TheAge.com.au – Julie Szego
Most people would remember the outlandish outfits in The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the 1994 hit movie that brought drag culture into the mainstream, boosted Australia’s pink tourist market and inspired a seemingly interminable craze for disco theme nights. And a few might also remember Priscilla costume designer Lizzy Gardiner’s dazzling sartorial irony the night she and partner Tim Chappel collected an Oscar for their work.
In images beamed across the world, Gardiner strolled up to the podium in a frock made of more than 250 gold American Express cards. It was a design that hadn’t made it into the film because the credit card company refused permission for the brand to be used with such irreverence. By wearing it Gardiner branded herself, and by extension Chappel, as both an insider and outsider in Tinseltown, a combative player and cutting observer.