Celeste Barber draws on Tom Ford for catwalk debut

“It’s very fancy,” Celeste Barber says of her new experience as a fashion icon, hair and make-up artists at the ready.

Celeste Barber wears a Rebecca Vallance dress ahead of her catwalk appearance at the Melbourne Fashion Festival. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

“It’s very fancy,” Celeste Barber says of her new experience as a fashion icon, hair and make-up artists at the ready.

When the comedian, actor and social media sensation hits the catwalk for the first time in Melbourne on Thursday night, she will draw on the advice of one of fashion’s best: American designer Tom Ford.

“When we worked together, he was all about me being me — that’s why I’m so obsessed with him,” says Barber of their comic collaborations on social media. “So that’s exactly what I’m going to do here.”

Ford is one of 6.9 million fans of Barber’s Instagram parodies of celebrities and the fashion industry.

Barber is the special guest of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival and will also speak at its Australian Fashion Summit on Friday.

On the subject of inclusivity and diversity, and the double standards that exist for women in fashion, she highlights the differences in how so-called plus-size models such as Ashley Graham and the more traditional models such as sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid are treated.

“The majority of runway models and women we see in magazines still look a certain way, and it’s those of us that don’t that always get asked about it. I always get asked about body positivity or inclusivity. I know Ashley Graham does.

“But I’ve never heard the Hadids sit down and talk about it — never. They get asked about their career, but they never get asked about how they look, because (that look) is what is expected.”

Barber was hailed as a national hero during the summer bushfires when she helped raise $51.3m for the NSW Rural Fire Service.

“It’s been absolutely incredible. People are so kind to me personally, but I keep saying, power to the people, look what you can do when you all band together.”

The money is being held by the trustee for the NSW RFS & Brigades Donations Fund, and Barber and the RFS are seeking legal advice on how to share it with other charities.

Glynis Traill-Nash travelled to Melbourne as a guest of VAMFF