Artist and floral designer Amy Thai unveils her latest art piece of Kylie Minogue and her style-affirming energy for Fleurs de Ville FEMMES fresh flower show at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
Tracing back Kylie’s memorable performance fits, she has always veered into high fashion territory with custom designer clothes. We’ve been inspired by one of her best fashion moments to date: Kylie’s glistening ‘showgirl’ costume by John Galliano in her Homecoming tour in Sydney in 2006.
Inspired by the global pop star’s glamorous ensemble, songwriting talents and extraordinary career, White Diamond: A Personal Portrait of Kylie Minogue informed us for this particular design work and it’s beauty. We focused on Kylie’s experiences and stories and captured this very special moment in her life through this one look. We wanted to continue this spirit by creating a dress inspired by her resilience, heart and soul. Here, we celebrate one of the Australian icon’s most memorable moments.
“I fell in love with the style of Kylie’s showgirl corset. All the florals I chose to work with, each and every one of them is very delicate, intricate and soft and it lends itself perfectly to structural composition,”
“The natural shades of pink that come from the gentle ferns and petals of the Vanda, Cymbidium and Dendrobium orchids and Magnolia inspired the blossoming shape of Kylie’s corset. These opulent and feminine gestures feature a unique design in homage to Kylie’s style over the years,” explains Thai.
After years of making her own fashion wear as a fashion student and graduate, her impulse was to create a light-as-a-feather sculptural costume and to set it aglow. Thai had also spent a large part of her career exploring the intricacies of fashion and delved into the infinite possibilities of craft, technique, garment design, representation and sustainability.
For her new body of work, the floral designer embeds charming lace easily and preserved foliage into forms and shapes that “activates Kylie’s character” which she is drawn to. With concentration of the varieties of each floral and design, she sculpts and highlights each of its components and uses its elements of illumination in the same way she paints, sculptures and sews.
“There is something about Kylie that we can instinctively recognise a little within ourselves, this glamorous strong woman fought for her career and happiness, despite adversities. She is an icon whose style is layered with reference to Pop culture and Australian history. She is an ultimate star who has inspired me enormously for this piece and I wanted to honour that,”
“The way she portrays and carries herself, her aesthetic is very inspiring and it is something I wanted to echo in the work. Her bold nature mixed with gentler nuances, it’s exactly how I wanted the design to reflect.” says Thai.
