MEET THE DESIGNER
Harshi is the designer and founder of Pearl Moon Flower, an independent studio exploring craftsmanship, circular design, and the emotional life of garments.
With nearly a decade of experience in the fashion industry, her work combines feminine elegance, thoughtful tailoring, and hand-led processes to create both original garments and reimagined pieces imbued with renewed meaning.
A Creative Beginning
Harshi’s path into fashion began through her love of the fine arts. Growing up, she was drawn to painting, creativity, and visual expression. Fashion was not originally the intended path, but it gradually became the medium through which her creative voice found its place.
During her design studies, a project researching heritage crafts introduced her to Beeralu, a traditional Sri Lankan form of bobbin lace making. Immersing herself in this intricate, hand-led practice reshaped how she understood clothing and craftsmanship.
It was during this time that she created the first garment she felt truly proud of — a silk maxi dress with a plunging neckline framed by delicate bobbin lace. The experience revealed the emotional connection that can exist between maker and garment.
Rethinking Fashion
While completing her graduate collection, Harshi was confronted with the amount of textile waste left behind after production. As she began researching the scale of waste produced by the fashion industry, she realised she did not want to contribute to systems built around excess and disposability.
Instead, she began exploring how existing garments and materials could become the starting point for new design work. This thinking eventually led to the creation of Pearl Moon Flower, a brand built on the belief that waste is a design failure, not an inevitability.
Design Philosophy
Harshi believes garments should give people the confidence to be who they are while reflecting the values they stand for. Her work centres on the idea that clothing can carry emotional meaning, becoming part of a person’s life rather than something temporary.
Through embroidery, reimagining, and slow design processes, she creates pieces that invite a deeper connection between garment and wearer.
Experience & Perspective
With nearly a decade of experience in the fashion industry, Harshi’s work sits at the intersection of design, craftsmanship, and circular thinking.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fashion and Textile Design, and a Bachelor of Applied Business in Fashion Marketing, graduating with an Academic Excellence Award. Her work has been showcased at Melbourne Fashion Week, including an upcycled piece for the Fashion Capsule 2022 exhibition in collaboration with COLLARTS.
Alongside this, she has dedicated hundreds of hours to Melbourne’s fashion event scene, working behind the scenes with stylists and production teams. She has also worked as a Designer and Circularity Partner at Inro, a rent-before-you-buy label focused on reducing fashion waste.
Together, these experiences continue to inform her approach to Pearl Moon Flower, where design, craft, and circular thinking come together in a slower and more intentional way.
Beyond the Studio
Quiet rituals and slower moments
Outside of her design work, Harshi enjoys reading, learning, and spending time surrounded by flowers and textiles. These quiet rituals often find their way back into her work, shaping the atmosphere and emotion that sit behind each collection.