October 21, 2025 • 29 mins
Ever wondered who is behind the iconic "Fashion Critical" account? This week, Leigh's managed to sneak in Australia’s most mysterious fashion commentator to the Mamamia offices (in disguise... obviously) to spill all her red carpet secrets. They're the anonymous voice we all turn to for the real commentary on everything from the Brownlow to the Met Gala, and they're not holding back.
They're breaking down the biggest fashion crimes they see time and time again, from the dreaded "naked dress" to the accessories they'd ban forever. They're revealing how it all started, how their commentary has changed from "savage" to "satirical,". We’re getting the official glossary for all their iconic terms, from what "crotch whiskers" actually are, to why "should have caught the bus" is the ultimate insult. Plus, they spill on the celebrity DMs they've received—including the ones who weren't happy—and why the Oscars red carpet is actually the most boring one of the year.
EVERYTHING MENTIONED:
Leigh's Boujie:
Albina Dyla Suncrest Dress $1716.48
Albina Dyla Embroidered $2263.60
Fashion Critcal's Boujie: Rebecca Vallance Emma Mini Dress $699
Leigh's Budget: Chancery Lotus Maxi Dress $220
Fashion Critical's Budget: Pilgrim Nat Off Shoulder Mini Dress $169.95
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CREDITS:
Host: Leigh Campbell
Guest: Fashion Critical
Audio Producer: Lu Hill
Video Producer: Artemi Kokkaris
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Whoever said orange is a new pink with seriously deserved
laurels for spraying groundbreaking?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Oh my god, you have to do it. You live
for fashion.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hello and welcome to Nothing to Air, the podcast that
solves fashion problems and levels up your wardrobe. I'm Lee
Campbell and I have a gift for you today. Someone
came into the office incognito. I snuck them in before
anyone could pick up who it was. It's Fashion and Critical.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
If you don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Who I'm talking about, well no one really does because
they are anonymous.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
They're an enigma.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
They have three hundred and fifty thousand people in their
community on Facebook and about one hundred and twenty thousand
on Instagram and they're basically Australia's fashion gossip girl.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Anonymous.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
They commentate any red carpet from the logis here in
Australia right through to the Oscars and recently Fashion.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Critical also wrote a book about just that.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And they're joining me today incognito in disguise to talk
all things fashion and red carpet, the things that go
on behind the scenes, and the celebrities that get very
cranky when she comments on their outfits.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Fashion Critical. Welcome to Nothing to Wear.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I couldn't tell anyone in the office that you were
coming because you would have been attacked and that thing
would have been taken off your head and your true
identity revealed.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
But it is so exciting to have you here. Now.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Before we get into the topic, which is basically you,
I ask new guests the same few questions. Describe your
style Fashion Critical in three words.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Eclectic, unpredictable, and unhinged. Yes at times, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I love it. I was going to say extravagant.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I'm not extravagant visually but not financially.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Yes, no, but like it can be a lot, It
can be a lot. I like it.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, this is going to be interesting to hear how
you answer this. Most people have a wardrobe, but they
wear ten percent of that wardrobe ninety percent of the time.
The rest they love but don't really reach for. There's
a core amount of items that they wear over and
over again. Fashion Critical, what do you wear over and
over again?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I don't know if I should admit to this. Active
where lies not joking, I don't know if I should
say that. If I'm not seeing anyone, I'm all about
being comfy. But I would say in summer, it's very
much like little summer dresses. I love just having like
putting on one thing, not having to put bottom and top,
just the one thing, and it's all like loose and
(02:47):
floaty and nice.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
And so you've got your little floaty summer dress on.
What have you got covering? Face?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Well, you'd be surprised to know that I am able
to walk around freely in public without my head covering
because nobody knows who I am.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Oh, yeah, you're like Sea? It was it Sea?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Yes, you're grug Yes? Or like blanket. When Michael Jackson
used to put the blanket over his face and then
he could go to pre school, it's called blanket. He
was called blanket. That's what I thought. Always us your name, No,
his name's Prince Michael.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Oh okay, yeah, fashion critical. Let's start with your backstory.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
You started out as a street sweeper in Gunda, guys,
so tell me about that is a family business.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
How did you get into street sweeping?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Look, I try not to talk too much about my
personal life because I don't want people, you know, turning
up when I'm on a council shift. So I'm not
going to divulge that. But that is my day job
when I'm not critiquing the fashions of.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
The rich and payment still street sweep indeed, yes, yes, okay,
So street sweeping is a far cry from red carpets
in Hollywood. You know they're quite different. Well, I don't know,
I've never sweeped the street. Have you always loved fashion
and how did your commentary of celebrity outfits begin?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Firstly, I would say yes, I've loved fashion in a
way that is fun and not based in any particular knowledge,
So probably wasn't someone that would read Vogue magazine or
no witch designer was witch. But really have always loved
clothes and the joy of picking outfits and being able
to have a different look every day.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
You just sometimes have a verge on your coffee table
so you look fancy correct.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Yes, and they're like the big Vogue books, Oh on
my ones. Yeah, it never opened it and how it
started was really not a very exciting story, I think.
I you know, when we were all on Facebook a
lot back in the day, guys were the day they
were they were heady days. I made an album I
think of the Oscars and I just won't go as this.
(04:41):
I don't know. I keep saying twenty eleven because I
think that's about right.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
That feels about Ryan.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah, something like that. And that would have been Facebook
prime time when you used to say, you know what
you ate for lunch? Yeah, God's humiliating. And anyway, so
I made this album. I really don't know why. I
was procrastinating, probably, and and it was kind of funny
and people laughed and commented, and then maybe I did
one more and then I.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Had you started an account as fashion Crew.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Not at this point it was just on my personal
page and then correct and then I thought, oh, I'll
make a page, you know, because that.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Was also like Verity to have a page.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
So I made a page and I called it Fashion Creticon.
Zero thought was put into the name of that. And
then I started putting them on the page because I thought,
I don't really want it to impact on me professionally
in my street sweeping career. Yeah, So I made a
page and it got to the point where I thought, hm,
I think I'm onto something here, because I had two
hundred followers, and I promise you, I thought this is
(05:36):
really something, like I've got something here. I guess I
just kept doing it, and you know, it was very
slow burn. When you consider that it's fourteen years later.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Wow, and you're still on Facebook. You've got like three
hundred and fifty thousand.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
People something like that. I think's three hundred and twenty
five or something.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Oh sorry, I had about one hundred and twenty on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
One hundred and thirty. Oh actually, I dare you.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Your book launch, We'll get there.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
And so it just took off from there.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Well yeah, I guess it just kind of grew every
time I'd post an album, and people are very funny
in their comments as well. And I've never promoted it.
