At QX we love an excuse to dress up. So it was no surprise that we’d show an interest in the latest internet sensation Kiaz. She’s been posting some amazing wardrobe improvisations that recall scenes familiar to many of us that are sure to invoke a sense of nostalgia, but with a twist of humour. QX decided to ask her some probing questions and take a snoop around her wardrobe.
What brought you to compose these vignettes?
I will let you into a secret – I am not working alone! Before lockdown I normally worked with a bunch of fabulous creative folk at Picture to Puppet here in Leith, Edinburgh. We randomly used to have a dress up day at work for fun and so our amazing boss Mari Jones has carried on sending all eight of us a theme in the evening, and we must come up with an image for the next morning – It gets us out of bed as we all aim to post by around 10am. It puts a bit of positivity into the morning routine and a smile on each other’s faces. It is a great way for all of us to keep in contact with each other whilst we are furloughed.
When did you first start dressing up?
We began quite simply with Monday-Hat day on the 14th March, I then sent them a funny picture of an 18th Century courtier with the caption “Panniers-Making social distancing look good since 18thC” Literally everyone posted a pic of themselves in full panniers!! That’s when it started getting competitive, and very funny. Gradually friends asked me to share my themes on Facebook, and I then got asked to start an Instagram page as #whatkiazdidnext. On April fool’s day I posted our Game of Thrones theme- I was Arya with needle, thread and scissors. The early shots are pretty rough round the edges! But now my lovely wife Gwen has been roped in and I think with practice our photography is getting much better. Here we are a month later and I still haven’t run out of wardrobe! The rules are that you must only use stuff in your home, no ordering in any special items. My work colleagues and I are now taking turns to choose themes. I really enjoy the creative challenge every day, some make you think outside the box, some I know immediately what garment will work. It is keeping our creative brains ticking & staving off the cabin fever.
What role does humour play?
We make each other laugh every day, and as we would normally work collaboratively, it´s especially important to keep the creative threads that bind us. Even though we are physically separated – our humour can still reach across the thresholds of our closed doors. I feel I am acutely aware at the moment that giving and receiving humour is an important way to “check in” on our wellbeing. It almost acts as a message to say, “I am alright, how are you doing?” I was really doing the outfits for my own amusement, but it has been so good to see how many people have responded to the humour. Lots of friends in lots of countries now comment on how much it cheers up their morning, which in turn fuels my desire to go bigger and better!
There is a certain androgyny to your portraits. How are they influenced by gender and sexuality, and are you conscious of the explorative process?
This is a great question because I was totally oblivious to the images’ gay sensibilities until you asked me to comment! I asked my wife why QX would be interested and she pointed out that everything I do is a bit queer. On reflection, I have always been interested in images and fashion relating to gender fluidity and the constraints of Butch/Fem identities. Coming out in the very early eighties and experimenting with how I expressed my own sexuality has bequeathed me a curiously mixed wardrobe, tattooed battle scars and an awful lot of shoes! My denim archive is still very precious to me to this day. I have picked personal references for the themes, so Esther Williams is genuinely one of my heroes and the Westwood work suit was based on the classic Helmut Newton shot. I often dress in 50’s glamour for real, but I also quite enjoy a drawn on moustache once in a while. I am just being me.
Do you make any of your own outfits?
Everything I have worn so far is genuinely an item of my normal everyday clothing but styled and accessorised differently. Some of my wardrobe consists of items I have made during my career in fashion, but it’s a bit of a busman’s holiday to be making extra garments after six hours at the sewing machine! I am presently volunteering my skills to the www.fortheloveofscrubs.scot making PPE for local hospitals. I try not to repeat stuff, but you can achieve so many different silhouettes by using unusual combinations. Throw in some kitchen utensils or some bed linen and hey presto!
How has your interest in clothes influenced the course of your life?
Every day and in every way. I cannot imagine life without my insatiable appetite for taffeta and trinkets, biker boots and badges, avant-garde and vintage. It is my food and my focus most of the time. I was taught to sew by my Great-grandmother at 8 years old and never looked back from that simple alchemy. I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was a kid, so I just had that goal and kept going. I went to art college, got a 1st class degree in fashion and textiles, got a job in a design studio and worked my way up. Twenty years on it culminated in a job with Vivienne Westwood looking after her pattern archive and working on private client’s orders. I have been incredibly lucky to continue working in creative design rooms right to this day, now making toys and puppets for www.picturetopuppet.com and helping fix toys at www.leithtoyhospital.co.uk
What advice do you have to help people to stay sane in lockdown?
Remember that we are all in this together. Everyone has their own unique skill or passion and if you can tap into what it is that you love, or what makes you happy- just share that one thing with friends. Put it out there and I guarantee you will feel like you are part of something rather than being separated from everything. Having a small daily task has certainly helped my own mental health and dressing up has always been my way to access my happy self. I am just putting one foot in front of the other for now, one fabulous outfit at a time!
Check out the great portraits below, for more at www.instagram.com/kiazdesigns
We know this is small fraction of what she’s got in her closet!
