When I set out to photograph local queer creatives in their Mardi Gras looks, an idea inspired by photographing myself and my friends in the community, I had the intention of expressing them as I have seen them all year. On dancefloors, in the street and at their homes. How we see ourselves and want to be seen. To author where we have come from and where we are going and in what manner. To voice more authentic and honest expressions of the people we are seeing this month in our campaigns, on our stages and TV screens. Not always, but sometimes, portrayed differently than we see ourselves, often through the eyes of a creative director, a corporation or a brand.
As I spent time and not nearly as much as I would've liked to, I saw us for what we are in our many forms and expressions. Just as people. Beyond glitter and rainbows. Beyond Pride campaigns and tokenistic marketing strategies that group us as a whole and fail to recognise us as a community of people with varying experiences and points of views. Each person is completely different to the next. Pride and fashion means something completely different to me than it does to Jubahlee, than it does to Kelly.
Pride for some is not a protest or a celebration but just another day. Pride and queerness is in every outfit and every exchange and not even a conscious thought. It is innate. Our queerness cannot be summed up in an outfit or jammed into a month. Queerness is subjective. Queerness is in everything we do even when we are not doing it. Each time we step out of the house or onto a stage. In every plain white T-shirt and baseball cap.
Through a tiring month of four shows a day and back-to-back photoshoots and performances, these wonderful, talented people gave me their precious time and energy. With every cancellation or unavailability I was proudly introduced to more brilliant minds and beautiful faces which expressed pride and community to me more greater than fashion or a rainbow crossing.
Pride for me is getting to work with these people and know them beyond a label and I’m so proud to share our stories with you.
Show us love all year round and see us for more than what we are or who we love.
Jubahlee Silky
Artist (she/her)
It's your first Mardi Gras. What are you excited for and what are your expectations?
I’m expecting glamour and fashion. I’m excited for the dolls and my trans sisters to be walking the streets loud.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I feel so amazed by the outcome and how big the platform is. However we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to shining the spotlight on POC and trans awareness. I’m glad the doors are opening to bigger rooms and opportunities.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
Expressing my body shade is something I have huge pride in; walking like a soft girl but keeping it intense. This Calvin Klein suit did just that.
Seren Bakir
Model, Content Creator and Environmental Scientist to-be (they/them)
It's your first Mardi Gras. What are you excited for and what are your expectations?
This is my first year celebrating Mardi Gras/Pride and already I feel an overwhelming sense of belonging. The expectation is simple, an ongoing celebration involving a lot of love, expression and art in all forms.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I have only lived in Sydney for a few months now, so being here while WorldPride is being celebrated is so unique. It means a lot to me to be surrounded by my people and it brings out the best in me. This also helps me grow a sense of community while settling into Sydney.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
I’ve had a big change in my look recently and this is the first time I truly feel comfortable in my physical appearance. My look today is something I usually call "grungy grandpa". I’m expressing my androgyny. I love feeling genderless and this outfit fulfills that desire.
Ryanna Marie
Model (she/her)
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
My first Mardi Gras experience was last year. I had just moved to Sydney and had also just come out to my family. I ran straight to Oxford Street after work and was immediately filled with tears. Everyone was so free and able to express themselves. It was immensely beautiful and so incredibly calming and exciting at the same time. My sister and I party-hopped the entire night. I remember feeling completely safe and free for the first time in my life so I will cherish that moment forever.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
The fact that WorldPride is being celebrated in Sydney this year is incredible. The LGBTQIA+ community here is so iridescent and loving, so being apart of it is such a warming feeling for me. I am inspired more than ever to express myself more and I want to do all I can to help people feel safe to do the same.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
My look today is more streetwear with some silver accents. I like to wear oversized jeans with more fitting tops and jackets. I usually wear black and white because I like the colour to come from my own vibrancy and energy. If I want to elevate a fit it’s usually with silver jewellery or a unique jacket. I thrifted the one I chose today in New York. It’s one of those pieces that spoke to me. This fit is very me; understated yet powerful.
