Welcome to Archer’s Queer Fashion Files! Each month, we’ll interview queer trendsetters and tastemakers, showcasing the diversity and talent of the fashion world. You can check out all episodes of our Queer Fashion Files here.

In Episode 9, Hailey Moroney chats to Lexi Laphor about her creative beginnings, queer collaborative projects and op-shopping.

Lexi Laphor is a photographer, stylist and art director working across fashion, film and advertising.

All images by: Lexi Laphor

Hailey Moroney: Lexi, hello! We published your images in the Braided Pleasure by Nathaniel Youkhana Queer Fashion File last year, and you’ve been on my radar to interview ever since! So, let’s get straight into it.

Your personal Instagram bio reads: “Sassy Queer Femme Cyber Girl Freak. Photographer. Stylist. Set Design.” I love this – because one of my main aims through the Queer Fashion Files is to demonstrate the strength of being multifaceted in the arts – so firstly, I’d like to ask how you define your job title, and why?

Lexi Laphor: I’m a creative person, through and through! I grew up dancing from the ages of 4 to 18, and from music choice, costume design and construction, lighting plans, sets and choreography, there was always so much you could do.

Now, I do photography, wardrobe, set styling and art direction across fashion, film and advertising. I love to be busy. I like variety, and I want to feel that I’m learning and growing, so it’s fun to be in different roles across different jobs and projects. It allows me to flex specific creative muscles depending on the role!

I don’t have a favourite role, but I do have favourite jobs, brands and people to work with. My favourite jobs are always those where I have a lot of input and creative licence around the concept or direction. I really loved getting to cast and shoot the Romance Was Born capsule collection at Ken Done’s house, and also cast and shoot RWB’s all-queer runway show in collaboration with Paul Yore. I also loved working on a feature film in the role of set decorator with production designer Michael Turner for Sahela (Companion) in 2023.

Fashion by: Romance Was Born x Paul Yore. Image by: Lexi Laphor.

Fashion by: Romance Was Born x Paul Yore. Image by: Lexi Laphor.

HM: Through your folio, I can see the balance of your personal photography aesthetic – which, as an image curator, I view as incredibly strong and recognisable – combined with your ability to work to a client’s brief.

How has this ability to combine both evolved over your time working commercially?

LL: First of all, thank you! I’ve always had a strong personal and creative aesthetic, and I think this comes from my life lived before becoming a photographer, where I wanted nothing to do with any commercial or luxury industry! Being one of Australia’s first queer fashion Instagrammers and an underground Tumblr girl meant that I’d been a content creator and curator, a freelance writer, a model, a dancer and a stylist long before becoming a photographer.

Before calling myself a photographer, I had lots of experiences that helped me gain a wider understanding of myself and the industry: modelling in Berlin’s alternative fashion week, being on a celebrity stylist’s reference board, working as a social media coordinator or brand consultant for fashion tech companies, and also living in different creative markets, including Melbourne, London, San Francisco, NYC and now Sydney.

It’s fun to be able to bring something to the project conceptually where possible, but being adaptable and analytical are also great skills to have when working with clients – understanding each client’s needs and goals goes a long way.

Fashion by: Nicol & Ford. Image by: Lexi Laphor.

Fashion by: Erik Yvon. Image by: Lexi Laphor.

HM: You’ve photographed queer street style for Refinery29 before. Do you think queers dress better?

LL: YES. I hate quiet luxury – to me, it’s the enemy of fashion, art and self-exploration. I’m all for bold, authentic, disruptive, playful and chaotic creative expressions. I think true style, much like queerness, encapsulates all of those things. Cis-het people can be fashionable too, but I think they tap into those principles, which are also definitions of queerness.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

HM: You photographed the Romance Was Born x Paul Yore collection for Vogue as a part of Sydney WorldPride last year. Can you speak to this experience?

LL: This was a fave job for me, as I previously mentioned! I absolutely love the RWB folks, Anna and Luke, as well as their stylist Peter Simon Phillips. I love the brand – their designs and commitment to creativity are unparalleled in Australian fashion. It’s a very special Australian fashion house, as you can see across their more-than-a-decade-long run of runway shows and years collaborating with other artists – from the concepts and theming to the textile production.

I’ve worked shooting for RWB on various projects, and when they said they were doing their runway show in collaboration with Victorian artist Paul Yore, I knew it was a special opportunity. I asked if I could cast the runway show on top of shooting it, and I conceptualised an all-queer show to tie in with Paul’s exhibition that was up on display in Sydney in Carriageworks to celebrate Sydney WorldPride and Mardi Gras.

It was so magical. It took many weeks of work, but I was very passionate about the project, and I was proud to create an all-queer runway show.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

HM: In your styling capacity, you’ve previously collaborated with Vinnies and Broadsheet to show people how to thrift like a boss. As the founder of Bedford Studios – an upcycling fashion studio – this is a dream collab in my brain. Can you elaborate on this experience and why you combine thrifting with styling?

LL: Oh, I love Vinnies and thrifting/op-shopping, always. Vinnies and Broadsheet approached me for that project as I’ve always loved to incorporate and advocate for thrifting, both in my personal style and in my film and fashion work.

Sustainability and accessibility are so important, and there are so many special and unique pieces you can find outside of what’s online or in stores right now. This helps build looks that are one-of-a-kind, textural and timeless.

I love looking for silk and interesting material textures, as well as older and more well-constructed garments, I love the hunt itself, and not knowing what you’ll find! I also think it’s a great way to train your brain to play with putting together outfits, rather than relying on shops where they tell you how (and with what) their pieces are intended to be worn.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

HM: What words of advice would you have for young people navigating the industry?

LL: Only do it if you really love it, because fuck the industry itself. I think you have to be both persistent and patient with your practice, and highly hungry for opportunities to make it work and last as a freelance creative! The best advice I can give is: don’t worry if people don’t get what you’re doing, keep doing you!

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

Image and styling by: Lexi Laphor.

HM: I like to end each Queer Fashion File with a similar question: what’s next for you?! Are there any projects and collaborations coming up in 2024 that you’re feverish about?

LL:  Thanks so much for having me! I never really know what’s up next for me, but I really want to manifest jobs in Melbourne as I miss living there and I want an excuse to come and create something. I’m also really wanting to get to LA or NYC this year for some work, so keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!

You can stay up to date with Lexi Laphor on Instagram.

If you want to pitch an idea for Archer’s Queer Fashion Files, email pitch@archermagazine.com.au with ‘QUEER FASHION FILES’ in the subject line. You can check out the rest of our Queer Fashion Files here.