{"id":402693,"date":"2026-04-29T04:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/402693\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T04:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:51:08","slug":"the-australians-dressing-pops-biggest-stars-from-taylor-swift-to-beyonce-to-shakira-australian-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/402693\/","title":{"rendered":"The Australians dressing pop\u2019s biggest stars \u2013 from Taylor Swift to Beyonc\u00e9 to Shakira | Australian fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bikini made from tangled strands of diamantes drapes down the torso of Colombian superstar Shakira. She is singing from a floating pink bubble in the sky. It is the opening frame of the film clip for her 2024 single Punter\u00eda<\/a>, which has amassed more than 78m views on YouTube.<\/p>\n

Given the renown of the queen of Latin music, the scene\u2019s Australian links are not immediately apparent. But the ornate bodysuit was a custom design by University of Technology Sydney graduate Caroline Reznik and handmade in her inner Sydney studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity through social media has been otherworldly,\u201d says Reznik, who is part of a growing cohort of young Australian designers being asked to create looks for the world\u2019s biggest stars \u2013 often via DM. \u201cThe reach can be astronomical.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first celebrity who wore her designs was Doja Cat. In 2021, just a year after Reznik\u2019s graduate collection went viral, the US singer featured her work in the film clip for Streets<\/a>. This expanded to an invitation to collaborate on Doja Cat\u2019s Coachella outfits in 2022.<\/p>\n

Shakira\u2019s team also took Reznik \u2013 a former dancer \u2013 from music video to stage. For Shakira\u2019s world tour, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, the brief was to recreate pieces that built the singer\u2019s \u201csmall but humble\u201d stage presence in the 2000s. Reznik created layered lace and mesh leggings, which she has made in several colours so the pop star can wear them every night.<\/p>\n

Reznik is understandably coy about other big names who have appeared in her inbox, since not every request materialises. When Madonna\u2019s team inquired about buying her graduate collection, for instance, they could not agree on a price.<\/p>\n

Often, given the fast-paced nature of megastardom, Australia\u2019s distance is a hindrance for shipping and working across time zones.<\/p>\n

In advance of English pop star Charli xcx\u2019s Brat tour in 2024, her stylist, Chris Horan, emailed Sydney designer Ruby Pedder and gave her a budget to create whatever looks she wanted. \u201cThere was no brief, the fitting dates were all in Los Angeles and it was really complicated to get the clothes there in time,\u201d says Pedder. \u201cI ended up making her 13 pieces over two years, but she never actually wore any of them. Not that I saw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pedder, who graduated from UTS in 2021, has had more success outfitting stars for local performances. After her first runway show at Australian fashion<\/a> week, her corsets \u2013 made by hand-smocking meters of printed silk, a process which can take her up to three days \u2013 were worn at the AFL grand final by Katy Perry and on stage by K-pop star Jennie Kim during Blackpink\u2019s Sydney show.<\/p>\n

Pedder, who was in the Blackpink audience, says the experience was surreal. \u201cI was so far away, and I just saw little Jennie bouncing around in my butterfly top that I\u2019d just sewed on the ground of my studio a few weeks ago. I was like, \u2018That just feels stupid.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Bethany Cordwell, a Brisbane-based artist and costumier at the Queensland Ballet, describes the global recognition that follows from dressing a superstar as a \u201cwild card\u201d. In 2022, Beyonc\u00e9<\/a> wore a black-and-white bodysuit by Cordwell in the artwork for her album, Renaissance.<\/p>\n

Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s team discovered Cordwell on an Instagram account that champions new talent \u2013 Up Next Designer<\/a> \u2013 and reached out via email. The piece was made from layers of tiny plastic triangles, hand-cut from document folders from her casual job at Officeworks. The effect is textural and fur-like.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love shiny things. I took a few folders home and started playing around with them,\u201d Cordwell says. It was one of the last garments she made in that period. \u201cI often think: \u2018What if I didn\u2019t allow myself that time to make it?\u2019 The last few years would have definitely been different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reznik, Pedder and Cordwell all say their brushes with fame have informed the direction of their businesses; but although it can be dreamlike, the material impact is unpredictable.<\/p>\n

Melbourne designer Toby Wright\u2019s recent experience proves this. A wool hat from his label Monphell went viral when Jack Harlow wore it in his Say Hello<\/a> video. The hat\u2019s strange shape and volume sparked a frenzy in the clip\u2019s comment sections, but Wright told the New York Times <\/a>that after this attention, he sold only one hat.<\/p>\n

To gain exposure from dressing a star, costume designers are at the mercy of social media algorithms and how diligently celebrities or their stylists tag them \u2013 which they are not always inclined to do. This means designers have to push the association themselves by seeking out footage and images, producing their own content, reposting, tagging and hashtagging.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t usual that the artists themselves will give me credit,\u201d Reznik says. \u201cSometimes the teams do, and then you can gain more followers, but the hype around how that works is very algorithm based.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the most part Reznik, like Pedder and Cordwell, works on a made-to-order basis. The high-end commissions that can follow from an association with a celebrity are welcome. \u201cMore people reach out and it does bring in more work for me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But Cordwell says the experience hasn\u2019t necessarily changed her life, even though her work is immortalised in pop culture history. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that Beyonc\u00e9 worked out, of all the people. The top of the top,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t guarantee anything else. So it\u2019s been a journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three designers have considered, or are considering, relocating overseas to make these opportunities easier. Another Australian, Connor O\u2019Grady, who made headlines last year when he created a costume for Chappell Roan using real human hair, is based in London. Pedder, who is planning a move later this year, feels the proximity to stars such as Charli xcx will help. She says: \u201cI\u2019m hoping I can actually run into her one day and be like, \u2018Hi, what happened there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But Reznik, who would like to expand into ready-to-wear, is reluctant to leave. \u201cI\u2019ve successfully been able to navigate it from here,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit healthier in terms of having my own environment to create in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Adelaide couturier Paolo Sebastian provides the next generation with an example of a thriving, high-end, custom-made local business that also caters to international stars. In 2025, the brand\u2019s designer Paul Vasileff created a silver, long-sleeved gown for Taylor Swift, worn in her video for The Fate of Ophelia<\/a>. During the press tour for Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande wore a soft pink Paolo Sebastian gown.<\/p>\n

Vasileff says seeing his work on global stages is bizarre and deeply exciting, but he has a \u201csimple\u201d reason to stay in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is home \u2026 The ability to do this work from our Adelaide atelier is something the team is so proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n