When Leonard Hill first sent his collection Laughing Gas down the runway, he watched the audience eagerly for their reaction. The designer was looking for a particular response.
“The collection, I really wanted to focus on it being a performance ... I wanted that sense of unease, as well as that narrative structure.”
On the runway at iD Dunedin Fashion Week, Leonard’s collection was certainly disconcerting. Some models had just one shoe, hips swaying unevenly as they walked. One had a motorcycle helmet sitting over the shoulder, forcing a stiff spacing between the arm and body. Two strutted with wide gaits to manage heavily embellished yellow boots. The final model glided more elegantly in a dramatic black gown, machinic panels bouncing at the hips.
The perfectly perplexing collection won Leonard the prize of Top NZ Designer at iD Dunedin. He was competing with eight other emerging NZ designers for the title, receiving an editorial package with Viva. The winning designer felt he had stirred the reaction he intended.
“I think it succeeded in being a bit of a strange sight.”
Leonard Hill’s interest in fashion arose after he enrolled in evening design classes at age 22. Prior to his work in fashion, he was living in Australia as a studio painter. The visual interest he had in painting translated well to this new medium and Leonard began an artful and critical approach to fashion.
“I have a certain weakness towards the image of fashion, which isn’t ideal because things need to move. Fashion photography was definitely the overlap that got me into fashion from fine arts.”
The designer went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion and Sustainability at Whitecliffe College in 2022. Laughing Gas was his graduate collection. Shortly after completing his formal fashion studies, Leonard became a workroom assistant for Kate Sylvester, continuing to hone his design techniques and artistic approach with the notable NZ brand.
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Advertise with NZME.The Laughing Gas collection is an example of refined and well-workshopped design practice. While the collection utilises challenging materials, the garments are precise, slick and well-tailored. The combination makes the surreal looks feel thoughtful, and as each model walks, a narrative begins to unravel.
The collection depicts a collision between a motorcycle, clothing and the body. Pieces from a deconstructed bike are re-fashioned into accessories that embellish in peculiar, sometimes cumbersome ways.
Leonard says that the high-concept look comes from working in a space of “speculative design”. In this practice, design becomes a vehicle for asking questions and expressing concern about the future, especially about our relationship with technology.
With Laughing Gas, the designer engages with how we might tackle the use of wreckage and waste — a wondering that feels poignant in the age of fast-paced technological development and “progress-at-any-cost” ideals.
However, there’s no firm answer on how to pick up the pieces in Leonard’s collection.
“I try to stay in the grey a little bit,” he says. “So, whether this is a good or bad thing isn’t really the point.”
Leonard does suggest the collection moves towards a somewhat hopeful resolution.
He says the first looks are “awkward” and points to the clashing colour scheme (bright red accessories against cornflower blues, yellow boots against black blazer dresses). The final gown offers some relief. “On the final look, I wanted it to be the most regal and integrated and fully formed, and almost the most otherworldly.”
This future-thinking lens also gave the designer an urgent context to consider.
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“If we’re talking about speculative design futures and reaction to crises, obviously the first thing that comes to mind is climate change.”
The designer went searching in junk shops, pulled pieces from old fairing kits and scrolled through Trade Me pages to find pre-used materials. The fabrics themselves were either second-hand or made with natural fibres.
“I tried to get everything secondhand or broken, it’s quite important to try to do that.”
As a result, the collection presents a critical, yet hopeful perspective. The garments experiment with repurposing, considering new functions for defunct objects. Leonard addresses the problem posed by waste and technology, advocating for resourceful approaches to future developments.
iD Dunedin became an ideal platform for the designer’s vision. With a notoriously long runway, the Dunedin Railway Station emphasised the performance element so central to Laughing Gas. But it wasn’t without its challenges.
“The poor models for iD, it was a 120-metre runway ... The single heel is not comfortable. It was quite funny, actually. Backstage, one of the models was freaking out, she was like, ‘We’ve lost a shoe!’”
Leonard reflects fondly on the experience in Dunedin, praising the sense of community.
“I just had a really good time. It was amazing to meet the other designers and be in a room of 25 other people who worked their asses off. I came away feeling motivated and overall pretty stoked to have been there.”
That sense of motivation has the designer keenly looking forward to his next steps, excited to explore a new, different idea. Even while looking back on his winning collection, he poses himself a challenge.
“You’ve been there: how can you change it up?”
Missed the iD Dunedin Fashion Show? Watch our full live stream of the South Island’s biggest fashion show on demand.
