Angelica Hicks Brings Whimsy To Fashion To Make It “Accessible”

If you’ve strayed anywhere near #FashionTok, you’ve likely seen Angelica Hicks’ “kitchen couture” videos — or at least, her take on Taylor Swift’s 2024 Grammy dress, her most viral one with 44.6 million views.

The British illustrator and content creator replicates celebrities’ high-fashion looks by using everyday household items. Think: aluminum foil candy wrappers tacked onto her earlobes as earrings, or mosquito nets doubling as mesh gowns. So imagine the whimsy she can cook up when armed with an actual design team from a fashion label. Whatever it is you’ve pictured, take it up 10 more notches.

On Sept. 4, Hicks launched a collaboration with AQUA, a Bloomingdale’s label, for a limited-edition collection that brought her cheeky and punny sensibilities to life. A “cocktail dress,” for example, features beaded olive skewers, evoking your favorite martini. A “pencil skirt” has been imagined with an “eraser” for the hem. And a “spaghetti strap dress” is made with pasta-inspired straps, replete with crochet tomatoes.

“It was fun to bridge the divide between [my illustrations and my videos],” Hicks tells Bustle. Recalling the process, she adds, “I’m not a formally trained designer, but we had fun discussions on the specific shade of the pasta. I was quite vehemently like, ‘This is the color of pasta.’” Her favorite part, however, was witnessing real-time reactions of people getting her humor.

“I went to Bloomingdale’s and saw it in store for the first time,” she says. “There were two teenage cousins who were shopping, and they took [the spaghetti dress] aside. Just watching them get it from afar, watching them stand there and be like, ‘Oh.’”

Below, Hicks chats about bringing the collection to life, her advice for artists who want to be content creators, and what ingredient deserves the TikTok limelight.

Congratulations on the collection! How did it come about?

After I’d gone to a dinner for Flamingo Estates in Bloomingdale’s, I got an email saying, “We’d love to talk to you about our art campaign.” I thought they wanted some illustrations for social media.

When they said, “We have our in-house brand AQUA and we’d love to bring your artwork to life through this collaboration,” I was like, “Wow, this is the best outcome ever.” To partner with Bloomingdale’s in any capacity, obviously, was exciting, especially given that it was bigger than I had anticipated.

What designs were you most excited to see come to life?

What’s fun is that the collection is a combination of pre-existing illustrations and coming up with newer ones. I had drawn a version of the spaghetti strap dress in 2016. And then there were those based around an illustration that becomes an idea, like “the leopard can’t change its spots” that is on the cashmere cardigan.

I’d had a drawing of a shrimp cocktail dress, but it was too much. So I thought, “What about doing the repeat pattern of the olives?” Because then it’s like a cocktail dress, but not so obvious. I wanted one that was less on the nose.

Were there food products or materials you used in your DIY videos you were particularly excited about incorporating?

I thought it was only going to be clothing, but Bloomingdale’s was like, “Oh, we can have jewelry as well, like the way in which you do jewelry in your videos.” And then it was like, “Oh my God, yes, chocolate wrapper. But let’s use gold, like a Twix wrapper, not the aluminum foil.” Those came out so well, especially my favorite of that is the necklace.

Speaking of food, TikTok has so many food-inspired “cores.” Do you think there’s an underrated dish or ingredient that deserves its own TikTok moment?

I made myself lunch, and I was thinking, “Is tahini still around? Do people still like it?” Tahini had a huge moment, and I was doing a kale [salad], and I was like, “Wow, I wish I had some to do that tahini dressing thing.” So maybe Tahinicore.

Why is it important to you to bring whimsy to fashion?

Because it makes it more accessible.

Many creatives feel intimidated getting into content creation, worrying it would detract from their branding or their art. How did you feel about social media going in?

I graduated from university 11 years ago. And in my last year of university, I was studying history of art, and I started doing illustrations for fun to motivate me to spend more time in the library. But I always thought social media was a cool way to share work because anyone could see it. I could be spending hours in the library, but my work could travel further because of social media. That’s how I moved to New York, how I got a visa. Social media.

I started doing it in 2021. It would’ve been smart to start at the beginning of 2020. I could have done so many videos during COVID.

Do you have any advice for creatives who want to get into that?

Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t be fearful of getting no likes. Who’s laughing at you? Someone who’s probably wanting to do the same thing. The worst thing you can do is be scared. Who cares if people don't like it? Who cares? Share more. Share, share, share.

Yeah, I hear a lot about people wanting to put themselves out there but are afraid followers will get the “ick.”

That’s the worst. Maybe don’t share 20 selfies a day with nothing else. Or do. Do whatever makes you happy. Just don’t be scared of what other people will think.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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