It's always been something that, you know, maybe someone would
tag a friend or I think what I wanted to
make sure is that anybody who was on there kind
of was there because they got the humor and they
found it funny. I never did any of that. You know,
tiger friend or you know, here's a competition.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Wasn't really a thing back then.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
It became a thing. It did become a thing, and yeah,
and you know what.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
It's now twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I think that interestingly, in a world where we actually
need a bit more lighthearted humor, you can really cop
it for using Jess. Have you found the tide has
changed it all? With your commentary has always been very witty,
I think, very innocent, really fun. But have people change
from then to now that like you can't say that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I think actually I get less criticism now because I
think I'm better at being funny and satirical without being
super savage. In the beginning, it was just savage of
my favorite day. Yeah it could be savage because like
most of the people on there are new and it
was just like kind of like the group chat with
(07:04):
your best eares where.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
You didn't really forward things on then And yeah it
was yeah, but at a time.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
But it was a different time one hundred percent the
things that you could get away with. And I think
the landscape of what's acceptable and what's not has changed
quite rapidly over time. Keerri Ane Kenney, the Icon attended
my book launch in Sydney last week and she got
me to sign her book and I want.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
She brought her book for you to.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Say she bought one on the night and she asks
me to sign it, and.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I'm sorry, your book. I thought she brought her own book,
like I wrote this book.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Now, actually I have written a book. So she she
got me to sign my book, and I wanted very
much for her to sign my boobs, but I chickened out.
But she said to me, you know, don't go too soft.
You know, you've got to be like Joan Rivers. You've
got to very jon.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Well she's away.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
No one's ever going to be Joan Rivers anyway. So yeah,
it has changed, and I've changed with it. And I
think that's your responsibility as someone I don't think of
it myself as someone who's necessarily an expert on fashion.
I really I like to make people laugh.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
You're a chameleon.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, so I think that you have to be able
to be fluid with the times.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, I was in credibly disappointed that I had to
message you the morning of the book launch and I
couldn't come because I had been to Spotlight. I didn't
use much Anomi, but I bought four meters of red
velvet and I was gonna put it over myself, and.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
God was there, How are you gonna do that well,
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
That hasn't been worked out yet.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I was just gonna cut to the lisals literally.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Like a ghost. I would have collapsed with joy and happiness.
Maybe next time your Halloween costume.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Oh that's a great idea.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Okay, So you use some colorful terms to illustrate your
thoughts and feelings, and I feel like most of your
audience know by now what they are and what they
mean and how they started. But there's some people that
might not be across your fantastic colorful language. So I'm
going to name a few of them, and then you're
gonna tell me what they mean.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Okay, should have caught the bus.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
So should have caught the bus means you've got creasing
on your garment, usually in the sea area, which is
another term which I photo was crotch whiskers.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well that was on the list.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yeah, so these two are inextricably linked. So if you
have crotch whiskers, it is typically because you arrived at
the event sitting down in a cab or a car
or a limo or whatever, which is typically how people
would arrive at red carpets. And once upon a time,
I think it was twenty ten, Cape Blanchette caught a
public bus to the Actor Awards here in Sydney because
(09:34):
she was wearing a silk gown. Some fabrics don't crease
a lot, and some creased terribly. So she was wearing
a silk or a satin sort of type gown. And
she just took a photo on her Instagram of her
literally standing up holding onto a pole on a Sydney
Metro bus.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
A boss, so boss.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Ever since then, I was like, if I saw someone
with a creased outfit, I'd say it should have caught
the bus, you know, that would have solved that problem.
And now they do catch the bus. They go in
big tall van.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yes, like Kim Kardashian when she had that course that
she had to go in a standing van because they.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
All do it now, they all do it. They stand
up and they hold onto the pole. It's not very
safe because there's no seat belts on It's America. They
don't care, or they lie stitchers aboard on the back seat.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I like to think I should get fashion critical vans that.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
I could make my next career, yes, my third career.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yes, yes, forget street sweeping, street moving people in dresses.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I could do both. The van could have street sweepers
on the bottom.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
This is genius. So crotch whiskers. That explains.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
When I first saw that, I thought it mean like
I remember those jeans we used to buy that just
had the fake wrinkles that it was just.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Like the mate they're coming back, have you seen?
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yes, But we're not worry But you know Keith Urban,
I feel like he wears crotch whisker jeans.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Yeah, that checks, okay, it checks out.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Toes toes toes.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
By the way, there is a glossary of terms at
the front of my.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Books, I know. So I'm about to get to your book.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
You will not be, you know, lost and confused. So toes.
Everybody has them. I'm not here to toe shame anyone.
You know, you can't help it that you've got ten
little piggly wigglies down there. But what I am looking
for is if I am noticing your toees, this is
not good. I don't want them to be detracting attention
(11:14):
from the overall.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Look.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
So there's a couple of ways that they will do this,
and sometimes despite your best efforts, it will happen. So
if you're wearing a very high heel, and it's not
a really great fit, Like it's a little bit big.
Your toes are going to splay out the front like
it's not narrow.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Enough or hang over the edge.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, they can actually make contact with the carpet, which
we don't want that, or your shoes too small, and
then you see them all like folded up.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Can I ask what about genetically if someone doesn't have
big toe to little toe, what if they're just born
with like a long middle toe.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Well that's something you have to reckon with as a person,
so correct you can just wear a closed toed shoe.
So there's nothing wrong with toes, you know, I don't
know if you've ever broken a toe, if you've ever
broken a pinky toel, you literally can't walk. You need
all ten of them. So I'm not here to shame toes.
But if you are an A list celebrity on the
(12:08):
red carpet, I don't want to be you really noticing
your toes. So a closed toe shoe or just a
shoe that fits and paint your toeels. Bob's you.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
I am so glad I changed into these shoes right
before you got here. Bog best on ground.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Best on ground. Now that's a very Victorian term, yes,
that they use in the AFL, which I think every
game somebody is awarded best on ground, which I guess
means the best player of the match. Yeah, we don't
care about fair. We just care about who looks good.
So best on ground will be whoever I dm at
that event to be the best dressed person, and there's
(12:41):
a few things that will influence that. You know, it's
not the same criteria for every red carpet, So what
someone is wearing at the Grammys or the VMA Awards
obviously has a separate set of criteria to someone.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
It can't so the met Gala, like if they just
go in a boring dress, they haven't played correct.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
And on that note, you know, people get very very
excited about the Oscars red carpet and they say it's
it's fashion critical Christmas. It's actually very dull because people
are so perfectly put together and nobody risks because it's
very very formal. So you have a lot more fun
at the you know, it's something like the Golden Globe.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yes, Grammys are good.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Grammys are epic. Yeah, you know, anything goes anything goes, what.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
About Australia here with our football awards. That's all I
can think that we do.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yeah, the brown Low, We've got the Logis. Of course. Now,
back in the day fashion critical would have a marvelous
time at the logis because people would wear all kinds
of things. And now everyone looks pretty good. So it is.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
I did the Logans red carpet once when I was
at cost one hundred years ago.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I'm so glad you weren't there then.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
It was a zimmm and dress off a friend.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
But that's what people did.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Like.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
They did not have stylists. They didn't have whole style teams.
You see Australian celebrities or the wags and you know
the amount of people that they thank in their Instagram posts.
There's a lot of people working to put that look together.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
And so Tuesday night, let alone, the logis there.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Yeah, and so the stylists might have been, you know,
putting that output together for a couple of weeks or
even longer. So they actually scrub up.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Really well and everyone looks good, good, but boring.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
It is sad. Yes, it's limiting for me and my
humorous quips.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You manage it. Okay, a few more do your hair?
