The Shining Stars Of Sydney Mardi Gras
Our Head of Hospitality and Lead Creative, Harriet Leigh invited three of the season’s biggest names to talk all things Mardi Gras. Sydney-based stylist and content creator, Millie Sykes, the very glam Etcetera Etcetera and Vlogger Logan Wein. We’ve transcribed the convos here, or watch the video for the fuller version. We guarantee you’ll be feeling thirsty as Harriet pours three very special Mardi Gras drinks: The Syke Out, The Glamour Shot and the That’s That Me Espresso.
MILLIE SYKES
Harriet: Millie, I want you to tell me the most outrageous memory you have of Mardi Gras. What was your biggest, most outrageous night at Mardi Gras?
Millie Sykes: My most outrageous memory? Oh, okay. I did, unfortunately, have to move out of my house over a Mardi Gras weekend one year.
Harriet: That’s homophobic!
Millie Sykes: I had something on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we were intermittently on the dance floor, moving furniture, dance floor, back to move more furniture. And yeah, I felt psychotic by the end of that. It was a really interesting undertaking. They gave us the date. We said, great, great, great. Didn't put the dates together.
Harriet: Working over gay Christmas, do people do that?
Millie Sykes: We literally had to get up, yeah, at about 5 am, pack the house down, and get to the party boat by 11. But we did it amazingly. We made it.
Harriet: For a lot of people, this might be their first Mardi Gras, which is always an amazing rite of passage. Have you got any tips for surviving the Mardi Gras weekend? Any must take with you?
Millie Sykes: Sensible shoes. I know we want to all serve that look that we have in mind. But sensible shoes, I'm a fan of packing sensible shoes into the handbag, starting with the strong heel, and then shoving the heels somewhere in the green room. But yeah, sensible shoes, of course, lots of water and delicious cocktails. And look out for your friends. You know, that's always going to be the very important thing, yeah, just make sure, you know where everyone is. Make sure we're all having a great time. I know we will be. Try to take it all in. Just relish every moment. I mean, how can you not?
It's just such a special time. But, move at your own pace. There's a lot going on, you're gonna have the best time ever. I'm jealous of the people who haven't been before. I want to relive that first time!
Harriet: How old were you at your first Mardi Gras?
Millie Sykes: I would have been about 20. I think, 20-21. It was a total whirlwind. I was dressed as Barbarella, a very low-budget version of Barbarella, mind you. And I just danced for three days straight with so many people that I loved.
Harriet: How have you developed your style inspiration over the years since?
Millie Sykes: The older I got, the less I cared, so I started just to wear everything that I wanted to wear, and I think Mardi Gras and those experiences of being able to just express myself completely freely and feel like I'm in such a safe space to do so really helped with that evolution, too.
Harriet: And where do you start? The process of bringing up the outfit? Where does the inspiration begin?
Millie Sykes: I often say that my style is like a Studio 54 party on Mars. I am super inspired by the old. I love vintage shapes and styles, but everything has to have a futuristic element to it. I want to feel like I look like a character from your favourite sci-fi movie.
ETCETERA ETCETERA
Harriet: So tell me, when I say Mardi Gras, what's the first story that comes to your mind?
Etcetera Etcetera: Well, when I think of Mardi Gras, I instantly think of community. I think of hanging out with gorgeous, beautiful, fabulous people. I think of meeting people I've never met before, only meet at Mardi Gras and never meet again. Perfect. I have met so many people, and we've been at Mardi Gras, and we're best friends, and then I've never seen them again. And I think there's a magic to the Mardi Gras, you're entering into a portal gayness, and then you're spat out of that portal at the end of Mardi Gras, and you're like, Okay, well, that was beautiful. Can't wait to do it again next time. I dated this guy once because we met on the parade route. After the parade, they'd taken down the barricades, and we made eyes at each other across the parade. Then we looked. I remember being like, Oh, he's really cute. And about six months later, we matched on Tinder, oh, and we were like, Oh, were you the person that I made eyes at Mardi Gras? And he was like, yeah. And then we dated for a year. So I love that Mardi Gras is like that kind of moment where anything is possible. I got to be Amanda Lepore’s personal assistant one year, and, like, shuffle her around. She's the most glamorous, beautiful person ever.
