She plays post-punk drums, and now she's taking punk-inspired knits to the world
Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters.
"I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there."
The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork.
While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does.
Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong.
The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated.
While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion.
After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology.
She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio.
Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York.
"It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said.
"Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that."
She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable.
However, the urge to create remained.
The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound.
Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit.
The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off.
This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week.
Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part.
"That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said.
Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging.
When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon.
While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down.
"After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said.
When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used.
"I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said.
Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration).
Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear.
More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details.
Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment".
"But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore."
For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art.
Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters.
"I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there."
The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork.
While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does.
Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong.
The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated.
While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion.
After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology.
She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio.
Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York.
"It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said.
"Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that."
She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable.
However, the urge to create remained.
The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound.
Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit.
The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off.
This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week.
Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part.
"That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said.
Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging.
When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon.
While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down.
"After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said.
When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used.
"I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said.
Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration).
Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear.
More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details.
Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment".
"But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore."
For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art.
Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters.
"I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there."
The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork.
While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does.
Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong.
The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated.
While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion.
After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology.
She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio.
Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York.
"It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said.
"Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that."
She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable.
However, the urge to create remained.
The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound.
Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit.
The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off.
This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week.
Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part.
"That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said.
Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging.
When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon.
While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down.
"After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said.
When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used.
"I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said.
Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration).
Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear.
More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details.
Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment".
"But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore."
For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art.
Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters.
"I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there."
The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork.
While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does.
Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong.
The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated.
While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion.
After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology.
She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio.
Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York.
"It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said.
"Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that."
She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable.
However, the urge to create remained.
The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound.
Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit.
The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off.
This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week.
Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part.
"That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said.
Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging.
When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon.
While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down.
"After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said.
When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used.
"I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said.
Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration).
Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear.
More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details.
Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment".
"But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore."
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After teaching herself how to paint 10 years ago, Salmon has made her name as an artist with her work featured at Hobart Airport and painting for musicians Olivia Rodrigo and Lorde. She started painting portraits of Aboriginal women as a way to express herself and connect to her culture while living off-Country in Victoria. Now Hobart-based, she's embraced many opportunities but has also found herself having to make the difficult decision to turn down jobs that don't feel right. "In the past I've been asked at NAIDOC to sit in the foyer and do dot paintings with staff, with earbuds," she said. "That's not even the art that I do. I don't do dot paintings." Salmon says many artists have similar stories, with some asked to create work or speak at events for free or asked to recommend another artist for a collaboration. As NAIDOC Week 2025 kicks off on Sunday, Salmon encourages businesses to do the right thing by artists, saying Aboriginal culture should be valued at all times of the year. But for those who want to make meaningful engagements with First Nations artists she has some pointers. She says using the Australian Indigenous Design Charter as a framework for approaching an artist would be a "green flag" for her. The charter outlines 10 points for working on projects representing First Nations culture, including ensuring the process is Indigenous-led, respecting community protocols and ensuring respectful, culturally-specific and personal engagement. "Approaching (artists) more than a week before NAIDOC is important- you need to make it a few months - and also ask what their rates are," she said. "Don't underpay them." Each year the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are recognised during NAIDOC Week. This year marks 50 years of the national celebration and features the theme The next generation: strength, vision and legacy. Awards and flag-raising ceremonies, community events and art exhibitions are held across the country during each edition of NAIDOC, with local councils, businesses and popular brand names taking the opportunity to showcase First Nations culture. For Wiradjuri artist Brandi Salmon, the uptick in commercial and community interest ahead of NAIDOC Week is something she braces for each year. She's grateful for the platform this attention can provide for her and fellow artists but Salmon says it can also be disheartening. "A lot of businesses come right at NAIDOC when they need something done or need an Aboriginal artist to come and paint for them or teach their staff," she told AAP "But it's very inauthentic." "They'll come maybe three or four days or a week before NAIDOC and it feels like it's an afterthought, like a tokenistic thing." After teaching herself how to paint 10 years ago, Salmon has made her name as an artist with her work featured at Hobart Airport and painting for musicians Olivia Rodrigo and Lorde. She started painting portraits of Aboriginal women as a way to express herself and connect to her culture while living off-Country in Victoria. Now Hobart-based, she's embraced many opportunities but has also found herself having to make the difficult decision to turn down jobs that don't feel right. "In the past I've been asked at NAIDOC to sit in the foyer and do dot paintings with staff, with earbuds," she said. "That's not even the art that I do. I don't do dot paintings." Salmon says many artists have similar stories, with some asked to create work or speak at events for free or asked to recommend another artist for a collaboration. As NAIDOC Week 2025 kicks off on Sunday, Salmon encourages businesses to do the right thing by artists, saying Aboriginal culture should be valued at all times of the year. But for those who want to make meaningful engagements with First Nations artists she has some pointers. She says using the Australian Indigenous Design Charter as a framework for approaching an artist would be a "green flag" for her. The charter outlines 10 points for working on projects representing First Nations culture, including ensuring the process is Indigenous-led, respecting community protocols and ensuring respectful, culturally-specific and personal engagement. "Approaching (artists) more than a week before NAIDOC is important- you need to make it a few months - and also ask what their rates are," she said. "Don't underpay them." Each year the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are recognised during NAIDOC Week. This year marks 50 years of the national celebration and features the theme The next generation: strength, vision and legacy. Awards and flag-raising ceremonies, community events and art exhibitions are held across the country during each edition of NAIDOC, with local councils, businesses and popular brand names taking the opportunity to showcase First Nations culture. For Wiradjuri artist Brandi Salmon, the uptick in commercial and community interest ahead of NAIDOC Week is something she braces for each year. She's grateful for the platform this attention can provide for her and fellow artists but Salmon says it can also be disheartening. "A lot of businesses come right at NAIDOC when they need something done or need an Aboriginal artist to come and paint for them or teach their staff," she told AAP "But it's very inauthentic." "They'll come maybe three or four days or a week before NAIDOC and it feels like it's an afterthought, like a tokenistic thing." After teaching herself how to paint 10 years ago, Salmon has made her name as an artist with her work featured at Hobart Airport and painting for musicians Olivia Rodrigo and Lorde. She started painting portraits of Aboriginal women as a way to express herself and connect to her culture while living off-Country in Victoria. Now Hobart-based, she's embraced many opportunities but has also found herself having to make the difficult decision to turn down jobs that don't feel right. "In the past I've been asked at NAIDOC to sit in the foyer and do dot paintings with staff, with earbuds," she said. "That's not even the art that I do. I don't do dot paintings." Salmon says many artists have similar stories, with some asked to create work or speak at events for free or asked to recommend another artist for a collaboration. As NAIDOC Week 2025 kicks off on Sunday, Salmon encourages businesses to do the right thing by artists, saying Aboriginal culture should be valued at all times of the year. But for those who want to make meaningful engagements with First Nations artists she has some pointers. She says using the Australian Indigenous Design Charter as a framework for approaching an artist would be a "green flag" for her. The charter outlines 10 points for working on projects representing First Nations culture, including ensuring the process is Indigenous-led, respecting community protocols and ensuring respectful, culturally-specific and personal engagement. "Approaching (artists) more than a week before NAIDOC is important- you need to make it a few months - and also ask what their rates are," she said. "Don't underpay them."
