Videography & photography by The Story Mill
WEAR IT PURPLE
ART DIRECTION: PROPS & WEARABLES
MARDI GRAS PARADE FLOAT, RISE, 2021
SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND, SYDNEY CBD
Wear It Purple are an organisation that works to create awareness, opportunities and safe environments for queer rainbow youth.
Due to Covid-19 this years Mardi Gras parade moved location and required all floats to ditch trucks/large vehicles and focus on costuming and props.
I was asked by Wear It Purple to create their concept for this year, focusing around the theme of Rise. I went with a rainbow garden to symbolise the youth as the flowers that we foster and help rise/grow.
The design also had to include the representation of 14 different pride flags and have a way for the broader Wear It Purple community to be apart of the parade. (As Covid-19 restrictions limited 40 people per float.)
The pieces that I made:
T-shirt design
Banner
8 x handheld flower props
4 x handheld leaf props
8 x pride flags
4 x pride flag capes
8 x mask/headpieces
I wanted to represent the pride flags in different ways. So the colours of the handheld flower props were based on some of the pride flags, each capes included 3 pride flags and the other flags were presented as simple flags.
I also collected the names of the broader community that wanted to be included in the parade through an online survey. I then wrote their names on small flower and leaf tags and attached them to the handheld props. Before the parade we sent photos to each person of their individual tag.
Wear It Purple also sadly lost a member of their board, Marc Field, in the lead up to Mardi Gras. I was asked to incorporate a memorial element for Marc. I was able to write Marc’s name on one of the flowers and even incorporate his dog on the tee design.