Tom Moy AKA Faggy McQueen
Drag Queen and Model (they/she)
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
My first Mardi Gras was three years ago when I first moved to Sydney. I got to be part of the parade with Canned Fruit, which was so surreal as I had just started out as a drag queen. I remember wearing a choppy orange mullet and a black dress, so it’s fair to say my style has evolved a lot since then hahaha.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
It’s really exciting to see people arriving from all over the world. Walking down Oxford street, I’ve never seen it so busy and colourful. I’m really lucky to be working all over during Pride and getting to meet so many of these fresh faces.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
My look is an early 2000s Versace dress that Blake actually found for me digging around in Vinnie's. It’s my favourite colour and the cut just makes me feel so feminine! The wig that I’m wearing I bought with my first ever gig money, so it’s very sentimental to me.
Sal
Student and Model (he/him)
It's your first Mardi Gras. What are you excited for and what are your expectations?
I’m excited to let go with my friends and party with purpose.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I was too young to experience Sydney before lockout laws, then of course the pandemic hit and lockdowns came in. So it’s the first time I’ve seen Sydney with some life.
To me Mardi Gras is a time to remember all the trailblazers that stood up for the rights that allow our people to be free today. Pride means being able to take my lover home to the people I grew up with and be treated no differently than anyone else. Nothing’s more shit than being hated by someone you care about for something you can’t change.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
I’m wearing a simple tank from Lowes and a pair of knee length denim shorts, I picked up at an op shop, from Traders which is also a Lowes brand they set up in the 80s. I love Lowes because it’s part of Australian working class history and an egalitarian brand that makes clothes accessible to all. I’ve also got my favourite sneakers on that I got from work, a pair of suede Manhattan sneakers from Acne Studios. They’re a unique design and great quality; I’ve probably been wearing them every second day for the last three or four years. I love a Nike Swoosh Cap. The UV is pretty hectic in Australia with one in two of us getting skin cancer before we die so safety first.
I feel like a lot of people have this portrait of what a gay person looks like. My message is that our portrait is plural, not singular.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
We’re lucky to be hosting WorldPride in Sydney this year. A lot of young people haven’t been able to experience Mardi Gras or large-scale queer events due to Covid-19. So to have so many people coming from all around the world to celebrate Pride is very special. It means a lot to me to represent what it means to be queer and proud. There is so much strength and beauty in the parts of us many people used to belittle and shame us for.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
Ginger hair, ruffles, and puffy sleeves. An aesthetic pulled from my love of film and costuming. Darker, more vampy glamour has always been my way of expressing my favourite parts of my queer identity. My look is a lighter, pink interpolation of this.
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
19-years-old, I was with my ex-bestie, wearing a size too small red moto jacket that I took from my mum's wardrobe. It was nice, I guess, nothing cathartic but interesting to see different queer cultures. There was a lot of trash afterwards which seems fitting.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I’m hoping WorldPride creates intersectional visibility that shows people spaces for POC and trans people are viable and essential. For a country that prides itself on diversity, spaces aren’t very inclusive.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
Today I’m dressed as my older self. Dignified, luxurious and established. I like a monochromatic colour palette bc it’s an intentional statement without being too loud.
Scotty So AKA Scarlett So Hung Son
Artist (he/she)
It's your first Mardi Gras. What are you excited for and what are your expectations?
I still haven't had my first Mardi Gras yet. This will be my first one and it will be the WorldPride one so I’m very excited!
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I think having it held in Sydney means a lot as it’s given people from the LGBTQ+ community a space to showcase the talents and how vibrant we are down under.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
My two looks are inspired by rich Asian women from the 1950s wearing beautiful cheongsams. In the red look I present an expensive looking rose/anal prolapse and for the black look I referenced the Dior New Look as well as a replica dress from the 1997 FW Dior Haute Couture collection.
Milo Hartill AKA That Fat Diva
Actor, Model, Performer and Body Acceptance and BLM Advocate/Activist (she/her)
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
My First Mardi Gras was actually pretty stressful (lol) as I was working from start to finish the whole weekend! It was in 2022 and I was in the parade and doing some burlesque/hosting gigs. I was wearing a very Mardi Gras outfit; lots of feathers and all navy blue with some pink holographic gogo boots. I was with some dear friends from high school and uni and new friends – Brooke Blurton who I was working with at the time and Kath Ebbs whose TikTok series I had featured in. I felt very proud but also happy to be able to represent people like myself who I had never seen at those events. It was a real defining moment for me as a queer person/personality and performer/actor/model.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
First off, I'm so happy that it’s actually happening. For a bit of the pandemic I was so unsure if it was going to happen, as I’m sure most people were. But also when it had been announced, it felt as though we were maybe never going to travel again?
