Meet The Lizard Queen: Fashion Photographer and Designer

Meet The Lizard Queen: Fashion Photographer and Designer

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Lubricious, yet feathered – stemming from an obvious love of reptiles (and this iconic scene), The Lizard Queen is no more than a persona when introduced to the warm and vivacious creative threat that is Nancy McNulty; who we recently had the pleasure of chatting with.

Nancy McNulty is the (literal) wearer of many feathered hats; Model, photographer, creative director, stylist, and occasionally retired musician. Originally a music student, it was in her second year at BIMM that the native Brightonian took a leap of faith when she dropped out to pursue a degree in Fashion Styling and Production at the London College of Fashion (LCF).

Raised in Brighton, the gel-spiked creature we meet today spent her childhood between the hilly coastal town and the Himalayan climate that is Lough Eske; a small rural area in Donegal, Northwest Ireland, where she found a true love for delicate intricacies in her own personal Eden.

Where the name comes from

The Lizard Queen is a mother of reptiles, and an aphrodite to her self-launched fashion brand; Cold Blooded Kingdom. Her fascination with detail and texture led to her scanning her pet snake, Mani, during her second year at LCF with the help of her friend Rosie Williams, founder of brand NiiHAi. As a result, she went on to launch and produce their first collaboration collection CBNH. Since then, CBK has continued to flourish and The Lizard Queen has gained fame through her work as both a model and photographer, but most noticeably for her feathered hats: the likes of which have been styled in British Vogue.

Leading a life through a wide angle lens, we either see Nancy McNulty in front or behind a camera. As a true Gemini, she leads two very separate lives. The first, dubbed as “The Success Twin” by fraternal twin brother, and daughter to a nuclear family, and the other as The Lizard Queen, a green feathered icon in the making.

Where do you find inspiration? And do you look for different inspiration for shoots designing for CBK?

It’s such a classic answer, but I find it from the everyday. The things I choose to watch; anime, art films, cartoons – but mainly from going outside. I find a lot of inspiration from rural landscapes; they are something I’ve always been attracted to. From going to Donegal, I found a love for old folklore and mythological things. I would look in the mythology books, they were old washed out imagery which had a certain mysticism; something I was able to incorporate into my work through experimentation.

Rafael Pavarotti / British Vogue

I think my brand of work is a lot more inspired by drag and campness. I want to make things that extravagant musicians and performers would wear. With my photography, I want my images to convey a sense of serenity and sensuality, whereas I want my designs to be visceral and dramatic. My design work is still inspired by parts of the natural world but reimagined, like with the hats, they remind people of birds and flamingos, and the gloves are scanned reptiles. The public wouldn’t call any of it commercial, it’s for the underground.

“I think I get my creativity from my dad, he’s very creative but he’s also really good at taking images –that’s how I got into photography, he brought a canon and was like ‘can you take photos of the leaves and the wild life ’ or whatever – he’s actually one of my biggest inspirations in a lot of ways and I don’t think he knows that.”

How do you describe yourself, and how would you want to be seen?

I want to be seen as someone who has fun. I want to spark joy – even if it’s just a little ‘oohoo haha big feather hat’. I don’t take myself that seriously, but I put a lot of time and effort into my images. It’s supposed to be a dream land and an escape, It’s therapeutic. It’s a childlike place where I create these characters, and I just want other people to see that; see this little world and even if it’s as simple as them enjoying the colours, I just want them to smile.

I got out of the car once to deliver the ‘Eden’ hat, and this old man was coming down the road with this big grin and was amazed. He said he was 95 and asked if I had made it, we spoke for ages. That’s not something I would have been able to experience without it. It made his day, it was something different, sweet, and wholesome. The reason I make oversized feather hats is so people can enjoy them.

How did your relationship with work and the creative process change during the pandemic?

I graduated during the first lockdown, and I think it allowed more freedom within my work. It was the first time I had been a creative outside of university, and we all had lots of time, so I started experimenting – there was no pressure about things being graded. I started making collage’s as a therapeutic form. It brought back childhood fun; the one university almost killed off. It was during this time where the aesthetic people now recognised formed, but it was always there. I never knew what I wanted to do because I went to LCF without any background in art or fashion. It only dawned on me during my second year that I had my own creative style.

Suki Dhanda / The Guardian

Could you explain the mental and emotional process of leaving BIMM to go to LCF?

It was a crazy time. Looking back, it was a different lifetime. I had completed a diploma at the BIMM in Brighton, and I loved it, and I loved and still love music, but I knew I wouldn’t have a career as a musician. Music was the only thing I really had – fashion hadn’t been introduced to me as any sort of career, and I didn’t know how many areas there were to go into. I just wanted to move to London, I had been offered an automatic place at the BIMM there, so when I turned 18 I got out to get a fresh start.

My first year at BIMM was miserable; living in London was overwhelming as I came from a small town. I spent it not going in, lying to everyone about how it was going, and spent my time working 2 jobs; one was at the Paul Smith in Soho – which changed the game for me. The people I worked with were in fashion, they had their own brands, and I ended up looking at LCF two days before the deadline.

I just remember telling my parents in Brighton, I dropped out and was going to try and get into LCF. They were like ‘what are you doing!?’, they didn’t understand it and were kind of shocked – as any parent would be, it was a huge risk. You needed experience to get into LCF and an art A-level, both of which I didn’t have. It’s a very scary thing to do. People assumed I wouldn’t get in for realistic reasons, but it was either get in – or move home and get a job. It was all chaotic, but as soon as it clicked it made a lot more sense. It’s not the best sounding thing, I dropped out of college, and then I dropped out of music school to go to fashion school, but I managed to get my degree.

