How Phoenix Keating Brought Cowboys & Aliens to Sydney Fashion Week

In 2009 Phoenix Keating, at the young age of 17, was immediately put into the fashion spotlight when his first collection caught the eye of music icon Lady Gaga. And he became a legend in 2011 when Lady Gaga wore two of Keating's outfits at her spontaneous show in Sydney. His designs are unique and striking, mixtures of classic and avant-garde with a touch of vintage flare.

Since then, Keating has gathered quite the media following and his career has quickly developed into a successful label. His debut at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia without a doubt took Keating's label to the next level.

Keating's sophisticated, dramatic and powerful designs contradict his age and the low-key, relaxed attitude of many other Australian designers. Keating has brought a new drama to the Australian fashion industry, similar to that of Europe's industry. Some fashion experts even say that the industry is looking much more promising because of Keating. His response to this? Surprise! And gratitude.

We chat to Keating about fashion, success at a (absurdly) young age, the outer space/spaghetti western nexus and Lady Gaga.

What was it like preparing for your first solo show?

It was incredibly nerve-racking. I wasn't sure what people were going to think of the collection. I'm still not sure what people are going to think of the collection. And I was a big perfectionist, to my team's dismay for this collection. But it was so great to have the support of my team.

What was your inspiration behind the collection shown today?

The story from today's collection, well, it's about an alien who comes to Earth and is trying to blend in. She can only study humans through film so she studies a lot of films. She stumbles across spaghetti western films, like Clint Eastwood films. And she becomes obsessed, absolutely obsessed by these films. She also becomes obsessed with Clint Eastwood. So she does herself up in a western way, she's taken a bit from the '40s and a bit from the '50s, [but] she comes to Earth and she looks a bit off. She's trying to look human but she's not really looking too human.

The collection develops and then it's about her journey to find Clint Eastwood. And when she finds Clint Eastwood, she is a little bit let down because he dismisses her. And when he does this she becomes completely evil. So the colour scheme of the collection goes from white to black and I've developed these big black shapes. So,what I did with this collection is take the western and really modernise it and I made it alien — so it's alien western I guess you could say. It's about how no matter which worlds we can travel to and no matter how advanced we've become we can still feel that deep pain and deep sorrow.

That's so interesting. Does each collection have a background story like that?

Every single collection I've done.

How does it feel to be done with your debut?

It's bittersweet and it's also lovely.

What are your next steps now that the show is over?

Next collection! I've started to design it but nothing too solid yet.

So, you emerged as a designer in 2009. Do you feel your artistic style has changed or evolved since then?

It's a lot more cohesive than before. I'm not doing things in a rushed fashion like I used to. And I think it's just me growing as a designer, I finish things now.

How would you describe your signature look as a designer?

I just feel like I juxtapose. I take opposites and make them work together. I love vintage and I love past eras. I love Lauren Bacall and I love Audrey Hepburn. I always get my inspiration from those types of women but I take it somewhere modern and quite new and fresh.

You're only 21, but many fashion experts and writers say that you have the talent of a designer twice your age, what do you think about that?

I'm very passionate about what I do and I think that reflects in my work. It hasn't just been a two-minute affair with fashion; it's been a prevalent thing for many, many, many, many years. In high school all I did was sit there and draw, and I guess I knew that I had something from that age on. Everything I designed from then on I look at now. I think it's just something that I really, really love to do.

So, fashion has been prevalent in your life for quite some time. When did you know that you wanted to be a designer?

At the age of 13. I wanted to be an actor before then and I don't know why but my dreams were dashed. And I don't know why I did it, but I made a dress for my year eight project and I just fell in love with the way it looked. It was like a '50s dress and it was pretty cool actually. I fell in love with it (designing clothes) then.

Your career seemed to skyrocket after Lady Gaga was seen wearing your clothing in 2011. How has your career developed since Lady Gaga?

Undoubtedly she has propelled me much faster then I would have on my own. I probably owe this to her right now. I probably owe this show to her right now. I have a great deal of respect for her helping me and helping other young designers around the world. It's priceless and it helps so much!