Kylie Minogue is a woman who needs no introduction. She’s dominated the world of acting, music, fashion and pop culture for over three decades, and now she’s added designer to her resume with the release of her second collection for Specsavers.
Ahead of the Australian-born beauty’s 50th birthday – and in the aftermath of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia – we sat down to chat all things style.
With the release of your new album and now your new collection with Specsavers, is it safe to say that this has been a pretty busy year?
I could really do with a spa day, let’s put it that way! It has been amazing. Last year was making the album, and it sometimes feels like life didn’t happen before it. It has been so overwhelming and a moment in time, now that I’m in my ’50s.
It shot to number one in Australia straight away too.
How incredible is that? Above and beyond, it has been so fantastic!
With both those releases and everything else you’ve accomplished in your career, what inspires you to keep creating?
Curiosity! For everything. There is always a new song to sing, a new record to make, and a new project to be involved with.
It’s your birthday in a couple weeks, happy birthday! What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?
What wouldn’t I give her! I know she wouldn’t listen because I know that no matter what advice we get, we also need to learn; We need experience. But the penny has finally dropped for me in a couple of very big ways. The relief of realising that now that I get it. Why did it take me so long?! But here I am… I would tell her to keep a diary!
And given that it’s just been Australian fashion week, it’s only fitting to ask your favourite Australian labels?
I heard that Alice McCall did a lovely show! I have been wearing a tonne of her dresses and patchwork jeans. I also wore them for a couple of performances. She is nailing it right now!
What’s your personal style motto?
The simpler, the better.
What’s your fashion uniform?
It depends what it’s for. It’s incredible how a piece can shine on stage when beforehand you’d look in the mirror and think “OMG, it’s too much!”
If I’m going on a date, I will try and wear a mid-length slip dress and sharpen it with a jacket, something easy. I also love satin lace-up ankle boots with the toes out. But throughout the day, I’m so lazy! I’ll still wear jeans, trainers and a singlet or denim shirt with either a hat or a topknot.
You’ve always been very into fashion, how did it feel being on the other side of it all and actually designing?
I wear glasses every day and first started wearing them when I was in my early twenties. I’d been experiencing headaches and had difficulty maintaining focus when reading, so I had my eyes tested and I’ve been a specs wearer ever since. In that sense, it was an easy story to tell.
Specsavers have made it so easy and fun for me. From the design perspective, it has been such an easy process because they know what they are doing and considered enough, but also open to fashion elements. It has been a learning curve for me where they aren’t just high street glasses that you can just knock out, they need a longer lead time as they are medical grade instruments. It is how people see and get about!
What is your favourite frame from the collection?
The pair I have been wearing lately are the rose gold pair called Never Too Late with a marble effect on the side. The idea came when I was in Australia last year and saw a journalist who was wearing glasses in that style. We didn’t have a double bridge frame in the range just yet and I wanted to design them myself. That’s one way of illustrating how it’s a real collaboration and they really take into consideration what I like. There is also one called ‘Chocolate’ which is a tortoiseshell, slightly cat-eye frame. That’s an easy go-to for me.
Kylie Minogue’s latest collection for Specsavers includes three different design themes – Modern Bling, Subtle Classics and Reinvented Vintage – and two exclusive fashion tints. The nine frames are priced from $199 for two pairs.
See the full Kylie Minogue Eyewear range here.
