Anne Aly’s poignant fashion tribute remembers women lost to domestic violence

As Dr Anne Aly sits in her parliamentary office, she is crocheting as she talks about the flashbacks she still has to her first husband, many, many years ago, pinning her to the wall, fist in her face. Every time the news comes of another woman killed in family and domestic violence, the Federal minister is taken back to this harrowing moment. But it also comes to her with a reminder of the need to persist, to be relentless in fighting against violence towards women and children. To Aly, that fight has long been personal as well as professional. Now she is making a contribution from somewhere very close to her heart, turning her hobby into funds for a Perth service that supports women who are dealing with domestic violence. Aly has created a black crochet dress, covered with a colourful riot of flowers — every bloom different, each representing one of the 64 women killed last year at the hands of violent partners. “Every time another woman gets killed, it re-traumatises you and you just feel so helpless,” she says. “Particularly this year, the figures this year are off the charts. You just feel so helpless and so you think, ‘OK, what is it that I can do?’ “I know, as a government, we’re doing heaps of stuff. But I think also individually there are things that we can do as well.” The gown — named the Lost Flowers Dress — will be auctioned off after Aly wears it on a high-profile outing to the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Midwinter Ball on July 3, with the proceeds going to Orana House’s SWitCH program. The service offers wraparound support not only to women fleeing domestic violence but to their children, recognising both will need help well after the moment of crisis. Aly started thinking last year about how to use her creative skills to raise money for Orana House, which is in her electorate. After watching The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart, a miniseries based on the novel by Australian author Holly Ringland, a plan for the dress started coming together. The act of crocheting each bloom became almost a cathartic, creative form of meditation. “It really struck me that describing the … women who have experienced family domestic violence and those we have lost as flowers, it’s really poignant. It really is like these are such beautiful souls that have been lost to us,” Aly says. “For me, it’s been really healing to do this — every flower that I make, as I’m making it I’m really mindful that this is representing a unique person whose life was taken away. And so there’s a real homage to these women in the crafting of each flower. “It’s not just about the hobby or creating something beautiful, it’s actually about creating something that is meaningful.” Aly was elected to Federal Parliament as the Labor member for Cowan in 2016 and became the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth after the 2022 election. She speaks passionately about using the platform to make a difference and has rarely shied away from bringing her personal experiences — as an academic, a single mother, a domestic violence survivor, an immigrant — to inform her work. And behind the scenes, she is a prolific maker; knitting, crocheting and sewing garments for herself, friends and colleagues. She can often be spied sitting behind the Prime Minister in Question Time sporting one of her creations. A knitter first, Aly took up crochet during COVID, partly out of boredom and partly inspired by the high fashion trends that have incorporated the craft. From there she started thinking about slow and sustainable fashion, working with recycled materials or sustainable and ethical yarn, including brands made from 100 per cent Australian wool, shorn, spun and dyed locally. She creates her own designs (the Lost Flowers Dress is an original creation) and whenever someone admires them, she aims to inspire them to start making as well. “I’m actually a very creative person but obviously in policy, there’s not much of a creative outlet,” Aly says. “I know a lot of people who crochet for mental health or knit for mental health. And I totally get that, because if you’re in a position where your job is so policy-focused, as is the work of a Member of Parliament and a minister, to have that creative outlet really helps you to bring out another side of yourself and stay true to that, grounded to that other side of yourself.” The conversation swings back to the serious side of Aly; the project she is working on during our interview is a bag with one more flower, to honour the Hague Mothers, who fight for women charged with child abduction when they flee domestic violence across borders. “We have to be so relentless in fighting against violence towards women and children,” Aly says, after speaking of her experiences. “We have to keep pushing. We have to do everything that we possibly can, not just to help women get out of situations like that, but to support them when they do, to understand why they don’t leave. “It’s not about respect, it’s about power. And we need that shift in the conversation.” Does she have hope that society can change? “I want to. I really want to have hope.” The Lost Flowers Dress auction will go live on Sunday morning on orana.net.au. Support is available from 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.