Rockstars and Royalty Blog — YouTube

I had the pleasure of working with Canberra drag and burlesque performer Lola Lust recently to create a costume inspired by The Simpsons character Mr Sparkle after Lola found some Mr Sparkle printed fabric at Spotlight. Here's the result, along with a 4 part YouTube series showing how we designed and made the costume.

Inspiration for my couture gowns can strike at any time, and in the case of Flora, it was while I was browsing online for fabric (one of my favourite pastimes!) I saw the soft tulle, embellished with chiffon flowers and curling embroidery and knew I had to have it!  I decided I wanted to create something with even more flowers, that looked like an overgrown garden that had bust into life in spring, so I added lots of extra embroidered flower appliques, embroidered leaf appliques and chiffon flowers to my cart, all in shades of blush pinks and deep reds....

‘You can be anything you want to be, just turn yourself into anything you think that you could ever be. Be free with your tempo. Be Free. Be free.’ Queen – ‘Innuendo’ The Liberty dress started life as a challenge to myself to create a couture dress using half-finished projects, studio scraps, and supplies from my stash, but it became so much more. It became symbolic of the changes that were happening in my life, my struggles with mental illness and creative self-doubt, and of me rediscovering my passion for couture. It marks my return to making couture gowns, and...

The Moonstone Gown (named after the most beautiful pink and white rose) is my latest couture creation. I'm constantly looking to improve my skills and learn new techniques, so whenever I make a new couture sample dress, I push myself technically and try to make designs or include features that I've not done before. Model, hair and make up - Sarah The Pale Pinup One of the new techniques that I used in the this gown is call thread tracing, and it's used to hide the seams within the design of the lace. I'd thread traced small areas of lace on...

I am a huge fan of flower crowns, and they're a trend that's still very much with us. They can be bold and dramatic, or dainty and subtle. They can be worn for weddings, festivals, parties, or just because you love them. In my latest tutorial I show how to create your own, using a technique that can easily be adapted for small floral hair combs. You can also use fresh flowers - just mist the finished crown with water and keep it in the fridge until it's time to wear it. Have fun creating a floral look of your...