"It’s All About Expressing Your Individuality."

Beatrice “Bertie” Blackman is no obvious fashionista, but she allowed Melbourne fashion house Chorus – established by Cassandra Wheat and Louise Pannell – to use her music as the basis for their latest line, showcased in the short film Strangers In A Moment. It’ll now premiere in tandem with the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival alongside “a live semi-fashion show”.

“We always work collaboratively on the creative part of each collection – so we like to work with somebody in some way giving us stimulus or responding to something,” explains Wheat, Chorus’ primary designer. “We often refer to it as a ‘conversation’ instead of a ‘collaboration’... We think ‘collaboration’ gets thrown about so much nowadays.”

Chorus has ‘conversed’ with the likes of “body architect” Lucy McRae or photographer/filmmaker Rafaela Pandolfini. “I just really like the energy of working with other creative ladies,” Wheat says. Importantly, Chorus’ exchanges happen “naturally”. “It’s about avoiding that, ‘Oh, what theme are we gonna do this season?’ kinda mentality and thinking about: how do other people work in different creative disciplines – and how can that interact with fashion?”

Wheat and Pannell bonded in high school as textiles students. The former pursued conceptual fashion at RMIT. She then completed a Masters in Milan – and laboured on accessories for her “heroes”, couture fantasists Viktor & Rolf, in Amsterdam. Pannell gigged as a visual merchandiser in London. Reuniting in Melbourne, the pair launched the ultra-DIY Chorus in 2012.

Chorus connected with Blackman through a mutual friend, Vice producer Ramona Telecican. Blackman was due to unveil her new record The Dash. “We just started listening to that and talking to her about the creative ideas that inspired the album and channelling those into a clothing outcome.” Strangers In A Moment features models wearing the collection, but it’s neither a superfluous promo nor de facto music video clip.

Wheat found Blackman encouraging of Chorus’ interpretative design. And she relates to Blackman’s mystique – she’s an artist, not a celebrity. “We’re fashion designers, but we’ve never considered ourselves to be really scene-y.”

As for Blackman herself? She stresses her admiration of Chorus as creatives – and “unusual” ones, at that. “I don’t really feel like they’re ‘fashionistas’, either!” Blackman observes. The muso maintains that she has “always had a pretty keen interest in fashion” – but isn’t defined by it. “I just never like to be a clothes horse for fashion stuff, ‘cause I think, being an artist, it’s all about expressing your individuality.”

Blackman admits that she was initially “a little bit nervous” about viewing Chorus’ apparel – but is rapt with the results. “I love it! I think it’s so beautiful. It’s a really amazing collection.”