Mr Robert Buckingham

1. Who are you and what do you do?

Robert Buckingham. I run a small creative direction agency called Mr Buckingham, and I am the Australian associate of UK-based trend forecasters, The Future Laboratory.

2. What has been your greatest challenge?

Establishing the Fashion Design Council in the 1980s and the Melbourne Fashion Festival in the 1990s. The FDC was a force of nature because of the people and the times, whereas the MFF was much more structured and considered. I had six months to develop the creative and program mix with the new MFF board, State Government, industry and cultural players. Keeping things fresh and relevant every year is always a challenge.

3. Tell us about a memorable moment.

My favourite fashion event was probably The FDC’s ‘FASHION ’87: Revolt into Style’ show at the faded Palais Theatre in St Kilda. It ran for three nights and I was backstage with the mess of 140 non-professional models, too many make-up artists and hairdressers, and 30 or so designers. One designer required the model to be laced up so tight she had to be out of the corset 45 seconds after coming offstage or she’d certainly die!

I also loved watching legendary model Veruschka being made up by the famous ’80s make-up artist, Richard Sierra, as he used surgical tape and string to pull Veruschka’s face miraculously back to its 1960s perfection.

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