ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
The brilliant mind behind former cross-format cricketing great David Warner’s outfits at the Adelaide Test has been lauded by industry contemporaries today after another match of stunning and bold choices.
Speaking to The Advocate today from his home in Melbourne’s upmarket Northcote district, stylist Adam Hurley said positive feedback and congratulations from people in his world make the tougher times much easier.
Adam was born legally blind and uses a cane to interact with the world. Though his blindness is only around 90 per cent, the 34-year-old force of nature says it hasn’t held him back from landing big clients, from Foxtel to the Sydney Theatre Company.
“It’s a great honour,” said Hurley.
“But it wasn’t all me. I’m very thankful to David for trusting me and the process. I think we made some incredible choices and certainly got people talking. Fashion has a bright future in the game of cricket.”
Hurley’s decision to put Warner in an oversized kaftan, made by popular muumuu maker Camilla, on day one was seen as controversial at the time. Warner received a lot of criticism from the hordes of toothless South Australians screaming at him from the stands, but being one of the greatest Test openers to ever walk the Earth, he knew a thing or two about unfounded criticism.
On day two, Hurley said he visited a local cemetery in Adelaide and had a few blokes off Airtasker pose as council workers to dig up a recently deceased Glenelg barrister for the purposes of stealing the clothes.
“I want to push the boundaries,” Hurley added.
“So we dug up this old silk, took all his clothes off, then threw the nude body back in the hole, on top of the coffin, and filled him in. David wore the suit that day.”
The outfit Hurley is referring to was the brown suit worn with a magenta and white striped shirt. It’s understood that the dead man’s shoes were too small, so Hurley cut the toes out and Warner simply spent the day “hanging ten” in a pair of nice oxford shoes. The tie was from the dead man’s beloved Pembroke School, a mid-tier private school in Adelaide’s working-class Kensington Park area.
On the last day of the Test, Warner was spotted in a double-breasted suit that Hurley sourced from Madame Tussauds in Sydney. It was worn by the wax figure of the now-defunct Prince Charles of Wales. His Majesty The King’s wax figure was updated in line with his ascension to the throne.
“That was a bit of a gamble with it being in Adelaide on time for the match,” he said.
“But I think it made Dave look very dapper. He was a bit unsure about it, but in the end, we both agreed he looked great.”
The Advocate reached out to Mr Warner’s manager for comment but has yet to receive a reply.
More to come.