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Do your hair. You'll be surprised to learn that that
just means what it says. It just looks like the
person hasn't done their.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Hair, but because they're wearing such a fancy dress and
they just want that editorial bend.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah, but that's fine, that's done. I'm talking about. You'll
see in my book. You'll see what classifies as do
your hair. It's in there. There's section on hair and
nails and accessories and all the little extra touches. So
I'm talking about the wet look. It's not for me.
It's not for me. The wet look hair where you
look like you've just stepped out of the shower or
it's just like a hot mess.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Ever, what a wet looks slipped back high pony, Oh
that's stunning.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
But it just we look out, just look like you
did your hair.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Okay, I like it.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Fraggle okay, so you know all the like I guess
it's ostrich feathers that you see on dresses is very
very common on the carpet. Correct. They look like deceased fraggles, And.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So people that are younger than us might not know
what fraggles are.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
They're like Muppet cousins, and they're very fluffy, weird, fluffy
little fellows. And so when I see people wearing those feathers,
I will always call them out for fraggle abuse or
fraggle carnage. Fraggles are ubiquitous with the red carpet, sadly
so that they are in peril. Their numbers are way down.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh they're probably in dangered. Last one here accessories gone wild.
I'm assuming that's human accessories.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
How you style your outfit. And for those playing at home,
probably people that listen to this podcast know things about fashion,
but the styling refers to how you put together. So
you've got a dress, and then how do you make
that whole? You know, how do you make the whole look?
So you know, your choice of accessories is definitely part
of that. And so for example, at my book launch
(15:50):
last week, I wore a magnificent dress and I had
quite an elaborate piece of like millinery that was made
for me by an amazing millinaire who has a millinery
company called Somewhere Millinery. They make head pieces, make head pieces,
and there was a lot going on. I didn't wear
a single piece of jaws. So that was a choice
I made where I like, I tried on earrings. I
(16:11):
tried on rings, and I tried a necklace, and then
I was like, I actually think it's beautiful just as
it is. But then there's other cases where you might
be wearing like quite a simple black dress and then
you can put a lot with it and it looks
really really cool.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And sometimes they haven't really thought about it all in
one or they're getting paid a million dollars by a
fancy so and so to be dropping in something correct.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And if you want to pay me to wear a
thousand accessories, I'll do it. I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Levisa, come out it all right.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Have you ever had a reply or any discourse from
a celebrity or person that you've commented on.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yes, so you know, if it's positive, they'll often share it.
They'll often say thank you so much. Oh, I was
so nervous about what you would say. And I find
that hilarious because literally, who am I but a lowly
street sweeper. So if it's positive, they're very positive. And
then I have had people like David Kosh, who you
know is the finance guy. I've often made who used
(17:05):
to be on TV. I will often make a joke
if someone looks very kind of business like that you
know that he was styled by David Kosh, and I'll
tag him and he loves it. He's got such a
good at sense in him, he'll always reshare it. I
invited him to my launch. He couldn't come. He said
it was devastating, like he's such a good.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Sport, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
So there's definitely people who get it. There's people who've
reached out to me and said, do your worst with me.
Here's me at the logos, here's me at the aris
like you know. Usually usually people who are finding themselves,
like Joel Creasy or m Rushiana or something like that.
So that's good fun. Yes, so this is a fun story.
It was quite recent. I think I did a little
(17:42):
red carpet for a play that I was invited to
and Todd McKinney was there. We haven't seen him, yeah,
quite a while, and he was just in a plain
blue suit and I said that he had been styled
by the David Kosh School of Finance, And once again,
David Kosh thought that was funny and shared it, and
Todd mc kenny DMed me and he said, I had
(18:03):
to go to a restaurant and there was, you know,
requirement for a jacket and tie. And I came straight
from the restaurant and I said, cool, Brah, it's all
in good fun, like we're all having a laugh. Anyway,
I didn't hear back. You know, if you've not seen
it before, it does sound you know. I think when
you followed the page you get that it's kind of
funny and it's done in an affectionate way. But he
didn't care for it. And as I have said before,
(18:24):
if you were styled by the David Kosh School of Finance,
you're probably wearing a really expensive suit.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
It's not a terrible thing. It's safe.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Boring it sounds like, yeah, Graham from accounts, but it's
not terrible.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
It probably costs a lot of money, so it.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Might be tailored own that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
What's the best red carpet event overall in terms of.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Attendees getting it right?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I guess it's hard to answer because you just said
sometimes getting it right it's boring.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Look, any of the major events I think are always amazing.
So the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Oscars, they're always.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Which is good but bad because it's not so much fun, right,
rageous and great to commentate, and there's a lot of
good and bad.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Well. I think if you go to a music awards,
as we talked about the Grammys the American Music Awards,
you get some people who have gone quite formal and
quite elegant, and then you get, you know, artists who've
gone and worn something absolutely bananas, you know, something absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Maybe bananas like actually.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Correct, So that is always super fun. Whereas if you
look at something like the MTV vs. Everybody kind of
looks a little bit wacky, but the Grammy is you'll
get a mix. And then obviously something like the met
Gala is always just exceptional. And when we talk about
the criteria of what we're looking at the Met Gala,
there's a theme. So it's very much about how have
(19:41):
you dressed for the themepret and I don't want to
see understated that the Met Gala. I want you dressed
as a cat like Jared Alito did, or like carrying
your you know, he also came wearing his head in
his hands.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
And we need to get you to the met Gala.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I need somebody out there.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
I'll make it happen. So you wrote a book.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
It's pretty impressive considering the streets need sweeping and clothes
need talking about. Tell us about the book and if
anyone hasn't got it yet already yet.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
I mean, it's a bit back to the Vogue thing.
Even if you don't read it, it's it's really chic
read like you just want it to look fancy. Yeah,
but how did you write it? And what's in it?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Okay, So I was contacted by the nice people at
Murdo Books.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Did you actually write it?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Of course? Of course. I mean my followers would know immediately.
They I think they said to me, if you want
to work with someone, and I said, I don't think so.
No one could replicate this wit. So they said, we
think you could write a book. And actually I had
been approached by it to publishers previously at other times,
and I just I just I don't know.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
I just it's a big thing to do.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Well, that's it. It's a lot of work. And I
think I fashion critical for me has always been such
fun and something that I do genuinely for my own
entertainment that I didn't like the idea of being like
then it being a job.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
It also feels very permanent in a book, where it's
like just waking up a photo and saying it's sentence.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Yeah, although you know, the internet is forever these days.
So anyway, they said, we think you could write a book,
and then I had to think about what the book
would be. So it is pretty much an overview of
red carpet celebrity fashion going back predominantly, I'd say ten
to fifteen years. You can't go too much further than
that because the pictures are not good and it's just
they're just too much content. So it's looking at everything.
