effie isobel Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve
Adelaide dream-pop artist effie isobel released her debut EP Libra Rising on September 4, and if the title didn’t already give it away, astrology runs through almost everything she makes. Across five tracks, the EP traces transformation, empowerment and identity through what effie describes as a whimsical, magical lens. "I feel like that speaks to the fact that I am a Libra rising," they say. "That's just very typical of that placement. Rose-coloured glasses and everything."
The influence of astrology isn’t new. Effie grew up hearing about it from her mum, and it has shaped the way they think about style as much as songwriting. There’s something appealing about the idea that a person’s rising sign can point to an innate, almost pre-personal sense of style, distinct from the clothes we consciously choose and the identities we construct through them.
For effie, that relationship with style began in their grandmother’s sewing room. Her grandmother was a seamstress, and as a child, effie would spend hours there, picking up dropped pins with a magnet as the sewing machine whirred in the background. Alongside her grandmother’s love of thrifting, it’s easy to trace a line from those afternoons to the illustrated, self-designed merch effie creates today. Once she’s happy with the artwork, it’s sent to local printer Pretty Nice Printing. "I didn't want to make anything I wouldn't personally wear," she says.
The EP’s visual world is just as considered as its sound. Its cover art leans into Cupid and angel-wing imagery, a nod to Libra’s ruling planet, Venus, and its association with love. The palette of dreamy pastels and silver accents was pulled directly from effie’s own wardrobe. “I knew I wanted it to feel authentic,” she says.
That visual language extends to the stage. Ahead of tours, effie creates style guides for fans to draw inspiration from, though she’s quick to stress that they are simply inspiration rather than instruction.
“The biggest, most important thing is that people are expressing themselves in the way that feels true to them.”
Her own wardrobe staples include a tutu, chosen for the way it moves and bounces on stage, and a corset, both for its shape and the breath support it provides while performing. Sequins, lace, buttons and frills complete what she describes as a maximalist approach to dressing.
It’s a hands-on process, and effie wouldn’t have it any other way. "I saw a TikTok of Peach PRC saying her label wouldn't help pay for her tour costumes, so she was making them herself," they say. "I related to that so much. This is important enough that I'll make it myself if I have to."
Effie traces her relationship with fashion through a series of distinct eras: thrifted and handmade pieces as a kid, an emo phase as a teenager marked by dark colours and dyed hair, and her current fantasy-leaning aesthetic, shaped in part by childhood afternoons spent watching The Lord of the Rings with her mum. "Fashion is such an indicator of where you are in your life," she says. "People say it's not that deep, but it is. It's a representation of your inner world."
Her queerness runs through that same thread. Effie writes candidly about being in her first committed queer relationship after years of what she describes as compulsory heterosexuality, and she sees her femme presentation as part of that story rather than something at odds with it.
"Fashion has always been a pillar of queerness. When people have had to hide parts of themselves, they come up with codes to signal that to the public without it being obvious, to stay safe and still fall in love. People sometimes ask if dressing femme means I'm playing into the male gaze, and I'm like, no, not at all. Hyperfemininity has always been a staple in sapphic fashion."
Across the EP, effie can hear her own growth as a songwriter, from the dreamier, rockier sound of early single “Moonmade” to the synth-pop leanings of “Honey Drunk”, the EP’s focus track. They’re still figuring out how electronic their next material will get, but for now, she’s leaning into experimentation.
If there’s one thing she hopes listeners take away from Libra Rising, it’s permission to have fun. “The world is a grim place right now, and it's easy to feel like joy isn't serious enough to matter," they say. "But… celebrating art and your own creativity is genuinely important right now."
Asked to sum up her style - both fashion and music - in three words, effie doesn’t hesitate: whimsical, dreamy, pink.
