What inspired you to enter the 2021 Emerging Designer Award category?
As a designer, I am always on the lookout for competitions to enter. Having the chance to showcase my original design from a collection I made in 2020 was the perfect avenue to test the water. To get noticed at Myer Fashions on the Front Lawn I put my work out to an entirely new audience that has now had a global impact. Who would have thought! This was my first foray in the public with my collection.
Which friend did you ask to wear the winning dress for Fashions on the Front Lawn?
I asked my friend Australian actress, singer and dancer Chelsea Dawson to model the outfit. She is currently performing in Six The Musical in Australia. I met her when she was doing Shrek The Musical earlier this year. We hit it off as friends. She knew how creative I was and I didn’t hesitate to ask if she wanted to be part of my Fashions on the Front Lawn experience. She knew my work and showcased the outfit beautifully.
What does it mean to have won the prestigious award?
It’s been a massive 12 months after my win. The win has changed my life.
Five months ago, I received an email from Beyonce’s styling team; I originally thought it was a scam. They got in touch after seeing the winning outfit on social media. They asked if I could send a bodysuit, they saw on my Instagram for Beyonce to wear. Both the winning dress and the bodysuit for Beyonce was made in 2020. I had no idea that Beyonce would actually wear it.
I kept that info to myself as I didn’t want to boast about it online until I saw it for myself.
When Beyonce’s new album was released, she also posted a picture of herself in my bodysuit. My phone rang and rang that day and interview requests were coming in from every avenue. Winning the award was certainly pinch me moment, but Beyonce in my bodysuit felt so surreal and beyond amazing.
You were featured in Vogue Australia as a result of your win. How was that experience for you?
To see my name in lights in Vogue was amazing. I never thought it was possible, but to have such a reputed fashion magazine write a story about me and my winning design is what led to the Beyonce moment. It’s easily a highlight in my career so far.
You spent 45 days making the winning dress. What inspired it?
I used to work casually at Officeworks on and off for seven years while I was studying, and would look around and see items there that inspired me to think about how I could use plastic document folders in fashion design. I chose pink and black because I wanted something striking. I had to hand cut scales individually – all 20,000 of them – and sew them on the dress. I wanted to harness everything from texture, colour and design and it was very sculptural. The way the fabric moves on the garment is hypnotic – it takes the silhouette to a whole new level.
What advice would you give a designer thinking of entering the competition?
Think outside the square, you don’t have to start at a fabric store. It’s about being creative and doing something that is well made and well thought through. While I do a lot of costume design for my day job, it’s about how to bring an element of theatre to the fashion world –dare to be different. It’s about pushing your potential and see what comes. Dare to be different and be authentic.