(21:22):
You know, we go through the major events, we go through,
what are some of the red carpet trends. I distribute
my own awards. I've got my own awards that I've
given out to certain people. I look at some of
the behind the scenes things that we talked about. I
interviewed Alex Perry, who's followed a fashion critical for a
long time and was so generous to let me interview him,
to actually say, what's actually going on back there? How
(21:42):
does it work? You know, if you're a designer, how
do your dresses end up on these people. Do you
know that they're going to appear or does it just suddenly.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Have a buy it? Do you pay them? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (21:50):
So I got to ask all of those questions, which
was really cool. And then it finishes with you know
my favorite looks of all time, the people that I
think of you the best dressed. And it is lots
of pictures, so if you don't want to read too
many words, you'd be very pleased. And it kind of
harks back to the glory days of magazines like the
The design and layout of it is beautiful and yeah,
(22:13):
it's got a beautiful kind of faux red leather with
gold foil. So you can also just leave it sitting
on your coffee table if you liked great Christmas gift,
Great christmabulous.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
If you could dress one famous person for the Red Carpet,
who would it be?
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Oh, that's a question I should have read beforehand.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I'm gonna come back to it.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Yeah, hang on, hang on, give me a minute, Give
me a minute. Who would it be? Who would it be?
I think I'd like to dress Heidi.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Klum Oh, and why.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Because she is so beautiful? But her she wins the
box of Chocolate's Award in my book, because you just
never know what you're going to get, And so I
think that's super fun with her, and I think she'd
kind of be up with you put her in. Well,
that's the thing. I think she'd be up for anything,
Like I think she's sometimes she wears really beautiful formal
things and sometimes she wears really crazy stuff. So I
(23:00):
think she'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
So true, who is your all time best on ground over?
Speaker 1 (23:06):
How long you ever been doing this? Male? Female?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Like the perse and not the look, the person that
just genuinely almost always gets it right.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
There's well, I think there's a series of those MVPs
in the book, and I don't have it in front
of me.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
But who first came to mind when I said that, Oh.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Kate Blindchett. You know, like, can you think of a
time where she didn't look No.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
She always looks great. Her skin's beautiful, perfect. I'm not bored.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I know you right, you're right, but I know you
know Kate blind Sheet, Nicole Kidman. Yeah, there's you know,
a mile Clooney, Oh never puts a foot wrong. Ever.
There's quite a few actually, And then there's people who
are a little bit more edgy.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
What did you say, fair men?
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Yeah, yeah, exactly so. But there are definitely some MVPs
who for years and years and years and years just
keep churning out the great looks. And they're probably because
they've got very very good stylists, and I assume also
they've just got really excellent tastes themselves.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
And lots of money. Yeah, that helps. If you are
invited to the Oscars, what are you wearing?
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Lord? Look? I would wear something very timeless. I think
when you're looking at the Oscars, you don't want anything
trendy think, you know, I think anything that's kind of
old Hollywood, you know, the old Hollywood wave. I'm a
big fan of yellow dresses. I don't know if i'd
go yellow at the Oscars, but something a little bit
(24:28):
of vintage, I think is where I would go.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
I enjoy that.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Before we get into boogie budget, I'm gonna ask you
some quick, rapid fire questions.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Who's your red carpet spirit animal?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Coleman Domingo. He's a man's but he's not a flamingo.
But he is the best dressed man on the red
carpet at the moment, and he's I'm obsessed, obsessed.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
If fashion had a smell, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Bubblegum?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
What's the one outfit you'd send straight to fashion jail?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Hosary with and toad sandals?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Three words to describe a true best on ground bog.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Look, timeless, flattering, and perfect.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
What's the biggest fashion crime of the decade.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
I'm going to say the naked dress. Yeah, it's just
it's too much.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
We're getting more and more naked.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
I want to see clothes. I don't want to see notity.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Kanye West partner is actually naked, actually naked?
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Last one? If you could ban one accessory forever, what
would it be?
Speaker 3 (25:42):
The choker? Easy? I don't care for it.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
It's very expensive.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
How old are the.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Boogie and budget?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
So obviously your fashion critical, So we're kind of going
red carpet inspired. I mean, you've been doing your own
red carpet lainly. I haven't so minor make believe that
I would wear. But let's start with your bougie. Well.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
I recently bought a Rebecca Valance cutie patuity mini dress.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Is that what it's called?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
It is absolutely not called that. Please don't google that.
You will not find it. People might be surprised to learn.
I don't spend a lot on myself. I'd rather buy
lots of things than expensive things.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
So, but I you know, new.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Her dresses like they're about like eight or nine for that.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
This one was maybe seven hundred because it wasn't a gown.
It was a mini kind of day dress. But that
was a big spend for me, and I what colors.
It's black and white and it looks a little eighties,
almost like a little bit working women eighties, and it's glorious,
and I thought, I deserve this. I've purchased it on
(26:47):
the internet.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
You have lots of things to do. She makes beautiful dresses. Well,
mine is absolutely in my dream. So I'm going somewhere phenomenal.
You can tell me where I'm going to wear this. Actually,
so I am buying and wearing. Actually no, they're going
to give it to me. That Albina Dialer embroidered corset dress.
It is two thousand, two hundred and sixty eight dollars
and ninety five cents because I'm a celebrity.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
So oh, I mean it's half naked.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
But that's not naked. Yeah, that's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Look at the waist, look at the boob. Obviously there'll
be a link in the show notes. Look, of course,
it is how long dress beat it? Oh my gosh,
I mean I want to go somewhere.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, that's stunning.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, I approve, approve, approved, all right, what's your budget?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
It is a Pilgrim dress that I got on the
Iconic on sale and it was sixty nine dollars and
it looks vintage, beautiful perfection, and I wore it in
a photo shoot for a newspaper the other day. Color black, black,
sequin kind of off the shoulders. It looks like Princess
Diana's revenge dress, a little bit sixty nine dollars, velvet,
no no sequence, black sequence, and like little bit of
(27:50):
rooshy thing here.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
When I was picking my budget, I could not pick
between Pilgrim and that Chanceries. You say that brand, Yes, okay,
I think so, and I picked a Chancrough dress. But
Pilgrim you haven't looked at for years. Yeah, obviously don't
do many rooted carpets or fancy things. But when I
was looking at Pilgrim on the Iconic, I was like, wowie, yeah,
we need to go to places.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Yeah, they've got They've got really beautiful dress and I've
never bought anything from them before. I don't think.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I feel like fifteen years ago it was not my vibe.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Yeah, I don't. I mean I don't. Again, I'm not overly.
I don't really follow particular labels in great way. But
I saw it online, and you know, when you order
online you kind of hidd and miss. You don't know
how it's going to fit.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Beautiful well. My budget for my imaginary red stump that
I'm going on is from the Iconic as Well.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Chancery is a brand. It's called the Lotus Maxi Dress.
It's two hundred and twenty dollars because it's new.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Oh, pink and red. Chink and red is a favorite
color coumbo of mine.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Bless kind of that's leading, I know. And look you
like black and mite. It comes in black and white.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
That's late. That looks a lot like something I wanted.
The logo is actually, did you go to the logies?
I got in on the sly I was not invited.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
I see the black and white's down to one hundred
and thirty two dollars at the time of recording.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Need it, need both of them?
Speaker 2 (28:59):
If anyone has got red carpet events or weddings or whatever.
