Georgie Forbes aka Lordy Dordie launches her new fashion range at Montana Art Project in Brisbane’s West End this Sunday the 3rd of November. We bounced a few questions to Georgie to get the low down.
Hey Georgie, what can you tell us about your launch?
I am a Brisbane artist and illustrator who is stepping away from the brushes and is dabbling in fashion. The launch event is going to be a colour filled afternoon of fashion showcasing my bright and bold range of women’s fashion that features my art printed on tops, dresses, beach wraps, t-shirts, and tote bags. The launch will be held on Sunday, 3 November at the Montana Art Project space above the Montague Hotel in West End, Brisbane. It has been a long time in the making and I can’t wait to inject some colour into women’s wardrobes across Australia! The artworks used in the textile prints were created with a combination of Ironlak products, though mostly Sugar sprays.
MCing the event is Cate Massi from @individualstyling101, one of Brisbane’s most prominent fashion stylists. I have also collaborated with fellow Brisbane artist Bee Twomey who has designed a range of hand-painted earrings to compliment my fashion micro range. All of Bee’s products are hand made in Brisbane and she also uses amazingly vibrant colours from Ironlak in her artwork.
How are you going with your prep?
We have had our preliminary photoshoot at the Montana Art Project (see photos attached). After releasing sneak peeks on social media, ticket sales were very strong for the event.
The next few weeks will be spent following up on ticket sales, promoting the launch and the products with our fabulous new photos. We are also actively promoting our generous sponsors for the event on all our socials. MC Cate Massi will actively promote the event on her socials and to her clients as well. We have also been running a giveaway loop competition for tickets to the event and this has worked very well to further promote the event.
How did the chance to put on a show come about?
I have long wanted to create this range and knew I could bring it to life with the right people around me. I created the opportunity from scratch and have fully self-funded it. I also knew that being a new label on the fashion scene with a colourful range, people really needed to see, feel it and try on my range. The launch will be an excellent opportunity to show that artists can diversify into many different creative enterprises and that if you have the dream, go for it!
I have been so lucky to have Bee Twomey by my side. She is a real doer and has followed my lead on this from the get-go. Through endless hours of planning and hustling, we are starting to see it all coming together. Creating a small fashion range was a bucket list dream for me and I have managed to pull that dream off!
What has been involved in making it happen?
I always knew I would release a fashion range as I have been working on this plan for a long time now and I’m finally seeing my dream come to life. I have been licensing my artwork to different brands in many different industries (fashion, advertising, product ranges) over the years and I began to see how well it was working for those brands. I knew it was time to get going on this fashion range and give it a go myself!
Creating a range has been exciting at every step from creating the original artworks, to transferring these into a textile design, then designing the clothes and working with my team of sewers and pattern makers. From then on, it’s just been a massive learning curve with finances, promotion, organisation, and planning. It has all been worth it to see the end products though!
How would you describe the work that you’re putting together?
A super bold collection of colours and vibrant patterns so perfect for summer it will give everyone a full sugary colour hit. ! Functional and fabulous slow fashion!
Bee Twomey’s collection will be a collection of neon solids and ultra brights.
Is there a common theme for the works that you’ll have?
Colour, colour, colour! Colour brings life, it brings happiness. When people see my clothes and Bee’s earrings, their faces light up! It’s a totally joyous collection.
Have you had any challenges?
Many! Projects like this always take twice as long as you think and cost twice as much! The desire to just create and paint all day had to be curbed so we could just keep chipping away at the finer details like venue, timing, photoshoots, hair, makeup, ticket sales, promotion etc but the vision has stayed the same and we are on track again for a great show!
What excites you most about your launch?
Seeing my dream come to life. I saw a glimpse of this at the photoshoot last week. Gorgeous models with hot pink lipsticks glowing with happiness as they wore my clothes and Bee’s earrings. I look forward to bringing this to our family, friends, and followers.
Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?
A massive thank you to Bee Twomey @beetwomey for helping to make this dream come to life. Stewart and the team at Montana Art Project @montanaartproject, who are hosting the event at their awesome venue. Also, Cate Massi from Individual Style 101 @individualstyle101 for her support and being the MC for the Launch. I cannot forget my amazing family, who are my personal cheer squad who have always backed my crazy ambitions, inspired my creativity and joined in my enthusiasm to create something new.
Are there any comments you’d like to add? Anything extra you’d like people to know?
Follow me at @lordy.dordie.art and check out my website lordydordie.com
Also, tickets to the Lordy Dordie Fashion Launch are available through the following link: