Afterpay Australian Fashion Week Changemaker James Parr on degendering fashion and advocating for visibility
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JO DUCK
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“Not only is it about visibility, but it is also about making fashion accessible for everyone.”
Fashion weeks are a launching pad for budding creatives. It’s not only local designers who take centre stage, but swaths of talented folk also have the opportunity to showcase their skills – from stylists and set producers to event organisers and makeup artists. For its third year in a row, Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (AAFW) is championing its Changemakers program, a unique offering for a handful of Australian cultural figures to work backstage and on-stage during the prestigious fashion week.
For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.
As an official media partner of AAFW, we spoke to one of this year’s Changemakers, James Parr. Growing up in a small country town, James had always felt creatively stifled. “It wasn’t until I had acquired my disability that I started experimenting with my style and trying new things,” he explains. “Acquiring my disability enabled me to really find myself… which helped me find my style.”
The Wiradjuri model, triathlete, writer and disability advocate became a below-the-knee amputee at 21. He discovered fashion as a means of self-expression and representation, using his platform to advocate for those who may have previously felt ‘othered’. “As someone who is also Aboriginal and bisexual, I am taking opportunities that are important for me… hopefully [I] encourage others to find inner confidence and a sense of belonging within themselves, just as I do.” Below, James shares his story.
Tell us about yourself. In your words, what makes you a changemaker in the fashion industry?
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What makes me a changemaker in the fashion industry is… [that I’m] changing the negative connotation that is attached to people who have a disability to a positive one through representation, and showing that people of a disability are fashion consumers and should be included.
Have you always loved fashion? Tell us about your personal style journey.
I grew up in a country town [and] I was always intrigued by fashion and wanting to experiment but due to fashion not always being… inclusive in the same way in a small country town, I never did. It wasn’t until I had acquired my disability that I started experimenting with my style and trying new things. Acquiring my disability enabled me to really find myself and have personal growth in being more comfortable within myself, which helped me find my style and dress for expression.
The IMG Changemakers program spotlights those creatives who are “leveraging fashion as a cultural catalyst”. What does that mean to you?
As I have emerged in the fashion industry, I have noticed that fashion has power, representation, expression and even a sense of belonging… to me, that means using fashion as a mode of communication.
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And the communication I want to get across is representation within media [and] using fashion… so no one feels left behind and people feel seen and welcomed within society. Not only is it about visibility, but it is also about making fashion accessible for everyone, especially people who have a disability as we are usually not included within mainstream fashion.
You’ve spoken before about the movement aimed to degender fashion. Why is it important to you to elevate brands that subvert gender norms?
Fashion is a great way for people to either express themselves or… gain confidence through clothing pieces, as it can change the way you feel. So within that, having clothing bound to a gender really limits the way that people can use fashion to do this. And on the flip side, when a person wears what is the ‘opposite gender’s’ clothing, it can be questioned or looked down at.
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So, having brands that subvert gender norms basically just champions [the] degendering fashion [movement]… visibility from brands to champion this is… important for two reasons. Brands doing this helps others feel more comfortable and included and secondly, it educates and shows people that clothing shouldn’t have a gender… it becomes more accepted.
How are you propelling change in your community, and in the wider Australian fashion industry?
[By] ensuring that people of a disability are included within mainstream media and fashion and not left behind. As someone who is also Aboriginal and bisexual, I am taking opportunities that are important for me to be able to share or use my voice in order to elevate other people’s voices… hopefully [I] encourage others to find inner confidence and a sense of belonging within themselves, just as I do.
What’s next for you?
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2023 has already been a great start, becoming a Lululemon ambassador, featuring in a Calvin Klein Pride campaign, being an IMG Changemaker and more. So, over the next 12 months, I want to continue to work with mainstream brands that align with my goals [and] visions, and continue the representation for all my communities.
To read up about the rest of Afterpay Australian Fashion Week’s Changemakers, head here.
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