Chancery ran choice.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
What was your brand again? It was Pilgrim, Pilgrim on.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
The iconic YEP Affordable, fabulous, love it fashion Critical. I
know you have streets to sweep and I don't know
what else.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
You got places to be, people, influence, polarize air to
get around, and I would like that very much.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Thank you for joining me on it.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Thank you for having me. It was really fun, so fun.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Thank you so much for listening to Nothing to Air
and don't forget you should head over to YouTube to
watch us to particularly this episode because you'll get to
see Fashion Critical in a very fancy outfit and disguise.
We also have a Nothing to Wear newsletter, there's a
link in the show notes, and of course we're on
Instagram at Nothing to Air Pod.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
See you soon.
You're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Whoever said orange is a new pink with seriously deserved
laurels for spraying groundbreaking?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Oh my god, you have to do it. You live
for fashion.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hello and welcome to Nothing to Air, the podcast that
solves fashion problems and levels up your wardrobe. I'm Lee
Campbell and I have a gift for you today. Someone
came into the office incognito. I snuck them in before
anyone could pick up who it was. It's Fashion and Critical.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
If you don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Who I'm talking about, well no one really does because
they are anonymous.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
They're an enigma.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
They have three hundred and fifty thousand people in their
community on Facebook and about one hundred and twenty thousand
on Instagram and they're basically Australia's fashion gossip girl.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Anonymous.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
They commentate any red carpet from the logis here in
Australia right through to the Oscars and recently Fashion.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Critical also wrote a book about just that.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And they're joining me today incognito in disguise to talk
all things fashion and red carpet, the things that go
on behind the scenes, and the celebrities that get very
cranky when she comments on their outfits.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Fashion Critical. Welcome to Nothing to Wear.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I couldn't tell anyone in the office that you were
coming because you would have been attacked and that thing
would have been taken off your head and your true
identity revealed.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
But it is so exciting to have you here. Now.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Before we get into the topic, which is basically you,
I ask new guests the same few questions. Describe your
style Fashion Critical in three words.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Eclectic, unpredictable, and unhinged. Yes at times, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I love it. I was going to say extravagant.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I'm not extravagant visually but not financially.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Yes, no, but like it can be a lot, It
can be a lot. I like it.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, this is going to be interesting to hear how
you answer this. Most people have a wardrobe, but they
wear ten percent of that wardrobe ninety percent of the time.
The rest they love but don't really reach for. There's
a core amount of items that they wear over and
over again. Fashion Critical, what do you wear over and
over again?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I don't know if I should admit to this. Active
where lies not joking, I don't know if I should
say that. If I'm not seeing anyone, I'm all about
being comfy. But I would say in summer, it's very
much like little summer dresses. I love just having like
putting on one thing, not having to put bottom and top,
just the one thing, and it's all like loose and
(02:47):
floaty and nice.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
And so you've got your little floaty summer dress on.
What have you got covering? Face?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Well, you'd be surprised to know that I am able
to walk around freely in public without my head covering
because nobody knows who I am.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Oh, yeah, you're like Sea? It was it Sea?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Yes, you're grug Yes? Or like blanket. When Michael Jackson
used to put the blanket over his face and then
he could go to pre school, it's called blanket. He
was called blanket. That's what I thought. Always us your name, No,
his name's Prince Michael.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Oh okay, yeah, fashion critical. Let's start with your backstory.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
You started out as a street sweeper in Gunda, guys,
so tell me about that is a family business.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
How did you get into street sweeping?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Look, I try not to talk too much about my
personal life because I don't want people, you know, turning
up when I'm on a council shift. So I'm not
going to divulge that. But that is my day job
when I'm not critiquing the fashions of.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
The rich and payment still street sweep indeed, yes, yes, okay,
So street sweeping is a far cry from red carpets
in Hollywood. You know they're quite different. Well, I don't know,
I've never sweeped the street. Have you always loved fashion
and how did your commentary of celebrity outfits begin?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Firstly, I would say yes, I've loved fashion in a
way that is fun and not based in any particular knowledge,
So probably wasn't someone that would read Vogue magazine or
no witch designer was witch. But really have always loved
clothes and the joy of picking outfits and being able
to have a different look every day.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
You just sometimes have a verge on your coffee table
so you look fancy correct.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Yes, and they're like the big Vogue books, Oh on
my ones. Yeah, it never opened it and how it
started was really not a very exciting story, I think.
I you know, when we were all on Facebook a
lot back in the day, guys were the day they
were they were heady days. I made an album I
think of the Oscars and I just won't go as this.
(04:41):
I don't know. I keep saying twenty eleven because I
think that's about right.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
That feels about Ryan.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah, something like that. And that would have been Facebook
prime time when you used to say, you know what
you ate for lunch? Yeah, God's humiliating. And anyway, so
I made this album. I really don't know why. I
was procrastinating, probably, and and it was kind of funny
and people laughed and commented, and then maybe I did
one more and then I.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Had you started an account as fashion Crew.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Not at this point it was just on my personal
page and then correct and then I thought, oh, I'll
make a page, you know, because that.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Was also like Verity to have a page.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
So I made a page and I called it Fashion Creticon.
Zero thought was put into the name of that. And
then I started putting them on the page because I thought,
I don't really want it to impact on me professionally
in my street sweeping career. Yeah, So I made a
page and it got to the point where I thought, hm,
I think I'm onto something here, because I had two
hundred followers, and I promise you, I thought this is
(05:36):
really something, like I've got something here. I guess I
just kept doing it, and you know, it was very
slow burn. When you consider that it's fourteen years later.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Wow, and you're still on Facebook. You've got like three
hundred and fifty thousand.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
People something like that. I think's three hundred and twenty
five or something.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Oh sorry, I had about one hundred and twenty on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
One hundred and thirty. Oh actually, I dare you.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Your book launch, We'll get there.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
And so it just took off from there.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Well yeah, I guess it just kind of grew every
time I'd post an album, and people are very funny
in their comments as well. And I've never promoted it.
It's always been something that, you know, maybe someone would
tag a friend or I think what I wanted to
make sure is that anybody who was on there kind
of was there because they got the humor and they
found it funny. I never did any of that. You know,
tiger friend or you know, here's a competition.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Wasn't really a thing back then.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
It became a thing. It did become a thing, and yeah,
and you know what.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
It's now twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I think that interestingly, in a world where we actually
need a bit more lighthearted humor, you can really cop
it for using Jess. Have you found the tide has
changed it all? With your commentary has always been very witty,
I think, very innocent, really fun. But have people change
from then to now that like you can't say that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I think actually I get less criticism now because I
think I'm better at being funny and satirical without being
super savage. In the beginning, it was just savage of
my favorite day. Yeah it could be savage because like
most of the people on there are new and it
was just like kind of like the group chat with
(07:04):
your best eares where.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
You didn't really forward things on then And yeah it
was yeah, but at a time.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
But it was a different time one hundred percent the
things that you could get away with. And I think
the landscape of what's acceptable and what's not has changed
quite rapidly over time. Keerri Ane Kenney, the Icon attended
my book launch in Sydney last week and she got
me to sign her book and I want.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
She brought her book for you to.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Say she bought one on the night and she asks
me to sign it, and.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I'm sorry, your book. I thought she brought her own book,
like I wrote this book.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Now, actually I have written a book. So she she
got me to sign my book, and I wanted very
much for her to sign my boobs, but I chickened out.
