Darcy Moore and James Noble on bringing the AFL player’s NGV Gala suit to life
“The man deserves nice things. He’s a big character, people gravitate towards him, so may as well light him up like Christmas”
By Amy Campbell
IT’S NOT EVERY DAY you see an AFL player dressed up in a bedazzled suit. But at the 2024 NGV Gala last weekend, which was held in celebration of the opening of the gallery’s blockbuster Yayoi Kusama exhibition, Collingwood captain Darcy Moore rolled up in black tie, with a notch lapel sprinkled with shiny black rhinestones.
The suit was the work of James Noble, the founder and designer of Reigner, a Melbourne-based brand that specialises in Western-inspired “pleasure wear”. “It’s all-out couture for whatever stage you may be performing on,” Noble told us of his brand earlier this year.
Moore, who is one of footy’s most diverse dressers, has followed Reigner for a few years, more recently consummating the partnership by rocking the brand’s suits to a number of formal events, including last year’s NGV Gala and the 2024 ARIA Awards. “What I admire most about James’ work is the sense of fun he brings to his clothes. He’s not afraid to play with different cuts, colours and doesn’t take anything too seriously,” Moore told Esquire shortly before stepping out on the red carpet.
For the NGV Gala, the duo linked up again, to “envision a suit that cut through the rest of the black suits but still kept to code”. “Black tie is usually pretty standard for blokes, so it was fun for me to ham up the tradition. Rhinestones and bling are kind of my bread and butter so I saw it pretty clearly,” Noble explained.
Moore admits he didn’t give the designer much of a brief – he trusted him to make something special. So Noble set to work creating a two button, single breast, half canvas, notch lapel suit. “I wanted it fitted but not crazy tight, a slight flare, something strong to dance in. I used a black silk satin fabric, hand sewn Swarovski crystals and whatever other beads I had lying around.”
One of the biggest challenges, agreed the tall defender and designer, was fitting such a “tall fella”. “It’s not that easy to tailor to a 202 cm, 101 kg bloke, so I was grateful James was up for it!” laughed Moore. “The man deserves nice things. He’s a big character, people gravitate towards him, so may as well light him up like Christmas,” added the Reigner designer.
Attending with Dee Salmin, radio presenter and Moore’s partner, the footy player looked all class, accessorising with a white bow tie and RM Williams boots to “go with the slight flare of the pants”. “Hair is always a last minute operation.” Salmin, meanwhile, stepped out in a silk and lace dress sourced from a Melbourne op shop, along with platform Crocs from the Simone Rocha collaboration and jewellery by Millie Savage (who is also Noble’s partner). Savage also did the couple’s bling for the 2024 Brownlow Medal.
“We don’t really coordinate too closely, but somehow we always end up tying it in together,” said Moore of his and Salmin’s approach to couples dressing. “Dee has her own distinct style so she does her thing to bring it all together. I’m always amazed at how and where she sources her outfits from – op shops, online, second hand stores and some luxe pieces too. This year, I think we tied in with each other pretty well.”
Noble, who’s making a name for himself as the go-to maker of custom suits for the Melbourne scene and beyond, has some candid advice on how to approach the black tie dress code: “Black tie can be super boring. You want to push the envelope a bit yet still keep it on-brief. I feel Darcy’s design was the best of both worlds.
“Life’s too short to be boring.”
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