In Conversation with Heidi Middleton
Community
June 8, 2025
Following the Thread of Creativity
James St (JS), Heidi Middleton (HM)
On any given day, ARTCLUB’s Founder and Creative Director, Heidi Middleton, can be found immersed in fashion design, painting, collage, photography, ceramics, interior styling, and the artful architecture of homes. With this arsenal of creative practices up her sleeve, it is clear that Heidi isn’t afraid of trying something new.
It makes total sense then that she would apply this same mentality of creative exploration to her newest venture – ARTCLUB ATELIER. Located on the ground floor of The Calile Hotel, the gallery-style retail pop-up embodies ARTCLUB in its truest form. ARTCLUB ATELIER is not only home to some of Heidi’s great artistic loves in clothing and visual art but is also the very site on which these same loves come to life.
Following the successful opening of this part boutique, part working studio, we caught up with Heidi to speak about the motivation behind her latest Atelier space, intuitive creation, careers that could’ve been (spoiler: Heidi wasn’t always set on fashion), and the most coveted pieces in both her own and her friends’ closets.
Read on for the full story.
JS: The ARTCLUB ATELIER pop-up is the first of its kind for you, what were the motivations behind the change in format and how has it led to a different retail experience for the customer?
HM: The ARTCLUB ATELIER pop-up came to life when an opportunity was presented to take the former Dion Lee boutique on James Street. There was lots of appeal as the space holds a key position on the street and has incredible natural light. I always prefer for brand related experiences to be multi-dimensional and to include sensorial layers.
I liked the idea of transporting our Sydney-based creative atelier to the shop space where my team and I could create from. I thought this would hold interest from a customer experience and could also share insights into our creative processes. For two days each week, my Savile Row–trained tailor, Roger, and I design, sew, paint, collage, fit samples, and alter garments from within the retail space. It also gives us a chance to meet and chat with customers, which we love.
JS: You’ve spoken about being a sentimental person, how do you infuse these personal or emotional narratives into your pieces?
HM: My emotions have often fuelled my creative pursuits and process. I like to reference genres from a time gone by and re-interpret them with an ARTCLUB ‘twist’.
JS: Your aesthetic plays with a contrast between masculinity and femininity, how do you decide where to push boundaries or soften edges?
HM: This appears through all my creative work, whether it be designing clothes, painting, photography, styling spaces and creating homes. The decision of when to push or restrain is intuitive. I feel my way through a design until that balance is found. I guess it speaks to me rather than driving it myself. I explore with different shape, form and colour until that strength/beauty equilibrium is found.
JS: Architecture plays an unexpected role in informing both your sartorial and artistic practice. Beyond architecture, what other unconventional influences—whether cultural, philosophical, or otherwise—shape your creative process, and how do those ‘non-normative’ inspirations translate into your designs?
HM: I have always enjoyed creating across many disciplines. When I was eleven or twelve, I wanted to be an architect, and I’d draw homes and buildings from external and internal perspectives. I went on to study art before stumbling into fashion in my twenties. I have always enjoyed photography, ceramics and collage – I took a studio and started painting again when I lived in Paris for four years from 2013 to 2017. This period inspired me to start ARTCLUB. Observations are often made that my art and fashion speak the same language. I think my graphics background has influenced my designing seen in geometric shapes, form and colours.
JS: Coalescing fine art, fashion and mixed media, ARTCLUB can be thought of as one big interdisciplinary collaboration. Why is it important for you, both professionally and personally, to engage with other likeminded creatives on the sharing of interests, ideas, practices and passions?
HM: I’ve always enjoyed collaborating with creative friends of shared values and vision. It’s more fun and can infuse new life into projects. And yes, I liked the idea that ARTCLUB could house all of my artistic loves … both the mixed media aspect and inspirational fellow creators.
JS: How do you navigate the pressures of a rapidly accelerating, trend-focused fashion industry whilst upholding ARTCLUB’s ethos of sustainability and ethical production?
HM: ARTCLUB was born from a reaction and repel to the traditional fashion business model and the industry in general, I didn’t admire or connect to the unsustainable processes that these big businesses were following. At ARTCLUB we have let go of traditional collections, seasons, fashion shows, overseas production and dead stock. We have a very anti-trend philosophy to the designing with many of our styles being offered over years not weeks or months. I like to design pieces that can stand the test of time rather than derivative fashion that has a much shorter life span.
JS: ARTCLUB is strongly grounded by principles and practices of fashion circularity. What’s one piece of clothing that you want to borrow from a friend or loved-one, one that is a treasured hand-me-down given to you, and one that you have found joy in passing on to the next generation in your daughters?
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