on immersive environments influenced by Victorian museum aesthetics and naturalist science themes. Their work includes "human taxidermy," combining apparel with bespoke furniture pieces, mechanical elements, decorative objects, and pioneering textile methods. Installations such as Looking Out and Linden 1968 featured interactive three-dimensional sepia-toned displays.
The creative duo has collaborated with prominent contemporary artists on various projects including costume design for "Bio Kino: The Living Screen," produced by the internationally acclaimed bio-art collective SymbioticA, as well as contributing to French artist Orlan’s performance surgery titled "Harlequin Suit."
In conjunction with the Western Australian Museum’s exhibition A Cave of Wonders—centered around singer/songwriter Nick Cave—ericaamerica developed an installation blending church-inspired motifs with museum and curiosity cabinet aesthetics. Consistent with their previous exhibitions, A Cave of Wonders received critical acclaim and commercial success, described as "a unique creation—a poetic convergence of the romantic rogue sensibilities shared by both ericaamerica and Nick Cave."
External links
- Official Website
- ericaamerica featured on Fashion TV
- British Vogue coverage
- Who Magazine 'Dark Designs: ericaamerica crafts menswear with transformative power' by Melanie Ambrose, Time Inc.
- SymbioticA
- Winter In A Week: The Age Newspaper
- Gangster Chic Arrives for Spring: The Age Newspaper
- Fashion Talks at Fremantle Arts Centre
- Linden 1968 Exhibition Page
- Nick Cave Collaborates with Perth Fashion Innovators
- The Western Australian Museum: "A Cave Of Wonders"