As a designer-maker, Lazarus Gordon – the genius behind the concept brand Queery This – might sometimes look a bit scary, but they are actually really lovely.
“The majority of my work centres around wearable art that involves frequent returns to the drawing board to work out how to make some new impossible construction work out and still be wearable at the end of all the work,” Lazarus explains.
FROM LIVING STATUE TO DESIGNER-MAKER
Originally a costume designer, Lazarus explains that they grew up in a “very conservative environment in America and was on track to become a mechanical draughtsman of all things”.
“Halloween, being a much bigger event back home, and the costumery and escapism that came with it was the one time of the year I got to explore my wider creativity and self; from there I became fascinated with anything that could alter my image and identity.
“After moving to Australia – I’m now based in Geelong – I became a living statue as a means to put my costumes to work for lack of another avenue. From there the line between clothing and costume just became more blurred until I naturally slipped into wearable art and avant garde fashion.”
The concept brand Queery This is an ongoing series of wearable fashion pieces that technically launched in 2022, but Lazarus says that their work in costume and wearable art began around 2017.
“There never was a formal launch of the brand, it just naturally evolved. I had started to gather a bit of a following for my costumed appearances and getting local recognition for my art and reached a point of ‘Well, I really ought to put a name on all of this and start formalising it if we’re going to be doing this, shouldn’t I?’
“[The brand name] was a business name my partner dreamed up decades ago that never came to use amid his other ventures. We were trying to come up with what to call what I did from sculpture to wearable art and clothing and my own identity as a queer artist and designer with a predisposition for the unusual and he suddenly recalled the name as a fun play on words queer/query, with the intention that one should question everything. We both thought it was a perfect fit and the rest is history.”
INSPIRED BY …
Lazarus says that Queery This is inspired by “just about anyone with an air of fantasy, escapism, irreverence, or performance to their work”.
“Current favourites are Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Leigh Bowery, Elsa Schiarpelli, Hungry, and Jeremy Scott to keep it brief.”
“The Core of Queery This is the same as my own approach to style: Both escaping and exploring the self. I’ve spent my life without much of a sense of self or identity and find myself choosing who or what I want to be every morning as I sift through the countless hangers in my wardrobe.
“I hope to give other people the opportunity to embody someone or something else in whatever I make so they can have the euphoria of exploring a previously undiscovered facet of themselves.”
According to Lazarus, the Queery This aesthetic is based around the idea of juxtaposition: “I love using unconventional materials in different ways. Burlap sacks as cocktail dresses, military netting and canvas as opera coats, bed linens as formal evening wear, the world is full of pearls if you know how to use the oyster just as well.”
SUSTAINABLY QUEER
This use of unconventional materials is echoed in the sustainable production of Queery This garments as just about everything Lazarus uses is upcycled in some way.
Lazarus’ creation The Bride, for example, was made of upcycled lace discovered in second hand shops. This look was a top 20 finalist in the National Wool Museum’s design contest We Are the Makers.
The Bride by Queery This for the We Are Makers design competition
“Queery This is a sustainable brand in that I use all second hand materials, my ready to wear garments come from more traditional textiles found in various ways and my wearable art pieces can be made with anything from zip ties to discarded shop floor model cellphones.
“I hope for Queery This to ultimately become zero waste, and with that, oversee and become the parent of a zero waste, completely sustainable, op shop model that I actually currently have in development to encourage the limitless potential of every part of textile and garment production.”
Discover Queery This at @queerythis and see how Lazarus uses his talents to create his brilliant daily looks as well.
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