NEWS - Superhuman costume for Eurovision
Melbourne bridal designer Gwendolynne Burkin’s superhuman effort to dress Kate Miller-Heidke for Eurovision
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It’s not often that a Facebook messenger from a stranger results in the opportunity for a designer to have their work appear on the world’s stage, but that’s exactly how Melbourne’s Gwendolynne Burkin ended up working on Kate Miller-Heidke’s Eurovision star-making performance.
Burkin, best known for her bridal gowns, has long held an interest in costume and theatre but, when she was contacted by Miller-Heidke’s representatives less than a week before her Australia Decides show in February, she had to make a quick decision about whether she could design the top half of a dress that hadn’t come to fruition.
The result was an unforgettable, other-worldly silver gown, the bejewelled bodice of which Burkin spent four days feverishly piecing together, subsisting on coffee and the goodwill of her partner.
Fortunately, she had a little more time to pore over the details for Eurovision’s Tel-Aviv shows earlier this month, completing the dark, ethereal costumes for Miller-Heidke’s dancers.
In the end, it was a symbiotic meeting of minds.
“Kate’s musical approach for the song Zero Gravity merges classic opera with pop and dance, which is in keeping with my visual eye that strongly references the past and reinvents it in a modern context,” says Burkin.
“It also allowed me to get away from [being] typecast and show people what I can do as a creative. And seeing something I have created come to life in a theatrical setting is so exciting and way more fabulous than a standard march down a runway.”
It’s hard to imagine designing such an integral costume for someone you’ve never met, but luckily, Miller-Heidke’s reaction was immediately positive.
“At our first meeting, she was like a delicate doll with a delightful, gentle smile. She said that even if she had given me a timeline of three months, it would have surpassed her expectations.”
Fellow contender Alfie Arcuri was one fan; backstage, he told Burkin that he wanted to wear Miller-Heidke’s outfit to Mardi Gras.
For Burkin – who has stepped away from platforms such as the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival to showcase her brand and is vocal about the need for Australians to back local designers – the Eurovision spotlight also allowed her own voice to be heard.
“I feel that small Melbourne female independent designers get overlooked a lot, even when they’re established,” she says.
“Most of the opportunities go to the male and Sydney-based designers, and then the media gets on the bandwagon of those ‘new kids’.
“I have never felt much like I fit in in the fashion industry, and so one social media comment that really touched me was from a fan who said, ‘You are one of the most underrated Aussie fashion designers’. Another favourite was from someone who called me a ‘magical wonder woman’ because I really did feel like I was tapping into my inner super hero to get that done.”
Has more work come her way, as a direct result? “Well, I’m afraid that not everyone wants to wear a bejewelled bodice to work,” laughs Burkin.
After the Eurovision dust has settled, that might change.
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Kate Miller-Heidke Eurovision costume made by Gwendolynne Burkin. Photo: Supplied.