: Nancy McNulty for i-D

How do you find balancing your beliefs whilst working in what has historically been a male and sexist dominated industry?

Fashion, like almost every other field is male dominated. There’s a lot of underlying racism and misogyny/ misogynoir in every field of work. What’s tricky is that there’s this big façade of people being progressive, and that’s not really the case.

I think what you can do is make opportunities for people, and in my case just represent them through imagery. The more you show every type of person, the more it becomes the societal norm to see them. Although it’s a male dominated industry, Female and Non-binary creators are on the rise, and there’s been a few occasions where I’ve been on set where there has been no men and its comforting. Whilst I’m not “anti-man” it’s just something you would not have seen before; it gives me confidence seeing female CEO’s and seeing my close friends being female business owners at 25 and under – I have a lot of hope for the industry balancing out.

What is like shooting for yourself vs for a brand? Do you find yourself making creative sacrifices?

Creative sacrifices are the biggest thing for me. I’ve had a lot of clients who send something really stylised and I send them the final product and they end up wanting it more commercial. It’s always the number one thing, if you want a commercial photographer, find one. A lot of clients now love giving young people more creative freedom, which means more people come to me for my style of work. It’s something I appreciate because I don’t want to take a job if it’s not my style – it seems pointless.

When I’m shooting with my friends or for myself it’s very in the moment. More so than it seems on camera, we could be having a few drinks, and it would come together. It would be comfortable; we’d raid each other’s closet and there would be no one to tell you it wasn’t professional. Versus a shoot, there is a way more formal process. There’s a story board, or mood boards, treatments that need approval.

That’s where the true creativity comes from when I’m shooting myself. I don’t feel any pressure because I know there are no guidelines. I like both for different reasons.

“ I don’t have a design background. I started designing because there were things I wanted to wear that didn’t exist. Figuring out a whole brand identity, one that you want to be different to the one you are, is difficult. I don’t know who my target audience really is. Part of me wants to be clean, the other wants to be homegrown collage type vibes. It’s meeting in the middle and finding a balance; I’m all or nothing.”

In recent years, you’ve worked with high profiles such as ASOS, I-D, Mugler, and Niihai, as well as having your first billboard for Sony with Pip Millet; Do you ever feel pressure in finding such commercial success so soon after graduating?

I guess, yeah. There’s pressure in a lot of ways, like you haven’t done enough, but I think I’m at peace. I could do a lot more. I don’t see myself and think I’m that woman with loads of commercial success, but I’m also really proud of what I’ve done since graduating, there was pressure when I was doing my degree. There’s always pressure in the creative field, because you’re pouring out your imagination and thought process, which is all very personal and you want everything to be positively perceived – I think that’s where the pressure comes from, wanting it all to be positive.

But I’m pretty good at handling pressure, I’m ready for a lot more and I think I’ve learnt how to manage my time properly in 2021, to be a proper freelancer. There are a lot of logistics and things you should know, when you look at the fashion world people all look like they have their shit together but that’s not the case – it’s not what people think it is, but I’ve felt pressure to live up the image I created for myself. More recently I realised The Lizard Queen is an alter ego and she’s not me. I don’t need to feel pressure to live up to a character.

What was the best advice you’ve ever received and what advice would you give to any new artist who wants to take a leap of faith like you did?

I feel like I give good advice to people who are just starting out and are looking to drop out, as I’m not far from that all. I have people messaging me and telling me that my advice, and my influence is the reason why people dropped out and started going to LCF – because they saw me do it.

It’s sweet that people trust my advice to take such a leap. It was also a scary leap for me, speaking to an audience. I put out work and people enjoy it. I never had any sense of online community until I did the event at 50m.

: Nancy McNulty / NiiHai

We sold out pretty instantly, 10 of them were my friends, but the rest of the sold out tickets were people who just wanted to come and learn. Those who couldn’t be there wanted me to do an online course; I was getting emails from places like Egypt. I assumed I knew the majority of my audience, but I feel like I could name everyone who supports my work. All these people who had never met me, some came by themselves and from different countries, all to just learn from me – it was all overwhelming and very humbling. I had people asking me for advice, and I just didn’t feel qualified.

The advice that sticks the most is to just say yes to everything. I was doing make-up jobs, set design, anything in uni that people needed help doing, I did. I faked it, I learnt to do things on the go and pulled them off. No disrespect to professionals, it was a time I was doing everything I could – as I didn’t know what I was interested in. I just knew I liked any creative output. So, the best advice was just saying yes, because I did everything, and it led me to so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had been more specific with my work.

And to stay in your lane with what you’re inspired by. People can be inspired by the simplest things; I feel like a lot of people over complicate their inspiration to come across as more dynamic and interesting, when I think it’s all interesting and people should be more authentic to that – Number one as well, be a nice person. On set, be considerate and listen to people.

WHERE TO FIND THE LIZARD QUEEN:

To see more of Nancy’s work and to follow her upcoming projects, find her Instagram and website below.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_lizard__queen/

For Cold Blooded Kingdom:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cold.blooded.kingdom/

Website: www.coldbloodedkingdom.co.uk/

Credit to:

Image 1 – Rafael Pavarotti for British Vogue, December 21.
Image 2 – Suki Dhanda for The Guardian, May 21
Image 4 – Nancy McNulty for i-D, April 21
Image 7 – Nancy McNulty for NiiHai

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