“Ugly clothes don’t exist”: Inside the eclectic wardrobe of stylist and designer Valona Flamuri
IMAGE VIA @valona/instagram
AS TOLD TO DAISY HENRY
“Fashion rules are against my religion.”
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. This week, we’re catching up with Melbourne-based stylist and designer, Valona Flamuri.
With a wardrobe spanning eras, fashion labels and moods, Valona’s style defies categorisation. “With every outfit, I feel like I’ve clocked multiple timelines, multiple realities and endless possibilities,” she says. “I love any game with character customisation, which is why I love styling real-life dolls and myself.”
Looking back to her teen years, Valona’s personal style has undergone a metamorphosis. Some of her favourite early references were, in fact, from movies like The Phantom of the Opera and The Blair Witch Project. “These really grabbed me by the scruff, they still do,” she adds.
Now, Valona is every bit as fabulous as she imagined her adult self would be. “I literally envisioned myself today when I was younger.” Noting that being comfortable is “bad for [her] digestion” and “ugly clothes don’t exist”, she embraces intuition and playfulness every day. Currently high on rotation are moo moos, khaftans and a mini Birkin.
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Fashion Journal: Hey Valona! Tell me about yourself and what you like to wear.
Valona: I am a stylist, designer, music lover, and Wogabilly. I have two chihuahuas, Presley and Raw. I love storytelling – what is a character without a costume? With every outfit, I feel like I’ve clocked multiple timelines, multiple realities and endless possibilities. I love any game with character customisation, which is why I love styling real life dolls and myself.
I love sexy clothes. I love shoes and accessories, I think, because they can really complete a character and act as a signature or accent. Being comfortable is not good for my digestion. Ugly clothes don’t exist – you just have to finish the puzzle, believe me. You can make anything look chic.
Never plan. Live now.
Personal style is a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
Starting fashion school at RMIT straight out of high school, I thought that I had to conform to a uniform of Pleats Please and Tabis. I lost myself in a time when I was studying fashion but forgot why I was there, because I was surrounded by what I thought I had to be. I became shy!
In third year, a girl came up to me and complimented me on my Baby G watch that I had from 2005. She had one too! She was my first fashion friend, and is still my friend 11 years on. She helped me remember why I was there. I suddenly felt way more comfortable and stopped caring about looking like other people. I was there because I was me the whole time. I stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight TashRoxx!
As Lady Gaga says “There can be 100 people in a room, and 99 don’t believe in you, and just one does. And that can change your whole life.”. Well, in my case, remember what my whole life could be! It truly was a Wizard of Oz greyscale to rainbow moment.
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Take us back to your teenage years. Who or what was influencing your style at the time, and are there any looks you still think about now?
As a teen, I was quite quirky. Off the top of my head, some of my influences include: The Phantom of the Opera, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Blair Witch Project, and the SAW movies. These really grabbed me by the scruff, they still do.
I am often thinking about the Drop Dead T-shirts and Trigger trackies that I couldn’t afford but would bootleg with Clear It on Brunswick Street from 2005 to 2010. I guess you can say I was a Maria, balletcore, Alannah Hill, emo. Every month was kind of a new LARP.
I thought I was Tumblr famous because of my black and white Macbook selfie wearing an ankh necklace and a Peter Pan collar. It went kind of viral on the reposts. In my head, all of my favourite things – music, TV, movies, anime, even stars and animals – all kind of meshed together. I took what I liked from all over. I couldn’t commit to one look or fantasy; it just had to be me. I did it all for myself. I didn’t want to be bored.
The pieces on heavy rotation back then were: Baby G, a pair of Keds, a leather scarab embossed necklace, and a D&G bag, which a relative brought back from Albania. And My Mum! She supported me no matter what I wanted to wear (except for when I bleached my own hair). She walked so we could run together.
I still can’t stop thinking about The Mummy Returns. I thought I was the Scorpion King. All these things have manifested in a fabulous butterfly effect.
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How has your style evolved? What does your current style allow you to do that an older version of you couldn’t?
