Hey, I Like Your Style! Inside the wardrobe of Geelong-based content creator, Candy Brat
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GRAINY DAYS
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“I am terrible at looking after my beautiful clothes and they often end up in a big pile on one of my chairs, but I discover a lot of new outfits this way.”
We know personal style is a journey (I’m looking at you, Tumblr years) and our series Hey, I Like Your Style! dives into the fashion psyche of our favourite creatives. We’re talking the good, the bad and the 2007.
While the internet has made our fashion icons feel closer than ever before, even the most effortless of outfits came from a closet with some (well-dressed) skeletons. Clickable product tags, photo archives and lives chronicled in 30-second clips just don’t tell the full story.
For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.
These are the stories behind the wardrobes, exploring how we develop our own personal style. There’s a brilliance behind the way we choose to express ourselves and at FJ, we know every outfit has a story. For this instalment of Hey, I Like Your Style!, we enter the wardrobe of Candy Brat.
A self-proclaimed maximalist and avid collector of all things Jean Paul Gaultier, Candy often discovers new outfit combinations from the ever-present pile of clothing in her room. While she’s always dressed differently, Candy says she’s “calmed down” as she’s gotten older. Her current wardrobe is colourful, eclectic and full of personality (plus rare vintage designer pieces). Read on to hear about her style journey so far.
Who are you and what do you like to wear?
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I am Candy Brat. I am a content creator and avid Jean Paul Gaultier collector living on Wathaurong Country. I am a maximalist dresser and I would describe my style as a punk, anime, fairy [and] fashion princess.
What has your style evolution looked like? Do you feel like you’ve gained confidence in the way you dress?
I have always dressed ‘differently’ to others and done things my own way. My family are all very creative people, so I was raised in an environment where our individual expression was encouraged. So my evolution has just been me… [exploring] what interests me until I found what fits.
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I think I have a bit of an individuality complex too, so dressing differently is a compulsion (maybe a side effect of my upbringing). I used to feel physically ill if I blended in too much or felt I looked like the people around me. But this has definitely calmed down as I get older and feel more secure in myself.
My hair journey has also helped me to experiment with different colour palettes. When I had natural blonde hair, I wore a lot of bright colours to make up for my neutral-coloured hair – I felt so boring when I wore grey or brown.
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I now work at Alchemy Salon in Collingwood and I am lucky enough to get to regularly collaborate with Becc Snow and experiment with different hair colours. With the change in my hair, I’ve felt more comfortable introducing more neutral colours and softer tones into my wardrobe.
Personal style is a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
Ironically enough, my punk phase when I was a teenager was when I most felt I had to dress in a particular uniform. I love punk fashion, but it definitely has its limitations. There is only so much you can do with a spiky leather jacket, a band T-shirt and tartan pants. But I still love to blend elements of punk within the way I dress now, especially with my Vivienne Westwood collection.
Take us back to those awkward teenage years. Do you have any fashion regrets?
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I don’t regret a lot as I still have a lot of the things I used to wear as a teenager. But I cringe when I think about the time I wore white ballet flats from Rubi shoes with denim short-shorts. And I had a few Ed Hardy T-shirts that I begged my Dad to buy me when they had a store on Chapel Street. But ballet flats and Ed Hardy pieces have made their way back into the trend cycle now anyway so…
What are the most expensive and least expensive items in your wardrobe?
The most expensive piece would be my Jean Paul Gaultier FW ’95 cyber dot leggings. They were a necessary addition to my Jean Paul Gaultier collection and I bought them long before they reissued this pattern. The cheapest would be my Pucci handbag that I got for $5 because I was the only person who placed a bid on it!
What is the most meaningful fashion piece you own?
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My newspaper pants that my mum made (@jennyclippertoncouture). It feels so special to wear things my mum has made especially for me. I get so many compliments every time I wear them, and every time I am so proud to say that my mum made them. I’ve had them for years and they are definitely one of my signature pieces.
Who or what influences your style?
The main thing that influences my style is colour combinations. There are just particular combinations that are so satisfying to me and I love to use them as a guide for the way I dress.
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I also regularly find new combinations of clothing in the piles of clothes I have in my room. I am terrible at looking after my beautiful clothes and they often end up in a big pile on one of my chairs, but I discover a lot of new outfits this way. I have a series on my TikTok showing these ‘pile of clothes’ outfits.
A lot of my mutuals on TikTok inspire me so much too! There is an amazing community of maximalist dressers on TikTok (like @saracampz and @tinyjewishgirl, just to name a couple) who always impress me with how they put things together, and they motivate me to try new things.
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I regularly collaborate with my best friend, Indi, who is a photographer (@grainydays). I am always motivated to create new looks that I know she will be excited to photograph. But my ultimate fashion icons are David Bowie, Lady Gaga, and everyone in Fruits magazine.
What fashion piece are you saving for right now?
All the vintage Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen on my eBay wishlist. But you know I have to gatekeep those so no one else buys them!
What are the wardrobe items you wear on repeat?
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I am so obsessed with all the clothes in my collection, so I wear everything on repeat! But recently my Diesel jeans and my Jean Paul Gaultier SS ’05 dragonfly print top have been on heavy rotation. And every winter I am always so excited to bring out my favourite Versace Jeans blue tiger print coat! I have been wearing it every winter for almost 10 years. It is definitely one of my best eBay finds.
Who are your favourite local designers?
Maroske Peech is my absolute favourite at the moment. I want to live as a fairy in their world! I also love Corin Corcoran, Eat Yrself, Pig Suit, Kick in the Eye, Mgn Jewellery, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp, Emily Watson and Karla Laidlaw.
For more of Candy’s outfits, head here.
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