Julia Morris swaps the jungle for the catwalk

Julia Morris will strut her stuff on the catwalk in designer friend Kristian Williams’ first solo Brisbane Fashion Festival parade at Brisbane City Hall.

Julia Morris didn’t have to be asked twice – or even once – to model in her designer friend Kristian Williams’ first solo Brisbane Fashion Festival parade.

“I forced myself upon him,” laughs Ms Morris, co-host of reality TV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

“When I saw that Kristian was in the festival I called and said, ‘Listen, love, I’ll come up and walk for you, or I can just sit in the front row, or the back row, I will sit anywhere.”

Melbourne-based Ms Morris, 56, jetted into Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the 7pm sold-out parade in which she’ll wear a colourful creation from the Resort ’24 collection of Kristian Williams The Brand.

Kristian Williams and Julia Morris pictured at the W Hotel. Pic: Josh Woning.

Julia Morris.

She’s been a fan of the designer since 2018.

“The love affair started in the jungle,” comedian Ms Morris says.

“We were filming I’m A Celebrity in Kruger National Park (South Africa) and I had a lot of structured clothing, but when the heat is so extreme you don’t want your clothes sticking to you yet you do want to look glam.

“We needed a series of gowns and we needed them now, and it remains a mystery how Kristian got them to me over there, but let’s just say, it’s been a marriage made in heaven.”

Mr Williams, 38, says he is “ridiculously excited” to have Julia’s support.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to represent a brand like mine; she’s happy, positive and just salt of the earth,” he says.

Sarah Harris, Kristian Williams and Julia Morris. Pic: Josh Woning.

“We met for breakfast at Hellenika (in James Street) in 2019 and clicked instantly.”

Mr Williams, who began designing kaftans on his kitchen table in 2015, says his latest collection, Palm Royale, has been inspired by the patterns and colour palates of the ’60s and ’70s, with “sequins all round, of course”.

Also here for the festival is fellow Channel 10 personality Sarah Harris, who will MC the Tuesday parade.

“You just smell the air and it feels like home,” says Ms Harris, who was raised in Brisbane.

Brisbane Fashion Festival runs until Friday at Brisbane City Hall.

https://brisbanefashionfestival.com/