Style as Self Expression with Connor McWhinnie

Interview and words by Chiara Christian Photographs: Connor McWhinnie

Fashion is just one manifestation of the ways in which we exercise self-expression and curate our identities. How we dress influences first impressions and how others perceive us; it’s a form of non-verbal communication, revealing our personality without even having to utter a word.

Our sense of style is never static—it evolves and shape-shifts, alongside our growth as individuals over time. But I think we can all admit there’s just some better fashion phases than others (let’s forget about the Goth phase okay), but it’s all part of the journey.

Style is an art form, in the way colour, textures, and accessories are combined together to create a certain aesthetic. Even if you’re not particularly interested in style, I think we can all appreciate when someone has mastered the art of it. Connor McWhinnie is one of them.

Connor is a graphic designer, content curator, and self-described “pack of skittles” with impeccable style. From the humble early days of being dressed by his mum in Big W footwear, Connor’s interest in fashion began to be piqued in 2015. It started with purchasing a hoodie from the Anti-Social Social Club streetwear brand, which was rather exclusive and hard to come by at the time. Connor explains that he thought he was the coolest kid, but looking back sees it as “actually tragic,” much like the Big W situation (although I’m sure I’ve made much worse fashion choices).

Then began “some absolutely atrocious trial and error experiments” on a journey to discover his own personal fashion flavour. I would never know that now scrolling through his Instagram @connorxel, where he flaunts popping outfits of vibrant colours and contrast, mixed with a generous dollop of 90s street-wear vibes for good measure. Casual, calm and collected, his photos appear like effortless snapshots where he just happens to find himself colour coordinating with the surrounding urban landscape.

But he assures me in no way are these shots spontaneous, but well planned out and articulated in advance. Besides taking the picture itself, which he claims has become easier since figuring out what he likes in each shot (angles are incredibly important), a lot of effort goes into each Instagram post.

Self-taught illustrator and graphic designer, Connor focuses on digital portraits of singers, actors, influencers, and cartoon characters.

His Instagram shots are usually taken by friends or his mum, who knows his angles well. He avoids self-timer as much as possible, except for one time in the backstreets of Surry Hills (Sydney) where he promises me “never again.”

“When I was first wearing my outfits I was so scared. I was terrified of what people would say and how people would perceive it and what they would think of me when I was walking down the street.”

“There’s a lot that goes into editing it, and making sure it looks pleasing to the eye. I’m probably making it a lot more scientific than what it is. But there’s a lot of editing and angles, where it sits on your feed, and how you market yourself. So it’s not just take a photo, upload it. There’s editing, there’s angles and making sure it fits the feed. If it doesn’t fit the feed you save it for another time. There’s just so many different elements to it.”

Spending a lot of time getting the perfect shot is just a reality when you’re an Instagram content creator. I’m personally so bad at taking pictures of myself that when I come back from traveling overseas, there’s little evidence I ever left. Perhaps it’s the resistance (and lets be real, embarrassment) of breaking the experience of ‘being-in-the-moment’, by asking someone to take a picture of you. Perhaps surprisingly, that is actually a universal feeling, even for people who create Instagram content as their job. “I find it so awkward and in a way narcissistic, I really hate it,” Connor says. “I just feel so bad asking people to take a photo because I know how fussy I am. To me it’s a big deal, but to them most of the time they’re like. ‘yeah that’s fine’.” It’s paid off—after beginning to post pictures of his outfits around 2017, his account has gained traction, enough to score collaborations with brands such as Puma and Happy Socks.

When I ask him about his stylistic inspirations, I’m fascinated to learn that musicians inform his aesthetic more than visual icons. It depends on what he’s listening to at the moment, but generally it includes a lot of artists from the 90s and early 2000s. On his wall, he’s got framed posters of Lil Kim and Britney Spears—we bond over our shared love for Oops I Did it Again, the first song I learnt off by heart at age five, and his current favourite power-song to run to on the last leg home. He’s also obsessed over Princess Nokia and Marina and the Diamonds, the latter from his year seven teen angst years (mine was Green Day).

The secret sauce to pulling off any outfit is confidence. If you saw a model strutting down the catwalk in a trash bag with absolute confidence without batting an eye, you probably wouldn’t question it. When we wear something that’s a bit out of character for us, more extravagant than usual lets say, naturally we might feel more shy and insecure. But the good news is it just takes practice and confidence will develop over time.

“When I was first wearing my outfits I was so scared. I was terrified of what people would say and how people would perceive it and what they would think of me when I was walking down the street.”

As an extension of self, fashion allows us to assert our identity in the world and embrace all of who we are. Playing with what we like in style is fun; we don’t have to take it so seriously or even spend a lot of money doing it (Connor opts for thrift stores). It really just goes back to what you feel good in, what makes you feel like yourself. Inevitably, that confidence and comfortability will always shine through.

“I’ve just been very comfortable in who I am, what I wear. Even if people don’t like it or I get some nasty comments online, it doesn’t worry me in the slightest because I’m very comfortable with who I am.”

I think that’s what we can all strive for. We have to be the one to give ourselves the permission slip to wear what we like and own it. Because at the end of the day, the only opinion we need to be concerned about is our own.■