I did the Mardi Gras show for World Pride at the Horden Pavilion. The midnight show was amazing. It's like, you look out to the crowd and there's 10,000 people out there, and I thought they were all screaming and cheering and clapping for me. You don't get many other times that you see the community come together and share such an outpouring of love. Especially for young people coming to Sydney and maybe not knowing where they've come from or where they're going, and maybe being a bit lost in who they are, Mardi Gras is a moment of clarity and connection to a future that they can start to imagine for themselves. Because I moved here when I was 17, I had never connected with the queer community or connected with who I was, and seeing the Mardi Gras parade for the first time opened up a world of possibility for me. I felt like, Oh, I can. I can find people like me. I can be celebrated for who I am. It's like a window into understanding that there is a possibility of you, as a queer person, being happy, and I think that's really special. And I think we shouldn't, we shouldn't lose sight of everything that Mardi Gras is. It’s just the bright colours and parade. But at the core of it, it's a moment of opportunity for us to reflect on who we are as a community, where we're going.
Harriet: What is the most outrageous outfit you've ever worn for Mardi Gras?
Etcetera Etcetera: To be honest, the list never ends. I mean, I've worn a cockroach costume.
Harriet: What was the inspiration behind that? What made you get up and think today, the roach?
Etcetera Etcetera: Well, you know, I was living in a terrible one-bedroom apartment infested with cockroaches, and I thought, if you can't beat them, no, I'd spent too many nights with the cockroaches. And I think one crawled into my brain through my ear.
Harriet: Oh, you were being controlled by the cockroach?
Etcetera Etcetera: Yeah? It was like, you know, that movie where the rat teaches him how to cook.
Harriet: Ratatouille?
Etcetera Etcetera: Yeah, there was a cockroach in my wig being like, “one of us”, but, yeah, I've done that. I've worn a four-foot-tall beehive. I've been outstandingly glamorous for Mardi Gras. I’ve done Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. One year, I went naked but covered in silver glitter from my head, a bit of modesty duct tape, that’s all. Sometimes, life comes with glitter. Just like the beautiful Glamour Shots we’ve done together!
LOGAN WEIN
Harriet: Logan, can you tell me why you're excited to be working with us on Mardi Gras? What does Mardi Gras mean to you?
Logan Wein: Mardi Gras is super important for me and the queer community, it's an opportunity to celebrate who we are, but personally, it's just an opportunity for me to be loud and proud about who I am. I think a lot of queer people globally experience hostility, and Mardi Gras is a safe space for us to be, like I said, loud, proud. Last year, I wore a long-sleeved mesh diamond top and a skirt. And I don't know. I obviously don't wear that day-to-day, but during Mardi Gras, I didn't know; I felt badass.
Harriet: How are you gonna top that outfit this year?
Logan Wein: Oh my gosh. I honestly haven't given it a thought. I'm gonna have to do some shopping! But definitely, it's gonna be bright. It's gonna be colourful. It's gotta be sparkly and unashamedly you.
Harriet: So, tell me about your first Pride back home in America.
Logan Wein: My first Pride was two years ago in Houston, Texas. So a couple of my buddies and I, we lived in Austin, Texas and we drove down to Houston, and similar to my first Mardi Gras here in Australia, once again, it's always the parade where, like, you're lined in the street, you can see the high rises and the confetti falling, yeah, and you just, you tend to have that a-ha moment, like I always get teary-eyed. I get overwhelmed with emotions because it's just so comforting knowing that there are so many allies, queer people in one space, and you feel so safe in that moment.
Harriet: We're going to make a donation on your behalf to a charity of your choosing, which is Transcend Australia. Do you want to tell us a little bit about why you picked that charity?
Logan Wein: So the trans community is definitely near and dear to both my heart and my family's heart. Several months ago, my brother came out as trans, so obviously, I'd love to support the trans community here in Australia. So thank you for making that donation.
Harriet: That’s a cause close to our hearts so we're going to match it, thank you so much for joining us, Cheers!