But she said to me, you know, don't go too soft.
You know, you've got to be like Joan Rivers. You've
got to very jon.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Well she's away.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
No one's ever going to be Joan Rivers anyway. So yeah,
it has changed, and I've changed with it. And I
think that's your responsibility as someone I don't think of
it myself as someone who's necessarily an expert on fashion.
I really I like to make people laugh.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
You're a chameleon.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, so I think that you have to be able
to be fluid with the times.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, I was in credibly disappointed that I had to
message you the morning of the book launch and I
couldn't come because I had been to Spotlight. I didn't
use much Anomi, but I bought four meters of red
velvet and I was gonna put it over myself, and.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
God was there, How are you gonna do that well,
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
That hasn't been worked out yet.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I was just gonna cut to the lisals literally.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Like a ghost. I would have collapsed with joy and happiness.
Maybe next time your Halloween costume.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Oh that's a great idea.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Okay, So you use some colorful terms to illustrate your
thoughts and feelings, and I feel like most of your
audience know by now what they are and what they
mean and how they started. But there's some people that
might not be across your fantastic colorful language. So I'm
going to name a few of them, and then you're
gonna tell me what they mean.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Okay, should have caught the bus.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
So should have caught the bus means you've got creasing
on your garment, usually in the sea area, which is
another term which I photo was crotch whiskers.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well that was on the list.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yeah, so these two are inextricably linked. So if you
have crotch whiskers, it is typically because you arrived at
the event sitting down in a cab or a car
or a limo or whatever, which is typically how people
would arrive at red carpets. And once upon a time,
I think it was twenty ten, Cape Blanchette caught a
public bus to the Actor Awards here in Sydney because
(09:34):
she was wearing a silk gown. Some fabrics don't crease
a lot, and some creased terribly. So she was wearing
a silk or a satin sort of type gown. And
she just took a photo on her Instagram of her
literally standing up holding onto a pole on a Sydney
Metro bus.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
A boss, so boss.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Ever since then, I was like, if I saw someone
with a creased outfit, I'd say it should have caught
the bus, you know, that would have solved that problem.
And now they do catch the bus. They go in
big tall van.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yes, like Kim Kardashian when she had that course that
she had to go in a standing van because they.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
All do it now, they all do it. They stand
up and they hold onto the pole. It's not very
safe because there's no seat belts on It's America. They
don't care, or they lie stitchers aboard on the back seat.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I like to think I should get fashion critical vans that.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
I could make my next career, yes, my third career.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yes, yes, forget street sweeping, street moving people in dresses.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I could do both. The van could have street sweepers
on the bottom.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
This is genius. So crotch whiskers. That explains.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
When I first saw that, I thought it mean like
I remember those jeans we used to buy that just
had the fake wrinkles that it was just.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Like the mate they're coming back, have you seen?
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yes, But we're not worry But you know Keith Urban,
I feel like he wears crotch whisker jeans.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Yeah, that checks, okay, it checks out.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Toes toes toes.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
By the way, there is a glossary of terms at
the front of my.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Books, I know. So I'm about to get to your book.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
You will not be, you know, lost and confused. So toes.
Everybody has them. I'm not here to toe shame anyone.
You know, you can't help it that you've got ten
little piggly wigglies down there. But what I am looking
for is if I am noticing your toees, this is
not good. I don't want them to be detracting attention
(11:14):
from the overall.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Look.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
So there's a couple of ways that they will do this,
and sometimes despite your best efforts, it will happen. So
if you're wearing a very high heel, and it's not
a really great fit, Like it's a little bit big.
Your toes are going to splay out the front like
it's not narrow.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Enough or hang over the edge.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, they can actually make contact with the carpet, which
we don't want that, or your shoes too small, and
then you see them all like folded up.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Can I ask what about genetically if someone doesn't have
big toe to little toe, what if they're just born
with like a long middle toe.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Well that's something you have to reckon with as a person,
so correct you can just wear a closed toed shoe.
So there's nothing wrong with toes, you know, I don't
know if you've ever broken a toe, if you've ever
broken a pinky toel, you literally can't walk. You need
all ten of them. So I'm not here to shame toes.
But if you are an A list celebrity on the
(12:08):
red carpet, I don't want to be you really noticing
your toes. So a closed toe shoe or just a
shoe that fits and paint your toeels. Bob's you.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
I am so glad I changed into these shoes right
before you got here. Bog best on ground.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Best on ground. Now that's a very Victorian term, yes,
that they use in the AFL, which I think every
game somebody is awarded best on ground, which I guess
means the best player of the match. Yeah, we don't
care about fair. We just care about who looks good.
So best on ground will be whoever I dm at
that event to be the best dressed person, and there's
(12:41):
a few things that will influence that. You know, it's
not the same criteria for every red carpet, So what
someone is wearing at the Grammys or the VMA Awards
obviously has a separate set of criteria to someone.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
It can't so the met Gala, like if they just
go in a boring dress, they haven't played correct.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
And on that note, you know, people get very very
excited about the Oscars red carpet and they say it's
it's fashion critical Christmas. It's actually very dull because people
are so perfectly put together and nobody risks because it's
very very formal. So you have a lot more fun
at the you know, it's something like the Golden Globe.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yes, Grammys are good.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Grammys are epic. Yeah, you know, anything goes anything goes, what.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
About Australia here with our football awards. That's all I
can think that we do.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yeah, the brown Low, We've got the Logis. Of course. Now,
back in the day fashion critical would have a marvelous
time at the logis because people would wear all kinds
of things. And now everyone looks pretty good. So it is.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
I did the Logans red carpet once when I was
at cost one hundred years ago.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I'm so glad you weren't there then.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
It was a zimmm and dress off a friend.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
But that's what people did.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Like.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
They did not have stylists. They didn't have whole style teams.
You see Australian celebrities or the wags and you know
the amount of people that they thank in their Instagram posts.
There's a lot of people working to put that look together.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
And so Tuesday night, let alone, the logis there.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Yeah, and so the stylists might have been, you know,
putting that output together for a couple of weeks or
even longer. So they actually scrub up.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Really well and everyone looks good, good, but boring.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
It is sad. Yes, it's limiting for me and my
humorous quips.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You manage it. Okay, a few more do your hair?
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Do your hair. You'll be surprised to learn that that
just means what it says. It just looks like the
person hasn't done their.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Hair, but because they're wearing such a fancy dress and
they just want that editorial bend.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah, but that's fine, that's done. I'm talking about. You'll
see in my book. You'll see what classifies as do
your hair. It's in there. There's section on hair and
nails and accessories and all the little extra touches. So
I'm talking about the wet look. It's not for me.
