From the Goldy to Sydney: Find out what happened when Gold Coast fashion guru (and rainbow in human form) Eddie Riley stole the spotlight at Australian Fashion Week.
Can you describe your fashion week experience in a sentence or two?
Inspiring, exhilarating and an atmosphere of people celebrating their creativity and themselves! It really felt like something out of a movie and something that I have dreamt of my whole life.
What are your top three tips to prep for fashion week?
I put all of my visions together on a PowerPoint presentation (90s kid). It acts as my mood board. I usually start with one piece that I just have to style and from there the creative journey begins. This is what I live for!
- Tip 1: when you go shopping or see an outfit on somebody that excites you, that is your intuitive style! Tap into that!
- Tip 2: have fun with it, it’s okay to try something new (nobody else knows that it’s new for you)
- Tip 3: if you are a fashion blogger, film yourself talking through your outfits before you go so that you can keep everyone that isn’t there updated!
Where did you go for inspiration when planning your outfits?
Getting dressed is my favourite way to be creative. I love to wear colour and feel comfortable, yet powerful at the same time. I believe in intuitive dressing, so I went with my usual style – but, because I was baby free, I took it up a notch. It was so great to step out of the Uggs and sneakers for a couple of days (oh and the vommie tees). I missed the feeling of prancing around in heels, feather boas and miniskirts. I would describe my style as intuitive, coordinated and colourful.
What was your number one fashion week highlight?
Day 1 was huge for me. It was my first fashion week, and I was nervous that I had built this hype up in my head. I was overwhelmed (in an amazing, fabulous way) with the amount of attention and love my outfits drew, particularly on Day 1. I wanted to bottle up this feeling because it felt so good to finally put my creativity and love for fashion out into the world.
I had always dreamt of being in the fashion industry (forever). I finally feel like my best, most authentic self because I have figured out how to live my dream through Instagram (@eddierileyrainbow) and still live my other dream of being a mother and a wife.
I do feel like a lot of mother’s struggle with their identity after birth. I want to inspire other mums to tap into their own inner child, get dressed for the day and use motherhood to ignite their identity and dreams.
In saying that, my version of a ‘dream’ is having both a career and playing housewife, but I don’t like that a lot of mothers feel pressured to do both. It suits my personality to do both but being a mum (or a stay-at-home dad) is a 24-hour job.
Because I tread water for a bit, career wise, I do feel like I am playing catch up now. But it feels so good for that voice inside my head (“You want to do fashion”, “You want to do fashion,” x a million) to have stopped because finally I am just doing it. Bouncing on from that, being a mother forced me to try and make an income from home because I wasn’t eligible for maternity leave from my previous teaching job… I guess everything really does happen for a reason!
Which show were you most excited to see? Did it live up to the hype?
I was so excited to see the Romance was Born Show. I just think everything they do is incredible. I love to predict trends and I predicted that polka dots, sheer and tartan would be next, so it was cool seeing this on the runway – this is where the trends really start.
Which show surprised you? (In a good way!)
I went and saw Karlie Ungar speak, who is the new Creative Director of Carla Zampatti. I loved hearing her talk about the designs and how Carla appeals to all ages – it is the way the client perceives and styles the garments that make them so timeless and age versatile. I find it really empowering hearing other women talk about how they got where they are and the answer is always, through hard work and dedication.
What trends do you predict we’ll be seeing in the next few months, based on what came down the runway this year?
I do think we will be going back to what I was wearing in Grade 9. Full Blair Waldorf style. Collars, broaches, polka dots, tartan, sheer sleeve, high socks, lace, flower headbands. I did notice polka dots on the runway and a lot of sheer. I personally feel this look is timeless, but I do love this look coming into trend because it inspires people to get ‘more dressed’ and step away from the PJs and active wear (I’m guilty of both of those myself, so I’m definitely not shaming this style!).
Which Gold Coast brand would you love to see at Australian Fashion Week next year?
I love Sabbi the Store. I really love their design process. Jase draws the prints by hand and Ash brings her whole vibe into the garments. I feel there is a huge fashion gap on the Gold Coast, and I love that they are bringing the Gold Coast energy into their pieces. I have seen a sneak peak of their designs coming up and I love where they are heading. Not to mention, the both of them are absolute legends!
What are your thoughts, now that it’s all done and dusted?
Prior to Fashion Week my personal brand (which is my Instagram) was a little scattered and I was still figuring out my niche. Fashion week gave me the energy and direction of becoming a landing page for ‘Fashion Pep Talks’ with the theme, ‘just a mum trying to keep her identity.’ Since I ‘ve had a baby, I have gone through a year of feeling like I’ve lost my identity to a full transformation of finding my most authentic self again. I really want to inspire other mothers and women to get out of the house, get dressed and possibly give their ‘dream’ a go.
I know a lot of beautiful mothers that don’t aspire to have a career and be a mum because having both does take away from the time you spend with your child. It does frustrate me that they feel a sense of embarrassment when they are asked the question, ‘When are you going back to work?’. I do think in 2024, mothers are expected to uphold mum life, household duties and a career and whilst I enjoy doing both, I don’t think it should an expectation.
Feature image credit: Norman Ko
