An interview with February pin up; Marianne Astrid Close 24/02/2025

Who are you? How do you spend your days?

Hi! I’m Marianne Astrid Close and I’m a writer and a muse. I spend most of my days at my desk, with my RTTS Calendar on the wall to my left and my sweet cat Biscuit strutting about the room. I drink an iced latte in the morning and get to work; sometimes that’s journalistic tidbits, a literary journal submission, art making with friends or following my own creative urges. The best days are when I lose track of time and suddenly it’s 7pm.

2. What are you writing at the moment?

I am the queen of unfinished projects. I have the bones of a manuscript spread across a delinquent number of documents; a short story about a grain of rice; an interview with an established painter; a chapter on the phenomenology of begging; a series of poems on girlhood intended to dub a short film; and poetry; always poetry. Nothing is ever finished!

3. Do you have any personal goals right now? Anything you hope to achieve in 2025?

This year I’m really focused on furthering the craft. I don’t really care about outcomes or accolades. I don’t really care about my personal life. I only care about putting good words down, every day. I care about maintaining a continuity of practice that sparsely comes up for air. That is the space in which the best writing occurs, so that is what I will keep doing. I’m a little obsessed.

4. Fashion is…

Fashion is artistry. Industries that are predominantly populated by women are continually shirked, but we will continue to style, continue to make and continue to be creative. Think about the budget that sports get; now imagine what fashion could do with that. Whether you’re the CSM graduate, the unpaid intern sewing on individual sequins after hours or sitting at your sewing machine feeling frustrated; we need you. Fashion is important.

5. Any lessons learnt recently?

I’m learning to slow down and not over-commit. It’s a really fortunate thing to be excited about what I do, but because my work also happens outside of ordinary hours, I can work late into the evening on a “day off” and then wonder why I’m so beat the next day. It can also take a really long time to see any fruits of your labour. I’m learning to be a little bit blind in the face of obstacles and just keep practicing.

6. What makes you happy?

Talking! Being a word person, I love getting to know people in this way. Call me when you finish work, monologue, go off in the voice notes and tell me about the important stuff. Talking is how we connect and form friendships, and that’s what’s really important. Words of affirmation are unmatched <3

7. What advice would you give your 18 year old self?

I would tell her to trust herself; that her intuition is really sharp and that if you feel like something is not right; it’s not right. You don’t need to have any more of a reason than that. You get to decide what kind of life you live, so take your time and make those decisions joyfully.

8. Thoughts on bush?

It’s extremely sexy and subversive. My personal favourite is 5 days post-shave, right when the hair gets over the prickly arc and becomes soft. Heaven!

9. Ramp Tramp or Tramp Stamp?

Ramp tramp! Skaters and fashion girlies have an undeniable bond.