It's not for me. The wet look hair where you
look like you've just stepped out of the shower or
it's just like a hot mess.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Ever, what a wet looks slipped back high pony, Oh
that's stunning.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
But it just we look out, just look like you
did your hair.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Okay, I like it.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Fraggle okay, so you know all the like I guess
it's ostrich feathers that you see on dresses is very
very common on the carpet. Correct. They look like deceased fraggles, And.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So people that are younger than us might not know
what fraggles are.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
They're like Muppet cousins, and they're very fluffy, weird, fluffy
little fellows. And so when I see people wearing those feathers,
I will always call them out for fraggle abuse or
fraggle carnage. Fraggles are ubiquitous with the red carpet, sadly
so that they are in peril. Their numbers are way down.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh they're probably in dangered. Last one here accessories gone wild.
I'm assuming that's human accessories.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
How you style your outfit. And for those playing at home,
probably people that listen to this podcast know things about fashion,
but the styling refers to how you put together. So
you've got a dress, and then how do you make
that whole? You know, how do you make the whole look?
So you know, your choice of accessories is definitely part
of that. And so for example, at my book launch
(15:50):
last week, I wore a magnificent dress and I had
quite an elaborate piece of like millinery that was made
for me by an amazing millinaire who has a millinery
company called Somewhere Millinery. They make head pieces, make head pieces,
and there was a lot going on. I didn't wear
a single piece of jaws. So that was a choice
I made where I like, I tried on earrings. I
(16:11):
tried on rings, and I tried a necklace, and then
I was like, I actually think it's beautiful just as
it is. But then there's other cases where you might
be wearing like quite a simple black dress and then
you can put a lot with it and it looks
really really cool.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And sometimes they haven't really thought about it all in
one or they're getting paid a million dollars by a
fancy so and so to be dropping in something correct.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And if you want to pay me to wear a
thousand accessories, I'll do it. I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Levisa, come out it all right.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Have you ever had a reply or any discourse from
a celebrity or person that you've commented on.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yes, so you know, if it's positive, they'll often share it.
They'll often say thank you so much. Oh, I was
so nervous about what you would say. And I find
that hilarious because literally, who am I but a lowly
street sweeper. So if it's positive, they're very positive. And
then I have had people like David Kosh, who you
know is the finance guy. I've often made who used
(17:05):
to be on TV. I will often make a joke
if someone looks very kind of business like that you
know that he was styled by David Kosh, and I'll
tag him and he loves it. He's got such a
good at sense in him, he'll always reshare it. I
invited him to my launch. He couldn't come. He said
it was devastating, like he's such a good.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Sport, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
So there's definitely people who get it. There's people who've
reached out to me and said, do your worst with me.
Here's me at the logos, here's me at the aris
like you know. Usually usually people who are finding themselves,
like Joel Creasy or m Rushiana or something like that.
So that's good fun. Yes, so this is a fun story.
It was quite recent. I think I did a little
(17:42):
red carpet for a play that I was invited to
and Todd McKinney was there. We haven't seen him, yeah,
quite a while, and he was just in a plain
blue suit and I said that he had been styled
by the David Kosh School of Finance, And once again,
David Kosh thought that was funny and shared it, and
Todd mc kenny DMed me and he said, I had
(18:03):
to go to a restaurant and there was, you know,
requirement for a jacket and tie. And I came straight
from the restaurant and I said, cool, Brah, it's all
in good fun, like we're all having a laugh. Anyway,
I didn't hear back. You know, if you've not seen
it before, it does sound you know. I think when
you followed the page you get that it's kind of
funny and it's done in an affectionate way. But he
didn't care for it. And as I have said before,
(18:24):
if you were styled by the David Kosh School of Finance,
you're probably wearing a really expensive suit.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
It's not a terrible thing. It's safe.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Boring it sounds like, yeah, Graham from accounts, but it's
not terrible.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
It probably costs a lot of money, so it.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Might be tailored own that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
What's the best red carpet event overall in terms of.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Attendees getting it right?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I guess it's hard to answer because you just said
sometimes getting it right it's boring.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Look, any of the major events I think are always amazing.
So the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Oscars, they're always.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Which is good but bad because it's not so much fun, right,
rageous and great to commentate, and there's a lot of
good and bad.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Well. I think if you go to a music awards,
as we talked about the Grammys the American Music Awards,
you get some people who have gone quite formal and
quite elegant, and then you get, you know, artists who've
gone and worn something absolutely bananas, you know, something absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Maybe bananas like actually.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Correct, So that is always super fun. Whereas if you
look at something like the MTV vs. Everybody kind of
looks a little bit wacky, but the Grammy is you'll
get a mix. And then obviously something like the met
Gala is always just exceptional. And when we talk about
the criteria of what we're looking at the Met Gala,
there's a theme. So it's very much about how have
(19:41):
you dressed for the themepret and I don't want to
see understated that the Met Gala. I want you dressed
as a cat like Jared Alito did, or like carrying
your you know, he also came wearing his head in
his hands.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
And we need to get you to the met Gala.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I need somebody out there.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
I'll make it happen. So you wrote a book.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
It's pretty impressive considering the streets need sweeping and clothes
need talking about. Tell us about the book and if
anyone hasn't got it yet already yet.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
I mean, it's a bit back to the Vogue thing.
Even if you don't read it, it's it's really chic
read like you just want it to look fancy. Yeah,
but how did you write it? And what's in it?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Okay, So I was contacted by the nice people at
Murdo Books.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Did you actually write it?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Of course? Of course. I mean my followers would know immediately.
They I think they said to me, if you want
to work with someone, and I said, I don't think so.
No one could replicate this wit. So they said, we
think you could write a book. And actually I had
been approached by it to publishers previously at other times,
and I just I just I don't know.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
I just it's a big thing to do.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Well, that's it. It's a lot of work. And I
think I fashion critical for me has always been such
fun and something that I do genuinely for my own
entertainment that I didn't like the idea of being like
then it being a job.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
It also feels very permanent in a book, where it's
like just waking up a photo and saying it's sentence.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Yeah, although you know, the internet is forever these days.
So anyway, they said, we think you could write a book,
and then I had to think about what the book
would be. So it is pretty much an overview of
red carpet celebrity fashion going back predominantly, I'd say ten
to fifteen years. You can't go too much further than
that because the pictures are not good and it's just
they're just too much content. So it's looking at everything.
(21:22):
You know, we go through the major events, we go through,
what are some of the red carpet trends. I distribute
my own awards. I've got my own awards that I've
given out to certain people. I look at some of
the behind the scenes things that we talked about. I
interviewed Alex Perry, who's followed a fashion critical for a
long time and was so generous to let me interview him,
to actually say, what's actually going on back there? How
(21:42):
does it work? You know, if you're a designer, how
do your dresses end up on these people. Do you
know that they're going to appear or does it just suddenly.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Have a buy it? Do you pay them? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (21:50):
So I got to ask all of those questions, which
was really cool. And then it finishes with you know
my favorite looks of all time, the people that I
think of you the best dressed. And it is lots
of pictures, so if you don't want to read too
many words, you'd be very pleased. And it kind of
harks back to the glory days of magazines like the
The design and layout of it is beautiful and yeah,
(22:13):
it's got a beautiful kind of faux red leather with
gold foil. So you can also just leave it sitting
on your coffee table if you liked great Christmas gift,
Great christmabulous.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
If you could dress one famous person for the Red Carpet,
who would it be?
