'A generation of young people missed out': An Interview With Double Rainbouu's Mikey Nolan

Back in 2016, two of Insight and Ksubi’s alumni set out to create a new type of beachwear brand. Rather than diving into the world of straw hats and organic cotton drawstring shorts, founders Toby Jones and Mikey Nolan chose to niche in and release one item – Hawaiian shirts. 

Seven years on, Double Rainbouu is the brand dressing Australia’s coolest fashion people and has expanded into outerwear and pants. It’s a sartorial ray of sunshine that drenches its wearers in a kaleidoscope of colour and ‘90s-inspired patterns. 

And, in recent years, it’s dropped the “Men” and “Women” categories from its collections and site. We sat down with Nolan to discuss gender neutral fashion, Sydney’s thriving (former) party scene, and what it was like to grow up queer in Australia.

VICE: Hey, Mikey. So how did you and your co-founder Toby Jones meet?

Mikey: We worked at Insight together in 2002 and then Ksubi from 2006 to 2012.

Why did you choose to co-found Double Rainbouu?

We wanted to do something that played to our strengths in textile, print and marketing design. We wanted something that made sense coming from Australia and was left-field enough to attract attention. So we launched a brand with five Hawaiian shirts in January 2016 and built the brand from there. 

You then went on to win the Australian Fashion Laureate for Best Australian Menswear in 2019. What does the brand mean to you?

It’s funny because the choice of the name Double Rainbouu was something quite spontaneous, we just came up with it looking out the window one day. Early on, I was even a little unsure about it if I’m honest. But I like that our brand name references a natural phenomenon that people love and central to that is this idea of representing a spectrum.

What was it like growing up queer in '80s and '90s Sydney?

I grew up in the Northern Beaches of Sydney and in the ‘80s and ‘90s there wasn’t a lot of queer culture or visibility at all. It scored pretty low on any kind of diversity really. I was 11 in 1989 and socially and culturally I think that was a pretty amazing time to be queer in Sydney, but I was a bit young to experience it. There were something like 40 parties at the Hordern Pavilion that year, most of them queer. 

I had little windows into queer life, like out the car window driving through  Darlinghurst when we drove to the airport or the Eastern Suburbs. Or when queer films came out like Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Head On, which I remember having quite an impact on me. 

At 19 I guess I decided there weren’t enough queers in the Northern Beaches so I moved to “the city” as us beaches kids called it. 

As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, how do you express your identity through your fashion business?

I don’t think I really do in an overt way. The brand isn’t really a vehicle for my own identity expression. In lots of ways I design it for other people. But the whole brand is informed by my worldview as a queer person and that does of course come through in all sorts of ways.

You haven't previously discussed your sexuality in the press until recently, what inspired you to share more?

I prefer coverage for Double Rainbouu to be about our work and the brand. I don’t tend to push my personal profile as the designer so much. So I guess it’s just a result of that.

It’s not a thing I’ve avoided and I don’t think it’s a secret, but our work at gaining acceptance as a community never stops, so it’s important to be talking about it. Also, being the talent on bus stop ads for Johnnie Walker over World Pride representing the G for gay man was a pretty good catalyst.

We’ve heard that you used to throw infamous Sydney parties in the early-to-mid 2000s. Can you share what they were like and how partying has changed in the last twenty years?

I ran parties from about 2002 to 2012. The main ones being ‘Bin Night’ at the Flinders, ‘Bang Gang’ at Moulin Rouge and 77, ‘Penis at the Venus’, at the Venus Room and ‘Gay Bash’ at the Oxford. And a one-off Halloween party called ‘BOO!’ at the Grotto Capri.

It was a different time then. I don’t think it was the height of Sydney nightlife. I think that was the late 1980s but it was pretty free and fun. We had a functioning night time economy and venues even.

All the parties I did were just ideas with friends and you would go to a venue, propose running a night, come up with a name, make a flyer, book DJs, put posters up. Text and email friends and hope people would come! It was creative and fun, you made money, you made grass roots culture and you connected through music and dancing. I think it’s a beautiful thing and a rite of passage for young people. I forged long lasting friendships and if I think about it even industry connections that lasted too. 

The main difference with today is choice and consistency. Back then there were strips you could hit and you knew there would be a party that suited your tastes and there was something for almost everyone. Nowadays things pop up and are a bit sporadic. Sydney’s had a rough time for nightlife and a generation of young people just missed out so we need to work hard at bringing the culture of it back. 

How is Double Rainbouu helping to change the fashion space?

From a queer perspective I think just being a genderless brand. The day we took “MEN” and “WOMEN” off our site was quite liberating and just felt like it made a lot more sense. I think we need to do more. Our brand is more traditional men’s dressing for women than the reverse, but it’s a journey that will evolve.

Double Rainbouu recently partnered with Johnnie Walker during Sydney World Pride. What it was like to be involved in a campaign that was rooted in the local community? 

Johnnie Walker and everyone involved in that campaign did a really amazing job and I tip my hat to them. It really was done with so much thought and true inclusivity. They curated a program of entertainment that was representative of the whole spectrum of our community. I was so proud to see my mural painted on Kinselas.

Taylor Square has been the historic hub of our community and also a nightlife hub that’s given so much to the broader community. It needed a little love and I was honoured and proud to be part of giving it some. 

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