Carried Away - Harper's BAZAAR (Copy) (Copy)

There are selfies, and then there are Gerwyn Davies’ selfies. In this series, the fine art photographer and costumier (and model) riffs on the palette and textures of BAZAAR’s curated edit of It bags. Foam, sequins, faux fur, spandex — it’s all here in the glorious, harsh Australian sunlight

Gerwyn Davies, the costumier, photographer and model in this photoshoot, didn’t set out to become a self-portrait artist. In fact, it was out of necessity, rather than ego, that he stepped in front of his own camera wearing his own designs.

After studying photography at Griffith University in Brisbane, Davies says he became “more interested in the fictional potentials of the photograph than taking photographs of anything real”. He went from making miniature sets to large wearable sculptures, despite not having any training in costume design. At first, Davies was putting the costumes on someone else. “Ultimately, I wanted to take more control, so I started stepping into the costumes. It’s not about an expression of personal identity — you never see my face — it’s my body being a mannequin for these sculptural forms.

“I love the idea of creating a fantasy world inside an image,” he continues. “It’s always about concealing one thing while revealing others.” That applies not only to his identity but also to his sewing skills, which he’s quick to make fun of. “It was all improvised and self-taught,” he explains, with a selfdeprecatory laugh. “I make a costume to be photogenic rather than functional — it needs to last through the physical process of shooting it, but then I can hide the imperfections in the photograph.”

For an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of Sydney in December, though, the costumes will be on display for the first time, alongside the photographs. Titled Iridescent, it’s a series of 12 images and 12 costumes for the museum’s 12 properties, including Vaucluse House and Elizabeth Bay House. “I really had to up my sewing game to make sure the costumes have the same shiny impact as they do in the photographs,” he says. “So often they haven’t been full costumes; there’s less material than you’d expect, but now that I’m, building things properly, I’m realising how much more pleasurable that is.”

In his Harper’s BAZAAR handbag series, Davies played off the colours and textures of the designer accessories, but he usually begins his costumes with the materials he finds in fabric or dollar stores. “Every image starts with the visual properties of the material because it’s kind of the most exciting part for me,” he says. “It’s not so much about the type of fabric, but how it shines, glitters and sparkles, and then uncovering what kind of costume will come out of the material.”

This article originally appeared in the November 2021 issue of Harper’s BAZAAR.