In the lead-up to his AFW 2025 show The Needle, designer Alix Higgins invited us behind the scenes as he cast his runway — a process as intimate and expressive as the garments themselves. Known for fusing poetry, subculture and body-conscious silhouettes, Higgins brings a visceral, digital-age romanticism to the Australian fashion landscape.

A 2024 graduate of the prestigious Institut Français de la Mode and former print designer for Marine Serre, Higgins has quickly carved out a space for himself with collections that read like personal essays — coded in text, colour and skin. As one of RUSSH’s 20 Creative Minds shaping the next generation of art and style, his vision is unmistakably his own: subversive, emotional, and always reaching for connection. In this exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs and Q&A, we speak to Higgins about casting, character, and how The Needle threads a deeper story.

Your Resort 2026 collection is titled The Needle. What is that in reference to?

The Needle started as a lot of different things – often, when I am writing, I am excited by things that have multiple meanings. I was thinking about the true aim of fashion, for me it is to push culture forward – to move the needle. So there is that. Plus, the second aim for me in fashion is to find something unattainable – a sort of needle in the haystack. And finally, this collection is about handcraft, and the needle is the first tool in my profession really – something I used a lot to sew pieces by hand, to embroider vintage bells onto upcycled polos, to shape this collection.

How does the ethos/direction behind this collection differ from your show at AFW24?

Last season was so romantic, and maybe a bit self-serious. I don’t spend much time looking back, only forward to what else I want to express, to what is right for right now. This collection’s direction was about celebrating childish ideas, being playful – and expressing freedom as the ultimate luxury. I wanted to work in ways that are challenging for me; historical references, handcraft, muddy colour.

Do you have a favourite piece or slogan from this collection?

The 'holy fool’ tee is something that brings me a lot of joy. It’s worn by my friend Joan Banoit in the show (he is also responsible for the soundtrack). Fashion, and working in this way, sometimes to me feels so vulnerable – like you keep throwing yourself against this wall and hoping to reach someone, to communicate your emotions. And the belief that you will get there, get through – this kind of dumb faith. I feel like this holy fool sometimes.

You’ve worked with Pandora to curate your own charm edit to go alongside your collection this year? Can you tell us about some of your selects and why they are meaningful to you?

I wanted to work with Pandora to enhance the storytelling in this collection – the charm edit is about personalising the wardrobe of this folk muse. They are things she might have collected, heirlooms, magical signs and symbols; self-mythologising through this repetition. The Green Mini Murano Glass Charm, the turquoise, coral-like pieces, the red leather bracelets. It’s mean to represent a certain freedom and playful spirit. Mixed metals and clashing charms.

Who/what are your creative muses right now?

Florence Welch.

What did you select for the show’s soundtrack this year and why?

The soundtrack is by Joan Banoit, a collection of songs called Rush That Speaks. I wrote a poem that we then had a bunch of friends record, and Joan layered this with strings and other instrumentation into this really beautiful, moving, folk soundscape.