DJs celebrates Mardi Gras

David Jones Mardi GrasThis week David Jones is celebrating the 2016 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with window displays and hosting an instore party.

#DJsPride was on show last night at both the Elizabeth and Market Street stores, with performances by LGBTIQ DJ acts, a troupe of roving roller skaters and shirtless wait staff serving cocktails and rainbow-coloured cupcakes.

Customers embraced Mardi Gras style with glitter beard stations and lash and nail services.

“We are proud and excited to be celebrating the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras,” said David Jones CMO, David Robinson. “David Jones supports diversity and self-expression for both customers and staff, and it is important to be involved in one of Sydney’s most iconic events that epitomises these values.”

The department store also collaborated with iconic Australian performer, Carlotta, on the design of a dedicated window display for the flagship Elizabeth Street store.

Carlotta, or Carol Spencer as she is known off stage, is a transgender woman whose surgery in the early 1970s was one of the first and most high-profile operations in Australia. An original member of the Les Girls cabaret show, Carlotta was a fixture of the Kings Cross club scene from the 1960’s through to the 1990’s. Her story was one of the inspirations for the film Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, and today she remains a pivotal member of the LGBTIQ community.

Before her performance career, Carlotta had worked at David Jones in the art department painting the scenes, backdrops and mannequin faces for the David Jones windows.

“Carlotta has had a monumental impact on the LGBTIQ and wider community, and it was an honour and privilege that she would return to David Jones where she once worked, to collaborate with us on our Mardi Gras celebrations,” Robinson said.

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