The lights go down and the crowd collectively holds its breath, suspended in stillness, before model Manahou Mackay takes to the runway in a raffia bubble skirt with feathered accessories to match. I’m quickly reminded that no one does fashion quite like Nicol and Ford.
I’m at The Vanguard in Newtown for the label’s fourth consecutive and first offsite Australian Fashion Week show. Titled Parrhesia, from the Greek concept meaning ‘to speak boldly’, designers Katie-Louise and Lilian Nicol-Ford set out to deliver (yet again) an immersive and haunting presentation. “It’s not just a show, it’s a space for reflection, resistance and reverence,” they tell me in an interview shared earlier this week.
For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.
Drawing inspiration from German physician and sexologist, Magnus Hirschfeld (who championed LGBTQ+ rights in the early 20th century), the new collection speaks to both the erasure and survival of queer history through an examination of silhouette, texture and complex patternmaking.
“Every element, from the custom-dyed and screen-printed textiles, to the movement direction and music, was designed to echo this tension between beauty and loss, fragility and strength,” Katie-Louise and Lilian say.
The first half of the presentation is romantic, with soft silhouettes in blush tones complete with decadent drapery and feathered embellishments. Suddenly the music, composed by sound designer Beau Esposito, pivots into loud thumps and the second, more harrowing half of the collection, takes the stage.
Immediately, I’m drawn to a black, sheer gown with two faces screen-printed across the torso. I later learn that it’s a still taken from the 1919 film Anders als die Andern, directed by Richard Oswald and co-written by Magnus Hirschfeld – a film widely known as one of the first works of queer cinema.
Magnus Hirschfeld also founded the Institute of Sexual Science in 1919, the world’s first institute dedicated to the study of sexuality and gender, and was a vocal advocate for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the recognition of trans identities. His vision of gender and sexuality as natural spectrums challenged oppressive norms, and his legacy is one of science, compassion and activism.
As I watch the models elegantly twist, step and stomp down the runway, making their way up into the mezzanine, I’m filled with much more than an appreciation of Nicol and Ford’s garments (although, let it be known, the pieces themselves are works of art). The story of Parrhesia is enrapturing, raw and deeply moving.
History and legacy seamlessly blend with the glamour of the 1930s, and as whoops and cheers emerge from the audience, I’m reminded that the designers cast their own community members to model – a decision that “ensures that our work is authentic, representative and relational,” they tell me.
Katie-Louise and Lilian also reserve 20 per cent of their presentation’s ticket allocation for members of the queer community, ensuring those who pave the way for fearless self expression and queer advocacy are able to attend and experience the show themselves.
For drag queen and returning Nicol and Ford model, Ella King, being cast is a truly meaningful experience. “Walking for a designer changes so much when the cast and team feel like family, [like] community, and that is genuinely what it is. The people I’m honoured to walk alongside, year after year, are all pillars of the Australian queer community; people I’ve looked up to in my own journey [to] understanding my queer identity.”
With an ethos rooted in queer visibility, inclusion and artistry, it’s clear Nicol and Ford’s designs are an act of political resistance. The presentation closes with an eerily flesh-like gown made of latex, fit perfectly to the body of model (and legendary trans actor) Janet Anderson. Naarm-based fabricator Julian Dimarse custom-matched the latex pieces to the skin tone of each model, a process that took hours per piece.
Speaking to the closing looks, the designers “wanted to celebrate the decadence of that period but also document its destruction and close [the show] with a provocation of permanence; to think of a trans body as self-affirming through evolution, and growing its own skin and own presence as time goes on”.
As the presentation ends, Katie-Louise and Lilian are met with the loudest applause I’ve heard at Fashion Week to date. Their art is many things but at its core, it’s a true celebration of the LGBTQ+ community’s ability to rebuild and remember.
See more from Nicol and Ford here.
This article Nicol and Ford’s ‘Parrhesia’ was a tribute to the queer trailblazers who came before appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-05-16 08:37:00
#Nicol #Fords #Parrhesia #tribute #queer #trailblazers
Source link
