We meet the talented artist, printer and costume designer behind the striking outfits worn by the Gold Coast Music Awards co-founders at this year's event.
The Gold Coast Music Awards have been running hot for the last nine years, with each even getting bigger and better.
One of the most anticipated traditions of the awards has been the outfits worn by co-founders Chloe Popa, Amanda Gorman, and in previous years, Samantha Morris.
Keen to outdo the previous year's efforts in terms of head-turning design, the bold and bright offerings at the 2023 utilised a wholly original fabric featuring a colourful graphic design of all the finalists' headshots, by awards co-founder and local artist Amanda Gorman.
"Inspo for the designs came from African style fashions (like the beautiful bold colours and prints on a firm fabric)," says Amanda.
"The dripping paint on the heads of the finalists in the drawings featured is about our region being a melting pot of talent and collaboration which I feel is quite unique to our city."
This epic design was then whooshed on over to the team at Left Bank Gallery for printing on their revolutionary, first-of-its-kind-in-Aus single step printer using environmentally sound processes such as eco-friendly inks, lower impact production, and zero wastewater. Anyone who knows the team at the Gold Coast Music Network will know is crucial sustainability is to the team.
Enter Jess Hansen.
Costume Designer Jess has been working in costume design, wardrobe management and backstage coordination roles for musical theatre and stage shows across the Gold Coast and Brisbane for the last seven years.
In her most recent role, Jess was the Head of Department for hair, makeup and costumes for 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' and has previously designed, created, and managed costumes for productions including 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert', 'Oliver', 'Mamma Mia', 'Wicked', 'Heathers the Musical', 'Bumpy Angels', 'Fame', and 'The Woman in Black', to name a few.
Jess has been the First Assistant and Wardrobe Coordinator for performances including 'Mary Poppins' and 'Peter Pan'. Collaborating with other local artists and being a part of the growing artistic culture on the Gold Coast is something she is really passionate about, so she was the perfect choice to design this year's Gold Coast Music Awards outfits. We shot her a few questions:
Tell us a bit about how your partnership with the Gold Coast Music Awards came about.
I met the fabulous Amanda Gorman through a close mutual friend. Both of us are creative people and we chatted more through Instagram and Amanda saw some of my work and took a chance on trusting me with this project and I was so excited when she asked me! We chatted about the ideas Amanda had and it was so different to what I had done before so I was super excited to work on such a special piece for such an important event.
You’re a Gold Coast girl! What does it mean for you to be able to dress people involved in Gold Coast music, arts and culture?
Despite the strong Northern English accent I am still sporting, I have lived on the Gold Coast for almost 20 years and I absolutely love it here. Working as a costume designer in theatre and being able to style and dress people, enables me to collaborate with artists, musicians, and cultural figures to bring their stories and identities to life through clothing whether it is on the stage or the red carpet! Working with local talent helps build a supportive network within the Gold Coast's creative community and this is something that has always been important to me as we have such an amazing arts culture here with phenomenal talent and I feel very lucky to work with the people I have dressed so far. Musical theatre is where I started out and still love working on shows each year and now working on bespoke pieces with local artists is a dream come true for me and my career.
What did you think about Amanda’s fabric design?
I can't put into words the talent this woman has! The design was fabulous and really captured the personality of each artist. Amanda and I have a mutual love for the same designers and styles, so I knew anything she would draw up would be perfect. When we went to see the team at Left Bank Art Group, we were told the printer has some pretty vibrant fluro ink and Amanda ran with that and changed the whole colour scheme. It was bright, fun, and vibrant and I wanted to cut into the fabric and get sewing immediately!
How did you feel when you saw pics of your designs on the GCMA red carpet?
It might sound a little vain but I was so proud! Not just of my work but the fact it was such a special joint project between myself, Amanda and Toby and the team at Left Bank. To think the entire project was locally designed, drawn, printed, sewn... everything was wild to me and so inspiring. We made this piece together and worked really hard and it was just so exciting. I usually don't really get to see my work in action as I am always backstage on shows doing quick changes so to be able to stand there and see people's reactions was just so so lovely. It is an experience I will not forget.
You’ve had such a fascinating career. What’s next for you on the project list?
I work with an amazing Brisbane-based production company called 'indelabilityarts' which works on providing creative opportunities for disabled and neurodivergent artists and we are continuing a national tour of a show we created. I also have a number of things coming up with Matt Ward entertainment but it is all very top secret so I don't have a lot to spill just there yet. I have also recently been doing some custom pieces for some local musicians including Laura Frank and Ella Fence and hope to be doing more of this soon.