Yes, it’s been a metamorphosis! I literally envisioned myself today when I was younger. I was pretty determined to look as fabulous as possible with not much money. I just wanted to get older, so I could pull more things off. I would look at my mum and dream of wearing heels and lipstick every day. It seemed so glamorous.
We’re all evolving all the time. I don’t really think about style, I just think about the things I like. A lot. It allows me to have fun.
My spirituality has helped me evolve by softening my perspective. It’s opened me up to inspiration in unexpected places and encouraged a more intuitive way of thinking. I don’t approach life so rigidly. More trust, playfulness, and positivity, which naturally feed into my creative expression.
What role does colour play in how you get dressed?
My favourite colours are Camilla prints and rose gold. Colour plays its role of being colour (all colours are beautiful). Depending on how I wake up and what’s happening that day, I’ll tailor my outfits to fit how I’m feeling, most importantly. Sometimes, the outfit builds throughout the day, either by finding something at an op shop or finding a bangle in my bag.
What’s a fashion rule you follow religiously and one you break constantly?
I don’t know about rules, but one lesson that Anna Dello Russo’s ‘Fashion Shower’ taught me was,:“Fashion jewels personalise your style / Gold, sumptuous, excess / Nothing succeeds like excess / Why? Because I love it / Ciao”. Fashion rules are against my religion.
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What are some of the ‘investment pieces’ in your wardrobe, or items that have stood the test of time?
I have lots of pieces passed down from my Mum. She took great care of her things and she appreciates that they’re being put to good use now.
I tend to mend or alter clothes that get damaged. There’s a pair of black Prada fur snow boots that I’ve gotten resoled a lot. The Greek shoe repairman at the Brunswick market charged me five dollars, but would also repaint them.
I like seeing the evolution of things, how they get worn and fixed; it brings back memories from the places and times I wore them.
What’s your favourite secondhand find?
I have a gift! I’m pretty lucky at op shops. I used to go all the time, but I have phases, because I tend to accumulate lots of things quickly. Sometimes it’ll be sitting in my wardrobe for years waiting for the right moment but the moment always arises!
My all-star secondhand finds are a black faux fur Dries Van Noten scarf. Facebook marketplace Celine sunglasses, which were listed as just ‘sunglasses’ and a 2000s Roberto Cavalli tiger print gown, I think all were around $30 to $333.
Recently, Rainbow, my partner, found me a Kiki Kannibal resin diamond that I keep on my phone. It’s special because it reminds me of all the eras of my life, everything adding up to the person you see now.
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Is there something in your wardrobe you don’t wear, but can’t let go of – or a piece that holds a lot of sentimental value?
When I wear things, I’m not precious and things get trashed. I’m not the best at taking care of clothes but I enjoy them (to death). I’ve collected these items since 2015, when I started working full-time. Sometimes, sometimes they do get used, worn or presented but I don’t wear them often anymore because I know I’ll ruin them and seeing it all is a brain massage.
In my preteen days, I used to wear Moschino Cheap and Chic L’Eau and Moschino Cheap and Chic (original) perfume, which came in a bottle shaped like Olive Oyl. I fell in love with perfume at an early age. I love memories associated with scent and the feeling and fantasy it puts me in.
Designer fragrances brought me closer to a fashion house without having the funds for the couture. But it still put me in the fantasy and made me think I was unstoppable. I have a collection of old bottles I used to wear that I can’t get rid of. I’m a bit of a romantic; I love a little nostalgia.
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Who or what influences your style today?
Life influences me! Going out in the world, being with my friends, going to the beach, or seeing a show gives me motivation to dress. Interaction and engagement with the world is a lot more meaningful to me.
Of course, I’m a pop-culture and history nerd, and the list of who I admire can’t be summed up. Since I was little, I regularly watched my favourite Albanian pop stars Gjyste Vulaj and Adelina Ismaili’s live music performances from 2000 to 2006.
What pieces do you currently have on repeat?
Moo moos, khaftans and a mini birkin.
Who are your favourite local designers?
Maroske Peech, Annie Enoka and 3ce.
Keep up with Valona here.
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