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The Stitchery give us the big reasons to celebrate Australian club kid Leigh Bowery

14 May 2018 | 9:54 am | Holly O'Neill

For the second year in a row The STITCHERY COLLECTIVE are celebrating icon LEIGH BOWERY with a huge party celebrating fashion, music and queer culture

Brisbane fashion crew THE STITCHERY are closing Brisbane's MELT Festival of Queer Culture 2018 with a huge party celebrating Australia's most legendary drag icon and club kid superstar, LEIGH BOWERY. Hosted by the Brisbane Powerhouse, the Turbine Platform space is set to be completely flipped into a glittering wonderland channeling both 90's rave and 80's ball vibes.

All guests are highly encouraged to dress up and interpret the legendary style of Bowery however they like, that means loud patterns, facemasks, imposing silhouettes and radical drag looks (plus prizes on the line for the best looks!). Soundtracking the night will be DJ DEATH STARES, SULLIVAN and PAUL MAC, delivering the gayest tunes direct to the dance floor. After a legendary party last year honouring the Australian legend, we asked them for the big five reasons Leigh Bowery deserves to be celebrated a second time around.

1. He’s bigger than the Big Pineapple, and better dressed.

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Born in the Melbournian suburb of Sunshine, Leigh is a truly home grown icon. Whilst he spent many of his most exciting years in London, we can’t help but suspect his radical colour palette and larger-than-life persona reflects his green-and-gold origins. Weirdly, he’s one of the only

Australian stars who didn’t appear on Home and Away or Neighbours (wrongly so, in our opinion).

2. Bowery was the ultimate triple threat, across performance, fashion and music.

Combining all these elements, he once became a mother live on stage whilst singing! And as a good Mother is, Bowery was well equipped for the job.

3. His resourceful and outlandish creations have inspired decades of edgy fashion.

Left: Leigh Bowery | Right: Rick Owens S/S 2016

Left: Leigh Bowery | Right: Alexander McQueen A/W 2009/10

Left: Trojan and Leigh Bowery | Right: John Galliano Spring 2003

Bowery’s experimentation and creative designs have provided countless designers with inspiration to push the boundaries of fashion. We also think he is the *ideal* icon to dress up as!

4. His looks weren’t just outfits, they were a lifestyle.

Whether it’s a shopping trip, afternoon tea or apres ski activities, Leigh was ALWAYS ready to dazzle with sequins, frills and multiple outfit changes.

5. Above all else, Leigh was proud and comfortable in his own skin.

Leigh Bowery, oil on canvas

Painted by Lucian Freud, 1991, Tate Collection

Leigh would often pose nude for painter and friend, Lucian Freud.

“There was one period when my favourite fabric was flesh. Human flesh. I didn’t wear any clothes for a while,” said Bowery. Despite the dazzle of many of his looks, Bowery’s confidence proves that fashion and glamour is

much more than just clothing.

May 26th, The Brisbane Powerhouse

LINEUP: DJ Death Stares, Sullivan, Paul Mac

Free Entry 18+

Prizes awarded for best dressed.

Photo by The Stitchery

Words by HOLLY O’NEILL

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