Alix Higgins has been dreaming of the future, a desert land where Ethel Cain is on blast and everyone is ‘not scared anymore,’ as the graphic prints on candy pink dresses and tops read from the new Resort 2023 collection. After studying in Paris and working as a print designer at Marine Serre, Alix showed for the first time last week at Australian Fashion Week. As his friends and fellow creatives soared through a video game-esque set in lime green silk printed pants, florals printed with ‘god’ we were transported into the ‘magical realism’ of Alix’s world. A gift from the fall, as it was called, where anything is possible. We spoke to Alix about the collection:

Why was now the right time to show for you?

“A lot of people asked me last year and I felt like I didn’t feel ready. I think in the last year I felt ready and strong enough. I wasn’t sure previously if I was ready. It has been exhausting but it felt like the right time.”

You studied in Paris, what did you learn from being there?

“I studied at UTS Sydney and then did my masters in Fashion Design in Paris. It gave me a real value for what I had as an Australian designer. When you go to Paris and you see how and what designers from Korea had learnt or from the UK… You grow in that space, you have to prove yourself. I think I hold myself to an international standard now, thinking what would my colleagues at Marine [Serre] think, what would my friends in Paris think. It did really give me a drive for it [fashion design] and since coming back to Australia I’ve held onto that energy, biding my time until I had good friends in the industry to do this with. I think Jordan Gogos’ show last year really opened the eyes of a lot of people who organised fashion week, proving that you don’t need $500,000 to put on a show. I felt that reassurance from IMG around that this year.

The community here really rallies for each other, have you felt that?

“Both personally and professionally. For this collection, I couldn’t emotionally get through it without my friends to lean on by my side. My friends have always been in my look books, they are a group of muses to me. That’s what this collection is really about, a group of people forging a path out into the world and protecting me. The scene of the collection is this future desert landscape, like a video game. It’s almost like these warrior, angelic characters that have been wandering in this procession through the desert. A lot of them are my friends, creative people like musicians, designers who are my crowd and have really rallied around me and are walking in the show. They are the people I can see in my brand and are in my vision.”

What inspired this collection?

“It’s always continuation. I’m always inspired by film and I was watching My Own Private Idaho which is a favourite of mine, and thinking of dreamlike characters in a space that’s not quite real nor is it quite magical either, it’s in-between. That idea was very important to me. I was also listening to the music of this trans artist that I’m really obsessed with, Ethel Cain. Her music is about being in Texas and in the mid-west. But also really importantly, I was trying to refine the collection and make it a bit harder, a bit stronger, a bit more grown-up in a sense. This is the most visible my brand has ever been, I couldn’t do what I always do, I had to push.”

You got out of your comfort zone.

“I think the most exciting moments in fashion come when you’re a little bit unsure of what you’ve made. Even if you don’t really like it that much, it grows on you.” 

Do you have a mentor?

“No but I have amazing people around me. Charlotte Agnew who is styling the show, she has been a huge help. She just knows how it runs. I’ve had all of my fittings at China Heights Gallery and Nina and Edward who own China Heights have been particularly sweet with me and helped me a lot. But I really am just working it out. I have waited so long to have a show, I do feel like I’m full of ideas. I don’t feel like I’m just making it up as I go. I think that’s a lesson I’ve learnt over the years is that to keep people waiting makes them want it more.”

It’s exciting. What do you think has been the biggest thing you’ve learnt through this process of this show?

“I guess I really surprised myself with what I can achieve. I’m not a particularly shy person but I didn’t think I was very good at walking into a room and directing and guiding and asking things of people. This season I haven’t had a choice, I’ve had to get on the phone and ask people to come to a space and ask thins of people. I’m always so surprised when people say yes. It’s that realisation of my resilience and my strength, it’s something I hadn’t considered before. I really surprised myself. When you have to do something you’ll find a way. That’s been a big realisation, that I can do this.

Who is the dream person you’d love to see wearing your clothes?

It was Grimes but Grimes just wore something. I’m obsessed with her. She wore some bike shorts recently, I was really blown away. Another person I’m really obsessed with is Florence Welch. This collection there’s a bit more romantic spirit to it, there’s some florals so it could happen…

Stay tuned.

See the full collection below.

alixhiggins.com