‘Art first and fashion later … or both together.’

Clytie Jessop’s documentary Flamingo Park spotlights two of Australia’s foremost fashion designers, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson. From 1973 until 1992, the two ran the Flamingo Park Frock Salon in the Strand Arcade, which proved to be one of the hottest boutiques in Sydney. A host of international style icons were enticed into its vivid world, including David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Sophia Loren, Lauren Bacall, Rudolf Nureyev and members of Monty Python.

These closing scenes capture Kee and Jackson’s expressive, avant-garde style – and the mutual admiration that was key to their long-running success. An explosion of colour and unconventional patterning lies behind the salon’s doors, where the women discuss a pinwheel of influences, from Matisse to Sonia Delaunay to Australian painter Michael Ramsden. But what sets the work apart is Kee and Jackson’s unique remixing of Australian iconography, where garment inspiration is drawn from the vibrancy of the bush, coral reefs and diverse wildlife.

Matching their irrepressible creativity, Jessop intercuts the credits with one of their high-energy fashion shows. Dame Edna’s bouncy disco cover of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ plays over a showcase of maximalist designs. The dancing models reflect the label’s spirit: loud, joyful and shamelessly pop.

Kee is famed for her colourful hand-knitted garments, including the iconic koala jumper worn by Princess Diana, while Jackson is celebrated for her work with chiffons, cotton and appliqué designs. The Flamingo Park documentary was funded by the Australian Film Commission’s Women's Film Fund and screened in UK and Australian cinemas before Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980).