INTERVIEW with ASTERIA || Brisbane Fashion Festival 2026 Designer (Hancock Prospecting Next Gen Group Show)

SD: Hi, ASTERIA. For my readers who don’t know you yet, can you please introduce yourself?

‍    ‍A: Hi Suzanne, my name is Asteria and I am a fashion designer with a history in drag and burlesque performance. I use my experiences from performance work, trans identity and refined aesthetic to create their name Asteria, both fashion and stage brand for my work.

SD: What challenges did you face when you started up your own label, and what advice would you give young aspiring designers?

  A: I approached starting my own label from a somewhat unique position of having an already established brand. I never felt a need to separate my drag identity from my fashion work as Asteria is both the muse and creator for the designs. With that in mind, one of the big challenges I faced was understanding how I should frame and talk about my work so that people from the fashion understand that I deeply respect and love this industry and they take me seriously. It's a constant learning curve. My advice to younger designers would be to take the time to understand what work you want to produce and to take yourself as seriously as you need to get to that place. Put in the effort and work to learn the skills you need and understand the heritage of those techniques, styles or facets of the industry.

SD: Does art in all its forms play a major part in your life?

‍    ‍A: Art for me is everything, I find a great deal of enjoyment in the artistic process of drag, design and making for fashion. I apply painting techniques I learnt in high school to my makeup style, and the way I approach any concept or idea is built from a desire to make a beautiful object or image.

SD: How do you select the materials that are used in the clothes?

‍   ‍A:  My process involves a lot of sampling, there are some materials that are necessary for structural elements like corsets, but for everything else I mostly look for quality. It could be quality of the components that make the materials or the quality of style, colour and mood of textiles and trims. A good example of this for me is my love of Swarovski crystals, I love them since they are physically the best quality of rhinestone on the market and they take the time to ensure that the quality of colour and reflect in them is uniform and perfect every time.

SD: What are your plans for the future, and what can we expect in the coming years?

‍   ‍A:  Good question, in the coming years I would like to work towards having an establish catalogue of products, maybe show work at the Met Gala and be recognised for my work both locally and internationally.

SD: Without giving too much detail away, what should we expect from your collection for Brisbane Fashion Festival 2026?

‍    ‍A: My collection for BFF is called Moonglow. It's a self reflection on my graduate collection and a step towards the future for my brand. You can expect a lot of corsets, sequins, rhinestones, cute purses and a big finale.

Tickets are going fast. See ASTERIA on the runway. Buy your tickets HERE

Brisbane Fashion Festival Website: https://brisbanefashionfestival.com/
Brisbane Fashion Festival Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneFashionFestival
Brisbane Fashion Festival Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brisbane.fashionfestival/

ASTERIA’s Links:

Website: https://www.theasteria.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasteria.au/

Photo Credits:

First and Second Photo: Taken by Joel Deveruex