Colour, Confidence & Creativity: Georgia Fields Talks Music, Style & OBUS

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating creativity, self-expression, and the power of embracing your true self. Who better to chat with than Georgia Fields—an acclaimed independent musician whose ethereal, orchestral indie-pop has captivated audiences across Australia. 

We sat down with Georgia to talk about her music, personal style, and why OBUS continues to be part of her wardrobe (and her story).

Q1. When did you first discover OBUS, and what was it that drew you to the brand?

A: Um it would have been a long time ago now. I walked past the High Street store and I just remember I stuck my head in to have a look and I saw a coat. It was a short black coat but it just had this really great structure. It was the first time I'd ever been into OBUS and I’d heard of the label. But it was the the quality of the fabric and the feel of the fabric but also the structure of the garment. I was like wow this is really incredible. 

Q2: OBUS is all about bold colours, prints, and effortless wearability. How does that align with how you like to express yourself through fashion?

A: I really need fashion to be practical because I might be touring, I might be running around with my kids. I'm on the go, I need to be able to raise my arms up comfortably. If I'm holding a guitar I need to make sure that everything's really comfortable. So comfort is really important to me as well as style and that's one of the things that I love about OBUS. The fabrics are really fantastic as well as the prints and the cuts are really great, like you can just wear them so easily and feel great.

Q3: Your music is beautifully layered, blending indie pop with orchestral elements. How do you approach songwriting—does it start with a melody, a lyric, or something else entirely?

A: For me it always starts with a story, so I generally know what I'm going to write about before I sit down to write. It'll start with I guess like an inkling or an urge even, and I'll generally start with some words before I begin searching for chords and melodies, and then once I've got a little bit of words, it's a little bit of melody, and then a little bit more words. Some people do all of the music first and then add the words OR the other way around, but for me it's like very much a dance of like don't go too far with the melody because we need the words to catch up or too far with the words because we need their melody to catch up.

Q4. You’ve built a career as an independent artist, which takes both creativity and resilience. What does it mean to you to carve out your own path in the industry?

A: I didn't want to be with my own career. Like a lot of people starting out I had this dream that I would do a couple of gigs, I would meet a label, I'd be signed, I'd be on my jet and I'd be on my way! I'm so glad that didn't happen. Obviously the chances of that happening are so incredibly small but I think I've learned a lot more about myself and a lot more about how things work so that now when I do engage someone to help me, the same with publicity, because I've kind of done it a little bit myself I sort of know who/what to look for. I didn't realise I needed to do it to myself to understand it. You have to wear a lot of hats, even if you want to get a label at the beginning.

Q5: You were diagnosed with autism as an adult. How has that shaped your understanding of yourself, your creative process, and the way you navigate the world?

A: I think if anything, it's given me permission to be kind to myself. I think previously it was like this something might be hard and like everyone else can do it and why can't I do it. Now I can go oh I find that thing, whatever it is, hard. I find it really hard making changes to plans, or some sensory environments really difficult, and realising that about myself has made it easier to be more self-compassionate. I advocate for myself more like if I don't get a break before I have to play, or if I don't get 20 minutes to just stare at a wall and not talk to anyone my set might be a bit wobbly. So now I know I'm not being a diva, it's actually doesn't just help me do my job better, I can be myself again because I remember that I was at an age when I would need to pretend to be somebody else. And I was like I can be the person I was before I started doing that in my life.

Q6: Your personal style feels just as expressive as your music. How would you describe it, and how does what you wear influence how you feel—on and off stage?

A: I feel like my personal style is quite functional. I do like to express myself, but I don't think of it like that, because it's just what I do. I also power dress. If I'm teaching I need to have some confidence, I'll wear something with shoulders or like pants or something where I can feel like “Yeah, that's great!” Again, I feel like I'm a functional dresser as well and I dress how I feel. Dopamine dressing is a thing for me, colour, print, feminine, playful and like a little bit retro.

Q6: Do you think that changes on and off stage too or is it pretty much the same? 

A: Stage is probably a little brighter or like a little turn the volume up. It's the person I wish I could be all of the time. It's more again I want to feel a certain way when I'm there. I want the audience to see me and perceive me that way as well. It's a projection of persona, but also the other thing you've got to remember is sweat patches. I wore something yesterday and I didn't realise until halfway through the set and I was sweating through, so prints are good for that.

Q7: This interview is launching on International Women’s Day—what does this day mean to you, and is there a message you’d like to share with other women pursuing their creative dreams?

A: We live in a society where there isn't equality yet. We're getting better. We're moving towards it. I'm really excited about the positive change that we're seeing culturally. But we're not there yet. We're not at equal pay. And what I noticed with women that I work with and why I love collaborating with women is that they generally work like they're working twice as hard and they've done twice as much research and they've done twice as much work in the background. And yeah, for me, I feel like the energy is enormous that we've put into things to nourish them.

Georgia is currently on an exciting collision of worlds, collaborating with a different string quartet in each state, over 9 shows. Follow her tour, String Theory, online @georgiafieldsmusic.