Fashion designer Vicky Kidd-Gallichan, 46 years old, English accent, and flaming pink hair, launched Rockstars and Royalty in 2007 after moving to Canberra for love.

“When I met my husband, an Aussie, I packed up my shop and moved over.” Her main focus for the new brand was, fittingly, alternative wedding gowns for unusual brides.

“I researched the Canberra bridal market, and there was no one really doing unusual wedding dresses at the time. Even the bespoke dresses were all very traditional.

“I had a few people say to me ‘Oh, Canberra is very traditional, it’s all public servants. They won’t want anything different.’

“Then I did my first wedding fair here, and I was booked up. People were like ‘oh, finally’. They wanted something that they couldn’t buy in a store, and that’s still really true now.

“I think the fact that we are ‘that public service town’ works in our favour, because people are willing to spend money on good quality and spend money on Australian-made as well.”

Since then, business at Rockstars and Royalty has skyrocketed, with Vicky already booked out for 2022.

Word of mouth passes through two main communities – alternative brides, and the rockstars of burlesque.

Vicky, who specialises in corsetry, has recently received a flood of bookings for corset designs, ever since forming a professional match made in heaven with one of Canberra’s top burlesque performers, Jazida.

“Since I’ve started costuming her, I’ve had requests from all over the country, and internationally for costumes,” said Vicky.

“I’m absolutely loving it, it’s so me. I love sparkles, feathers and flamboyance.”

Vicky herself is a one-woman show, designing, creating, and running the business from home. A bespoke piece can take her anywhere from 20 to 100 hours to create.

“It’s all me, and I like it that way,” she laughed.

A lesser-known level of her business is her upcycling service. Clients can bring a garment they’re attached to, and Vicky applies her 15 years of experience to completely make it over.

“I get clients bringing their wedding dresses back to me after the wedding, and we’ll make it shorter, change it up, so they can wear it again.

“Especially since these aren’t super traditional brides, we often design the dress with wearing it again in mind.

“I just finished a dress for a client who got married last weekend; We used her mum’s wedding dress as part of her wedding dress, and her mum’s dress had been made from her nan’s dress!

“So, she ended up with a completely unique, cotemporary dress, but the skirt and the train were from her mum, and the underpinning was from her nan.”

Both professionally and personally, Vicky believes in genderless, ageless, and body-inclusive fashion.

“Everyone deserves to wear the clothes that make them feel good, rather than the clothes we’re told are attractive.”

“Through my 40s I’ve become even brighter, and more me.”

“That’s something that I really love about the burlesque industry, it’s inclusive. You see performers of different sizes, shapes, genders, getting on stage and expressing themselves. I love, love being a part of that.”

Like every niche business, Vicky was hit hard by lockdowns. “I had so many orders cancelled or postponed, money was such a worry.

“At one point I was applying for public service jobs, thinking that this was going to be it.”

She pivoted to selling her supplies online, as commenters from her YouTube tutorial videos suggested.

Meanwhile, the burlesque scene was also suffering. As performers weren’t getting paid, they couldn’t afford new costumes.

“I started teaching burlesque performers how to make their own costumes through Jazida’s studio, Flazéda. I’ve become a bit of a supplier of rhinestones, and knowledge,” said Vicky. 

Vicky said she’s deeply grateful for her returning clientele, the burlesque, and the brides. “Rockstars, and royalty, we definitely grew into the name,” she smiled.

Her advice for up-and-coming creatives trying to find their niche is not to undersell themselves.

“Know your value, know your worth. People will go ‘ugh, I’m not paying that’, and tell you they can buy your stuff at Kmart for $4,” she laughed. “Just go ‘yeah, whatever. You’re not my customer.’ There are people who will value what you do and be willing to pay for it.

“That’s the only way you can have a sustainable business in the creative industry. There’s a time and place for collaboration if everyone is going to benefit from it. But other than that, charge accordingly.

“And you’ve got to do what you love. Don’t try to fill a niche that you’ve seen. Because if you’re not passionate about it, you’re going to resent it.

“Find your style and your niche will find you. Your market will find you.”

As for the future of Rockstars and Royalty, Vicky described it with two words and a grin. “Really sparkly!”

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