Now that we (obviously) know it’s a go, I am just so damn honoured to be a part of the showcase of the Australian queer community. We have such a beautiful familial community here, and I hope that this truly showcases how much we have to offer here. I am also honoured to be sharing the stages with so many greats of our community in every respect!
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
I will be wearing this outfit to an event I’m attending tonight, and it makes me feel so bloody girly and proud. I love showing off the shape of my body in the world but especially in the queer community because I feel like, although it’s an accepting community to be in, it can sometimes be quite fatphobic and judgemental of body types that aren’t the exact social ideal.
I love pink so much, it's a colour that makes me feel powerful and proud and beautiful. I also love these vulva earrings I have as they show that the queer community is not just for gay men. And that women of all regards should be involved and represented in our PRIDE!
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
My first Mardi Gras was in 2012. My husband (then boyfriend) told me we wouldn’t be going to the parade, and he instead took me to all hip alternative Queer parties and events. In fact, we met George Michaels that summer in a hot and sweaty warehouse in Marrickville. To be honest, I can’t remember what I wore, and like, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up in just my undies.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I’m stoked for Sydney and all us creative Queers staying booked, busy and blessed. Like kudos to us for getting paid and recognized for all the extraordinary work we literally do all year round. I feel grateful to be a part of a vibrant and talented community. Magazine covers, all the hottest events and the skin is staying hydrated. We did that.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
The look is giving it’s hot in the club and I’m trying to stay as cool as possible, lolz. I chose this look because it’s quintessential Lovemonster (a cowboy hat, tiny thong, crop top). I’ve worked really hard to feel comfortable in my skin and I’m proud of who I am. So I’m going to give full body.
Marty Thomas
Host and Classic Model (he/him)
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
The first time I attended Sydney Mardi Gras was in 2018 with my daughter Indiarose and my son Caspar. Cher was the lead act, the weather was perfect and I wore an angel outfit with lots of glitter and sparkle and danced in the street. It was colourful, chaotic and crowded, and we loved it.
We made new friends and met old ones, and danced until dawn before wandering home, exhausted...but happy.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
Personally I see WorldPride as an opportunity to shine and share our authentic selves. After these last two years it is refreshing to experience the unrestricted freedom, sounds, colours and joy of the various events this summer.
Gusta Silky
Independent Artist (he/him)
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
My first Mardi Gras was in 2016 when I was in the parade dancing back when I was in NAISDA Dance College. We had variations of variations of white singlets and tights and had our own paint up and mine was yellow.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
I love it because everyone will see the culture we have here and what we have to offer. Being First Nation and queer and having world pride means a lot to show the world our culture and our way in the scene.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
I chose this look because it’s very me which is street, comfortable and clean. I love to express my masc side because it makes me feel hot and sexy but I also love exploring my feminine side especially in ballroom because it gives me a whole different feeling.
Blake Sutherland
Model and Creative Director (he/they/she)
What was your first Mardi Gras/Pride experience like?
My first Mardi Gras was as a painfully shy 17-year-old. I got a three hour train with girls from my drama class and spent the day wading through the hordes of every type of person you could think of. I remember making one girl friend hold my hand as we curiously looked in SAX fetish. I put my eyes to the floor and prayed no one would think I was gay. A world away from the person I am today which I am grateful for.
How do you feel about WorldPride being held in Sydney this year? What does it mean to you to be part of such an event?
It feels a bit overwhelming if I’m honest. Mostly in good ways. The city has a really great energy as it should have. I hope the city keeps this energy well and truly past just this one month. I want the same energy and funding put back into our communities, businesses and services so we can continue to exist outside of spontaneous rainbow crossings and billboards.
Tell us about your look. Why did you choose it? What are you expressing and how does it make you feel?
My look is inspired by Maison Margiela and the idea of being a bit silly. I loved fashion and dolls as a kid so it's a bit of an homage to that. I grew up mostly in housing commission and was homeless or in care for a lot of my childhood so the concept of my identity was never something I was able to explore or express out of safety or necessity. It's nice to express it now organically. When I get dressed now I dress for myself and not for the comfort of other people.
