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.

The latest cover of In Style Australia’s digital edition features ‘Bluey’ star Chilli recreating Max Dupain’s famous ‘Sunbaker’ photograph.Credit:In Style/Ludo Studio

“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.”

Chilli Heeler from ‘Bluey’ recreates Elle Macpherson’s 1986 ‘Elle’ magazine cover in the latest issue of ‘In Style’ Australia. Credit:Ludo Studios/ In Style Australia

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.

The show’s international success is reason enough for the cartoon casting, with Cullen used to publicity from the attention following Anthony Albanese’s In Style cover appearance in the run-up to the federal election. Instead, she says this was a moment to recognise motherhood.

“We are all going through what academics describe as The Great Exhaustion,” Cullen says. “It’s safe to say that mothers have really borne the brunt of the challenges of the past few years. We wanted to give Chilli the moment to recharge on the cover that all mothers probably need.”

While other magazines whittle away at taboos with printed editions, with the latest issue of Vogue Australia featuring members of the LGBTQIA+ community in time for World Pride, Cullen sees digital editions as a playground for risk taking.

“The digital covers are a great opportunity to show that fashion isn’t purely about celebrity and you can do things that you can’t risk with print,” she says. “We can start conversations and we can also have fun.”

Inside the issue In Style reverts to its fashion roots with the year’s biggest sneaker trends, which is not much use for Chilli, as they still only accommodate human feet.

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