Why Jordan Gogos is the Australian fashion industry’s Trojan horse

Since his debut at Australian Fashion Week (AFW) in 2021, Jordan Gogos and his eponymous label Iordanes Spyridian Gogos have become a mainstay on the AFW calendar. 

In his fourth consecutive AFW runway titled “The Woven Trojan Horse”, the multi-disciplinary artist and fashion designer brought together a cohort of iconic Australian fashion talent to collaborate on the collection, including Jenny Bannister, Akira Isogawa and Jenny Kee.

The Trojan horse has served as the brand’s logo since it was serendipitously created at the launch, but over time it has become symbolic of Gogos’ successful trajectory into the fashion industry. His practice-led design ethos and commitment to creating a circular brand have earned him a name in the Australian fashion lexicon. 

“The methodology and the way I was collaborating, and the way I was actually entering the industry, really reflected the story of the Trojan horse… I think things that are meant to be, kind of come together in a magical way,” Gogos told Inside Retail.

The future of fashion is collaboration 

Gogos’ focus on community and collaboration has made his art-fashion brand Iordanes Spyridian Gogos hard to pin down and predict what it will do next.

To date, Gogos has had more collaborations than he can count, he estimates over 150, but he’s never given a fellow creative a reference or moodboard.

After reaching out to Designer Rugs for a year and a half, Gogos signed a collaboration with the Australian textile company last November for an ongoing collection featuring his artwork.

The latest collaboration takes inspiration and techniques from Gogos’ design archive in 2017 to his 2024 AFW runway collection. 

“I knew that I was going to have these gorgeous rugs in the backdrop and I’m not going to have tulle and flimsy material on beautiful rugs – I wanted that density,” explained Gogos.

“They’re all hand tufted… each little strand is hand pulled and if they can do it with the rugs I can do it with the garments,” he added.

The National Gallery of Australia and Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum are two of Iordanes Spyridian Gogos’ biggest garment buyers – now, Gogos is looking for new ways to scale and sell his designs.

“I’m licensing my designs and having it sold in a different kind of way outside of fashion,” shared Gogos.

“The more I’m working in fashion and more I’m seeing the benefit of not commercialising the clothes by commercialising the aesthetics of the clothes into non-fashion things and keeping the actual fashion or couture and art.”

Making community more than a buzzword

Gogos’ runways have earned a reputation for bringing art to life, so it’s not surprising that the designer takes an unconventional approach to selecting models. 

“I don’t have a casting – I’ve never done a casting actually,” stated Gogos.

“When I meet someone or have an interaction I can kind of understand what would suit them, not in a not in a stylistic way, but more in an energetic way.”

This year at AFW the Iordanes Spyridian Gogos runway only confirmed this with a cast of models hand-selected by Gogos himself. They included Vogue Australia’s first First Nations cover star Elaine George, The Real Housewives of Sydney star Caroline Gaultier, GQ model of the year James Powell, as well as clients, close friends, friends of friends and his sister. 

Gogos also had a hand in the runway walk and choreography, personally taking each model through the timing and path during rehearsals – encouraging them to be as sporadic as possible.

“The show caller releases them, I walk alongside them like a soccer mom and I’m like, ‘turn 90 degrees in’ and then literally they keep going and Harriet, my stylist will take them on through the rest,” said Gogos.

“I will do it with them, next to them, literally by their side and then run to the next person.”

This personal touch extends to runway attendees with Gogos personally inviting each guest to maintain and build out the Iordanes Spyridian Gogos community.

“I don’t invite any influencers just because I have nothing to influence – I don’t need to sell hundreds of thousands of units,” explained Gogos.

“I do think that when you’re selling a premium product or art piece that has so much sentiment to it, it actually requires a personal relationship.”

Gogos knows his clients, buyers, collaborators, supporters and audience – Iordanes Spyridian Gogos is “for the imaginative”.

Gogos doesn’t need his runways to be serious because his art-fashion is serious business.

“It would almost be criminal to keep that stuff away from everyone, it’s just too wacky. I can’t keep it to myself, It has to be shared,” he concluded.

The post Why Jordan Gogos is the Australian fashion industry’s Trojan horse appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.