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Oh, that's a question I should have read beforehand.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I'm gonna come back to it.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Yeah, hang on, hang on, give me a minute, Give
me a minute. Who would it be? Who would it be?
I think I'd like to dress Heidi.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Klum Oh, and why.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Because she is so beautiful? But her she wins the
box of Chocolate's Award in my book, because you just
never know what you're going to get, And so I
think that's super fun with her, and I think she'd
kind of be up with you put her in. Well,
that's the thing. I think she'd be up for anything,
Like I think she's sometimes she wears really beautiful formal
things and sometimes she wears really crazy stuff. So I
(23:00):
think she'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
So true, who is your all time best on ground over?
Speaker 1 (23:06):
How long you ever been doing this? Male? Female?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Like the perse and not the look, the person that
just genuinely almost always gets it right.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
There's well, I think there's a series of those MVPs
in the book, and I don't have it in front
of me.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
But who first came to mind when I said that, Oh.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Kate Blindchett. You know, like, can you think of a
time where she didn't look No.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
She always looks great. Her skin's beautiful, perfect. I'm not bored.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I know you right, you're right, but I know you
know Kate blind Sheet, Nicole Kidman. Yeah, there's you know,
a mile Clooney, Oh never puts a foot wrong. Ever.
There's quite a few actually, And then there's people who
are a little bit more edgy.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
What did you say, fair men?
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Yeah, yeah, exactly so. But there are definitely some MVPs
who for years and years and years and years just
keep churning out the great looks. And they're probably because
they've got very very good stylists, and I assume also
they've just got really excellent tastes themselves.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
And lots of money. Yeah, that helps. If you are
invited to the Oscars, what are you wearing?
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Lord? Look? I would wear something very timeless. I think
when you're looking at the Oscars, you don't want anything
trendy think, you know, I think anything that's kind of
old Hollywood, you know, the old Hollywood wave. I'm a
big fan of yellow dresses. I don't know if i'd
go yellow at the Oscars, but something a little bit
(24:28):
of vintage, I think is where I would go.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
I enjoy that.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Before we get into boogie budget, I'm gonna ask you
some quick, rapid fire questions.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Who's your red carpet spirit animal?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Coleman Domingo. He's a man's but he's not a flamingo.
But he is the best dressed man on the red
carpet at the moment, and he's I'm obsessed, obsessed.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
If fashion had a smell, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Bubblegum?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
What's the one outfit you'd send straight to fashion jail?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Hosary with and toad sandals?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Three words to describe a true best on ground bog.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Look, timeless, flattering, and perfect.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
What's the biggest fashion crime of the decade.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
I'm going to say the naked dress. Yeah, it's just
it's too much.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
We're getting more and more naked.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
I want to see clothes. I don't want to see notity.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Kanye West partner is actually naked, actually naked?
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Last one? If you could ban one accessory forever, what
would it be?
Speaker 3 (25:42):
The choker? Easy? I don't care for it.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
It's very expensive.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
How old are the.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Boogie and budget?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
So obviously your fashion critical, So we're kind of going
red carpet inspired. I mean, you've been doing your own
red carpet lainly. I haven't so minor make believe that
I would wear. But let's start with your bougie. Well.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
I recently bought a Rebecca Valance cutie patuity mini dress.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Is that what it's called?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
It is absolutely not called that. Please don't google that.
You will not find it. People might be surprised to learn.
I don't spend a lot on myself. I'd rather buy
lots of things than expensive things.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
So, but I you know, new.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Her dresses like they're about like eight or nine for that.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
This one was maybe seven hundred because it wasn't a gown.
It was a mini kind of day dress. But that
was a big spend for me, and I what colors.
It's black and white and it looks a little eighties,
almost like a little bit working women eighties, and it's glorious,
and I thought, I deserve this. I've purchased it on
(26:47):
the internet.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
You have lots of things to do. She makes beautiful dresses. Well,
mine is absolutely in my dream. So I'm going somewhere phenomenal.
You can tell me where I'm going to wear this. Actually,
so I am buying and wearing. Actually no, they're going
to give it to me. That Albina Dialer embroidered corset dress.
It is two thousand, two hundred and sixty eight dollars
and ninety five cents because I'm a celebrity.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
So oh, I mean it's half naked.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
But that's not naked. Yeah, that's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Look at the waist, look at the boob. Obviously there'll
be a link in the show notes. Look, of course,
it is how long dress beat it? Oh my gosh,
I mean I want to go somewhere.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, that's stunning.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, I approve, approve, approved, all right, what's your budget?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
It is a Pilgrim dress that I got on the
Iconic on sale and it was sixty nine dollars and
it looks vintage, beautiful perfection, and I wore it in
a photo shoot for a newspaper the other day. Color black, black,
sequin kind of off the shoulders. It looks like Princess
Diana's revenge dress, a little bit sixty nine dollars, velvet,
no no sequence, black sequence, and like little bit of
(27:50):
rooshy thing here.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
When I was picking my budget, I could not pick
between Pilgrim and that Chanceries. You say that brand, Yes, okay,
I think so, and I picked a Chancrough dress. But
Pilgrim you haven't looked at for years. Yeah, obviously don't
do many rooted carpets or fancy things. But when I
was looking at Pilgrim on the Iconic, I was like, wowie, yeah,
we need to go to places.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Yeah, they've got They've got really beautiful dress and I've
never bought anything from them before. I don't think.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I feel like fifteen years ago it was not my vibe.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Yeah, I don't. I mean I don't. Again, I'm not overly.
I don't really follow particular labels in great way. But
I saw it online, and you know, when you order
online you kind of hidd and miss. You don't know
how it's going to fit.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Beautiful well. My budget for my imaginary red stump that
I'm going on is from the Iconic as Well.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Chancery is a brand. It's called the Lotus Maxi Dress.
It's two hundred and twenty dollars because it's new.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Oh, pink and red. Chink and red is a favorite
color coumbo of mine.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Bless kind of that's leading, I know. And look you
like black and mite. It comes in black and white.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
That's late. That looks a lot like something I wanted.
The logo is actually, did you go to the logies?
I got in on the sly I was not invited.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
I see the black and white's down to one hundred
and thirty two dollars at the time of recording.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Need it, need both of them?
Speaker 2 (28:59):
If anyone has got red carpet events or weddings or whatever.
Chancery ran choice.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
What was your brand again? It was Pilgrim, Pilgrim on.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
The iconic YEP Affordable, fabulous, love it fashion Critical. I
know you have streets to sweep and I don't know
what else.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
You got places to be, people, influence, polarize air to
get around, and I would like that very much.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Thank you for joining me on it.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Thank you for having me. It was really fun, so fun.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Thank you so much for listening to Nothing to Air
and don't forget you should head over to YouTube to
watch us to particularly this episode because you'll get to
see Fashion Critical in a very fancy outfit and disguise.
We also have a Nothing to Wear newsletter, there's a
link in the show notes, and of course we're on
Instagram at Nothing to Air Pod.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
See you soon.
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