Hey, I Like Your Style! Inside the wardrobe of Melbourne-based model and makeup artist, Trinity Hill
IMAGE VIA @FOXXY.BROWNNN/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“I don’t want to be accepted, I want to be different, unreachable and iconic.”
We know personal style is a journey (I’m looking at you, Tumblr years), so we’ve introduced a new series Hey, I Like Your Style!, diving 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 delving into the personal style journey of Atlanta-born, Melbourne-based model, makeup artist and creative, Trinity Hill. Listing her wardrobe staples as fur, denim, corsets, miniskirts and date-night ‘freakum’ dresses, Trinity’s style is a celebration of self-expression. When she’s not wearing pieces from her favourite local designers (like Wackie Ju, of course), Trinity is combining her creative skills to create looks like this feathered masterpiece. Read on for her style journey.
Who are you and what do you like to wear?
View this post on Instagram
I’m Trinity aka Foxxy Brown, an African-American model, makeup artist and creative. My interests allow me to feel like my mind is always expanding with ideas to express myself. What I like to wear changes every day, depending on the way I want to transform. So sometimes it’s a dress made out of pearls, leather handcuffs as bracelets or a ‘fit made out of feathers.
Although, I have some pieces in my closet all the time: fur, denim, mini skirts, corsets, a few ‘freakum’ dresses for date night, a body suit and tights. These are pieces I dress up with accessories, like my wigs, shoes and jewellery. A hot bag is a must-have, I like to play with different styles and colours. My favourite one to use right now is the Gucci Black Babouska Indy Bamboo Tassel, it’s a big leather bag with a wooden and bamboo handle and leather tassels. Hot.
What has your style evolution looked like? Do you feel like you’ve gained confidence in the way you dress?
View this post on Instagram
Growing up in Atlanta, I’ve never been shy to express myself. I was actually picked up when I first moved here because I wore snapbacks on my jeans with Jordans and Hello Kitty glasses. I was always confident about my style until that moment. When I was younger, my mom and I shopped at this place called Burlington Coat Factory, which stocked the newest Baby Phat collections.
She’d dress me in new styles every week like a Bratz doll and I fell in love with making a ’fit. I was inspired by Raven [Symoné] and the Cheetah Girls, so I wore a lot of denim, DKNY, cheetah print and fur. I’m still inspired by [those] icons, but my ’fits feel more true to me now – like when I made a fit out of feathers for the vogue ball.
View this post on Instagram
I attached each feather to the bra and G-string. I feathered my shoes, attached a rhinestone tassel and made wigs from gold, fake tree branches attached to angel wings [that] I covered in feathers. In moments like that, I get to merge all my inspirations into one and be a bombshell. So yes, I’ve gained confidence in my style from the freedom it gives me.
Personal style is a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
Yes, when I first moved here after a few months, I felt the pressure to change and water myself down to be accepted. I remember a school teacher took me aside in my first month here and told me I couldn’t dress “this way” anymore because clothes fit differently on me.
View this post on Instagram
That was when I started wearing shorts and heeled wedges to school. The reaction to who I was from students and teachers was so impacting, I completely started to shift myself to be more accepted… I was going to places like Sportsgirl to find maxi skirts, shell chokers and coloured cardigans.
It took me going back home for the first time to remember who I was. Every day I’m so thankful I let that go. I don’t want to be accepted, I want to be different, unreachable and iconic.
Take us back to those awkward teenage years. Do you have any fashion regrets?
View this post on Instagram
I do regret almost every pair of flared pants I wore. I was much thicker when I was in high school and I wish I had outsourced from brands more suited for me back then. A lot of my high school fashion regrets are from wearing clothes that I bought to fit in, and then feeling uncomfortable and insecure because I didn’t look the same. I wish I played with what fits my body, I would’ve felt confident.
What are the most expensive and least expensive items in your wardrobe?
My most expensive piece is a custom Lace by Tanaya four-piece outfit made out of crystals. My least expensive would be a yellow Minnie Mouse poncho I bought six years ago at a vintage warehouse sale for a dollar.
What is the most meaningful fashion piece you own?
View this post on Instagram
I have three items from my family I wear pretty much every day, no arguments. My aunt Denora’s silver cross, my grandfather’s oversized leather coat and my mom’s silver monogram Gucci ring from the 2000s Icon collection. My good luck charm. My most meaningful piece is my newspaper John Galliano dress.
He was my favourite designer in high school and having a piece of his was a dream. I finally bought myself a dress a few months before my [Europe] trip and promised I wouldn’t wear her until Italy. Nothing beats eating pasta in Milano for the first time in my Galliano dress. Special forever!
What’s in your cart at the moment?
View this post on Instagram
I’m on the hunt for good-quality cowboy studded belts, and in my cart is the Sweet Talk tribal set and jumpsuit, the Wackie Ju 5-Moon Sash Dress, Jeffrey Campbell Shake Ya Boots, Supreme Pam Grier tee and a Like a Drugg x Bape bikini.
What fashion piece are you saving for right now?
Jacquemes Pink Le Papier bag.
What are the wardrobe items you wear on repeat?
View this post on Instagram
I love my snow boots aka Demonias, they’ve made me feel hot in every ‘fit I’ve added them to. Also my fur leg warmers in every colour, and you can always catch me in a denim mini.
Who are your favourite local designers?
No one does it like Wackie Ju, Wackie Ju, Wackie Ju! My other big faves are Diskontinu (Black-owned), Olivia Rowan, Sexiaz Lingerie, Inner Sanctum, Raga Malak, Jules Bramley and Purgatory. They’re all putting Melb on the map and when my designs drop, we’ll take ova the world.
For more of Trinity’s ’fits, head here.
Liked this? You’ll love these...
