After a decade at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the fashion faithful gathered in Fashion Week’s new urban digs at Carriageworks in Eveleigh. Concrete may have replaced the glittering waters of Sydney Harbour, but an upbeat mood prevailed;
By Glynis Traill-Nash
It’s turning into a week of milestones, and camilla and marc opened proceedings, celebrating 10 years in business. This was a perfectly pitched showing, beginning with surprisingly attractive dropped-crotch silk trousers and printed tops, and flared, flippy mini skirts. Their customer will lap these up for those Eastern Suburbs lunch dates. But the triumphant moment came from a series of pieces in deep, luxurious gold brocade, quite the richest, densest brocade of recent memory, which was created in Europe especially for the occasion.
Aurelio Costarella has another 20 years on the Freeman siblings, and kicked off his 30-year anniversary celebrations with an intimate installation in the smallest on-site venue. The WA-based designer, who has become a red carpet favourite, called on some fellow Sandgropers to create a perfect moment: artist Waldemar Kolbusz, who painted large bacground abstracts reflecting the colours of the collection, and expat singer Grace Woodroofe, who performed live in a recent vintage Costarella gown.
Bec & Bridge looked back to the 1990s with a body-conscious collection that would befit Sydney and LA’s genetically blessed creatures, as well as sporty separates with built-in mesh bras, longline leather vests and silk trackie trousers. Aside from the occasional loose thread that let down the polished aesthetic, it was great to see the Bec & Bridge brand gaining momentum and maturity.
Christopher Esber, who was the standout of last year’s shows, again impressed with his clean shapes and tailoring – including what could yet become this season’s most covetable skirt, an asymmetrical split A-line with side pleating that hit just below the knee. It also hit just the right balance of cut, proportion and length for this moment in time. He also showed typical prowess in blending technical and traditional fabrics, clean shapes and raw edges.
Talking about the marriage of two ideas, Alex Perry triumphed in a change of direction that should bring in a new customer base without alienating his current followers. Perhaps Perry’s own gym-going tendencies are finally rubbing off on his collections, given its sporty new direction. We spoke to Alex before the show, watch our Interview with Alex Perry
Roopa Pemmaraju, another standout in her first Sydney show last year, took a softer turn, with a younger feel than last year’s show. What it sometimes lacked in boldness, it made up for in femininity, and her ongoing collaboration with indigenous artists is a great point of difference, offering unique, exquisite prints. For my money, the best pieces are still those that act as a canvas for the artwork – kaftans, tunics and maxidresses – but Pemmaraju is right;y addressing the need to diversify and broaden her commercial base.
Speaking of commercial, during last year’s Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival every third girl trackside was wearing byJohnny (and every second was wearing Manning Cartell). Johnny Schembri clearly understands his target market, offering great on-trend pieces at an excellent price point. And this summer, that girl will be wearing great graphic prints, often in black and white (Derby Day?), flared skirts and form-fitting dresses. Schembri has largely kept skirt lengths just below the knee, meaning that by Cup Day’s end, wearers will hold onto their dignity.
It wasn’t the first time Romance Was Born kept the masses waiting late at night, meaning it was 10pm before the magic unfolded. The magic this time around came courtesy of mushrooms. Very special mushrooms. The first few exits seemed like twee, cutesy puffery, but once a printed duster coat over trousers hit the catwalk, there followed a collection that sucked you in with its psychedelic prints, saccharine palette and lavish embellishment. Some pieces would look spectacular on the red carpet (they would have pepped up the super-safe Logies, that’s for sure), while others will be picked up by popettes and those bold souls wanting to inject some trippy glamour into their lives. Add to that a sugar-coated backdrop, heady soundtrack performed live by Paz Lenchantin and vacant-eyed models in pastel pageboy cuts sprouting mushroom from their ears, and designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales created another fashion moment that will go down in the event annals.
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