Chilli’s moment to recharge: How Bluey’s mum has gone high fashion

We have seen transgender, plus-size and racially diverse models expand our understanding of beauty in magazines but Bluey star Chilli Heeler’s appearance on the cover of In Style Australia’s latest issue brings us four steps closer to animal inclusivity.

A glossy coat, over-sized eyes and shiny nose are officially in fashion, with the star of the animated ABC hit adopting the famous pose from Max Dupain’s 1937 photograph Sunbaker on the cover of the digital edition, although she could be playing dead.

“Can we only use animated characters in the future?” Cullen says. “This was the easiest cover I have ever produced.”

In her book Semi-Gloss, Cullen writes about working on a cover shoot at another magazine and watching Glee actor Lea Michele kick a shoe at the fashion director, making her cry. The In Style image was easier to create because there was no kicking, no photo shoot and no fashion.

“Ludo Studio, the creators of Bluey are very protective of their characters, so we weren’t able to add fashion to Chilli. I would like to imagine that she goes off to her job in airport security wearing a dress from Toni Maticevski.”

Other cartoon covers have crossed over onto the catwalk with controversial French luxury label Balenciaga collaborating on a special episode of The Simpsons for their spring 2022 collection and Vice magazine publishing a photo shoot with models transformed into Bratz dolls in 2019.

“Every idea we had involved Chilli breaking the fourth wall and that doesn’t happen with Bluey,” Cullen says. “This pose felt right. There’s even a moment in an episode of the series where the creators reference Dupain’s photograph.”

Inside the In Style issue Chilli crawls closer to high fashion in an image recreating the 1986 US Elle magazine cover featuring Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson, with yellow zinc sunscreen and swimming goggles. The designer yellow swimsuit is daringly absent.