Welcome to Archer’s Queer Fashion Files! Each month, we interview 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 20, Hailey Moroney chats to creative duo Nicol & Ford about queer histories, fashion as armour, and their Australian Fashion Week collection, Parrhesia.

Nicol & Ford is a celebrated Australian fashion atelier led by creative couple Lilian and Katie-Louise Nicol-Ford. The brand intentionally contests history to challenge queer erasure, proposing a more inclusive future of embodiment and visibility. Rooted in deep research, Nicol & Ford’s practice is defined by its sculptural silhouettes and reverence for traditional craft. Community casting and ethical production is at the core of the brand, with each garment made to order for diverse bodies, in locally sourced materials from the Sydney-based atelier.

Fashion designs by: Nicol & Ford

Hailey Moroney: Katie, Lilian! Hello! I’m intrigued to deep-dive into your 2025 Australian Fashion Week collection with you, so let’s get into it. Titled Parrhesia, the work feels less like a collection and more like a reclamation, a refusal to let queer histories be forgotten. What was the tipping point that made you both feel like you had to create this collection? What conversations or emotions were sitting with you both in the lead-up to creating this work?

Nicol & Ford: Hello! So, at Nicol & Ford we have an ongoing commitment to unearthing queer narratives that history has buried, distorted or neglected. We had been researching Magnus Hirschfeld and his Institute – which is sometimes known as “the world’s first trans clinic” – for about 18 months with an intention to create a collection based on this source inspiration. The rollback of queer rights across western capitalist cultures over the past 12 months has clearly demonstrated that these liberties continue to be under threat.

Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science was a radical space for truth in the early 20th century. Its destruction by fascists in 1933 wasn’t just symbolic – it was a violent attempt to erase queer futures. That moment echoed loudly for us as we watched similar patterns unfold today.

Parrhesia is an invitation for our community to reclaim this story, and a provocation for audiences to consider its impact. We immersed ourselves in Hirschfeld’s archives, queer artists of the Weimar Republic and numerous other points of inspiration to celebrate his life and legacy. However, the collection is not intended to be nostalgic but confrontational – each garment is designed to provoke, to speak, to remember.

HM: Queer fashion has always inherently served as both an artistic expression and an armour. This collection is romantic, yet strong and bold. How did you achieve the perfect balance of expression and armour?

N&F: We became very interested in exploring the concept of fragility and resilience co-existing, reflected by our community for the past 100 years.

As the 24 looks of the collection progress, you will notice that the colour slowly drains from the garments – visually depicting the erasure of bodies, documents and histories. Yet these bodies remain, and later garments literally include handmade chainmail fabrication which alludes to armour, and exploring shapes including slip dresses, lingerie and skin, as bodies become more vulnerable.

HM: In recent years we’ve seen a trend emerge with big brands co-opting queer aesthetics without authentically centering queer community and its people. How do you navigate visibility and autonomy within the Australian fashion hierarchy while staying true to your roots?

N&F: We have very deliberately maintained a financial and operational independence which allows us to pursue our queer themes and histories amid changing times. In identifying and forming brand partnerships across our Australian Fashion Week presentations and other alignments, we prioritise independent businesses which contribute where possible to Australian industries and/or queer representation.

Last year, when our third runway embraced themes including mid-century kink aesthetics, we were able to find numerous Australian-owned independent sexual care and adult toy companies to support our presentation. In our experience, thoughtful connections with companies that share our ethical framework allows us to remain uncompromised in our ethics.

HM: Can you tell our readers a little about the Nicol & Ford origin story? How have you found yourself at the forefront of Australian Fashion while still being so authentically yourselves? Did you ever feel the pressure to conform for the industry?

N&F: We met in 2013 (both heartbroken and in our mid-twenties) and immediately became partners through shared interests. Twelve months in, we decided to launch a clothing label together to unite our different talents but shared interest in social history and queer experience. We have built our brand over the past eight years, and in 2022, were able to step up to the major Australian Fashion Week platform for our debut runway.

We feel that there is a misconception that you must step away from authenticity to relate to a larger customer base, but we are very happy to have the support of the queer community to continue to sustainably grow our business.

HM: What can we expect to see next from Nicol & Ford?

N&F: We have commenced work on our fifth consecutive Australian Fashion Week runway for next year and are very excited to be challenging ourselves to be more ambitious than ever. We are returning this year to another Australian queer history, and pushing ourselves to distort conventional beauty through a queer lens. Watch this space!

You can stay up to date with Nicol & Ford 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.