With a new Ibiza campaign and two children in school on the island, beachwear label Boteh&rsquo;s creative director Amelia Mather is now a fully-fledged Balearic babe.

What was the journey that brought you to Ibiza?
 I first came here in 2005 and to be honest I wasn&rsquo;t sure if I would ever return! There were a lot of Playa d&rsquo;en Bossa beach and Space Terrace memories and like many others, I was exhausted when I left! But something magically kept pulling me back and it wasn&rsquo;t till the third or fourth trip that I knew I would continue to return for years to come. I explored the island more intimately and I found that my creativity really flourished here. It&rsquo;s a place where things just come to me. I fell for it all - the local produce, the salty Mediterranean water, the rambling florals and the cracked and textured walls. The rich history, the calming nature, the powerful, almost eerie magnetism and the sheer contrast to city life. It was all this and more. My husband and I now live here full-time with our two girls, who are revelling in their new-found freedom after Sydney&rsquo;s multiple lockdowns!

How did the seeds of your brand get planted?
 Australia is absolutely centred around the beach and we live for summer. I think we&rsquo;re in denial of winter, which is why the only thing I feel comfortable in is beachwear and swimwear! I began designing my pieces own at 20 and went on to study design at the University of Technology in Sydney, where I majored in textiles. I worked for some amazing brands in Australia and learnt so much from their founders, but the corporate world wasn&rsquo;t right for me. I&rsquo;d had two daughters in two years and when Sandy was six months old in 2019 I decided to create my own brand. It was never really my intention, but I adore the design process and I&rsquo;m very hands on. <a href="https://boteh.com.au/">Boteh</a> just came to me, nothing was forced - the intent, the ethos and the aesthetic all feel connected.

What is the ethos of Boteh?
 I truly appreciate traditional craftsmanship and try to work as much as possible into my collections. These techniques take time both to develop and produce, which doesn&rsquo;t always align with the tight fashion calendar, but the beauty of Boteh is that it&rsquo;s not trend focused, which allows for more of a design journey over smaller capsule collections. Storytelling is a strong narrative for me, both in The influences and the techniques behind creating the designs. I travel a lot with my work, visiting makers and artisans and learning about how garments are made and the impact of the process. wanted Boteh to be an exemplar of how fashion can work in tune with the planet. There are so many things that you can&rsquo;t unsee or unlearn in fashion, so Boteh is my chance to do my part for something I love so much.

Where do you find inspiration?
Colour is everything to me, I always begin with palette that leads the way to print then silhouette. I&rsquo;m intrigued by history and cultures and how certain cultural trends have made their way around the world. Ibiza represents that in many ways, from its roots as an ancient trading port to a stop on the hippy trail. Family and heritage are also a huge part of what inspires me. My Greek Yia Yia was a deeply stylish woman and my earliest memories were of playing dress up in her psychedelic wardrobe. We had our share of homemade clothes too, so smocked dresses and retro fabrics always feel familiar to me.

Tell us about your decision to work with the Mallorca-based photographer Kate Bellm, whose first book, La Isla, was published earlier this year.
I couldn&rsquo;t travel because of the pandemic and I knew that the collection needed to be shot in the Balearics. I had a very clear idea of how important that was! I contacted <a href="https://katebellm.com/index.html#!/home">Kate Bellm</a> and the rest is history. She&rsquo;s shot two campaigns for us now and I love how carefree and dreamlike her work is. It&rsquo;s everything I was envisioning these past two years!&nbsp;

"Something magical kept pulling me back"

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