summertime dreaming

Now that Sydney is moving deeper and deeper into winter (well, as close as Sydney can get to any kind of winter) I am finding myself dreaming of tropical days away. Now matter how much I am relishing my crisp morning runs every weekend along the coast from Bondi to Coogee, I can't help looking at the latest o/s fashion spreads with the slightest pangs of envy. The upside to all of this? I can start planning my wardrobe for the warm weather, with inspiration coming from the latest spring/summer collections at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. Despite my usual penchant for a monochromal palette or a mixture of neutrals and khakis (especially, the khakis) I will definitely be trying out some of the zingy combos I've spied at shows like Bianca Spender, Shakuhachi and Ginger & Smart. Number one on my hit list? Rusty, earthen orange and bright, bold blue. On second thought, maybe that's best left to the sunrise on my morning Bondi runs. That's the plus side of this kind of dressing being on the other side of winter - I've still got six months to warm up to the idea.

Daria Werbowy by Cass Bird for T Magazine Travel, summer 2011.

Natasha Poly for H&M, spring/summer 2011.

Erin Wasson by Alexi Lubomirski for Vogue Spain, June 2011.

Iselin, Daria, Natasha, Kasia and Ginta by Jean-Baptise Mondino for Elle France, May 2011.

Ashley Smith by Miles Aldrige for Vogue Italia, May 2011.

Natasha Poly, Chanel Cruise 2012.

Christine Centenera in Celine, RAFW.

Dion Lee, S/S 11, RAFW.

via: tFS, OhJamie, FGR.

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Orange Olivia

Olivia Palermo. One of the very few reality TV stars/ socialites who has gone the distance and still has some sort of relevance in the world in which their interest lies. While peers of hers ( i.e. the collective joke that was Speidi), this girl shows she has some talent away from the screen. No mater how bitchy she may have seemed as Whitney Ports's nemesis on The City, this girl sure knows a thing or two about style. She reminds me of pop-princess-turned-serious-designer Vicky B. At the start of their fashion 'careers', I'm sure there were many inside the fashion industry (remember Olivia's snotty attitude at Elle? And Posh's days as a full-time plasticised WAG?) who would most definitely have written them off. After numerous campaigns for Hogan, ASOS and spanish giant Mango, as well as a collaboration with jewellery designer Roberta Freymann, it seems as Olivia has achieved a seemingly unattainable kind of staying power. A regular fixture on the international fashion circuit, her citrus and plaid combination at the Ermenegildo Zegna men's show in Milan is further proof that Olivia's batting at the top of her fashion game. Props for that amazing Hermés crocodile skin clutch and her forever sleek tresses. And for the ever so slightly, I'm-too-cool-for-you popped collar. And, just because, here's a close up of those incredible McQueen shoes...

Bright skirts and white shirts

Raf Simons for Jil Sander spring 2011. Minimalism's inverse. Maximalism. Couture Giganticism. Terms all considered by Simons himself when it came to describing the inspiration behind his latest collection in which no colour was spared. Fuchsia. Bright orange. Blue, green red. And in every combination imaginable. After the bright and ballooning skirts, whose tailored volume was played down with plain white tees, came the colour-blocking. A pink button-down tucked into orange flares finished with a royal purple coat. A cropped coral blazer over a magenta shirt with a burnt orange peplum. Purple over red and then pink cigarette pants, hidden beneath a green coat; red tucked into blue layers, and a splash of yellow for good measure. Colours that might otherwise be overwhelming were pulled off in the surprisingly simplest of ways. The tailoring was nothing but clean, and the cleverness was found, aside from the tricky colour combinations, in a fitted tee tucked into a puffball skirt, stiff collars with silken oxford shirting, and of course the voluminous lengths of it all. I'm not usually one for excess, but when maximalism becomes minimal - stripped back to the very basics of colour and shape and line - I'm all for it. 

via Style.com

Brisbane's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

August 23 marked the beginning for the fashion event gathering momentum in Brisbane as Queensland's premier fashion week. With a collection of the best local and national designers, the show was based in Brisbane's City Hall- and largely aimed at the public, similar to the Rosemount show recently held in Sydney. The week started with a swimwear show featuring designs by Flamingo Sands, Riot Swimwear and Rebecca Manning Swim, which saw models strutting bare-foot on the suitably chosen Portside Wharf.

Running up until November 8 is the greatly anticipated showcase by Queensland design duo Easton Pearson; celebrating the twentieth anniversary of their internationally recognised label. The collection explored the eccentricities that have inspired the designers since the label's conception in 1989. Sidestepping current trends, as always, the collection- showing in Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art- features beautifully detailed beading and embroidery. The editor of Australia Vogue herself, Kirstie Clements, was extremely impressed with the showcase, saying the pieces were "works of art."

Another Queensland local, was winner of the first season of Project Runway Australia; Juli Grbac, showing the latest designs from her Grbac label. I was definitely a Juli follower on the show, but looking at her collection this time round it seems like she's still stuck in Project-Mode. Her style really hasn't evolved since her first collection, and this week was proof her aesthetic favours the same satin, tulle and ruffled dresses. And it wouldn't be a Grbac show, of course, without the obligatory shoulder-frill that stands in contrast (and rightly so) to the strong shoulders we see around today. Although some may argue these features are her trademark, she plays it quite safe with one too many bodiced dresses. Although I would have expected her to embrace some more pleating in the way of pants for this season especially, her designs cannot be faulted in terms of craftsmanship. The picture below is one of my favourite pieces from the collection, which could have been a stand-out if she had ventured a bit further from her very frilly, very ruffly safety net.

Visitors to "Bris-Vegas" had seemingly much more to offer, still flying high after the success of previous shows and collections; with Kirrily Johnston, Nicola Finetti and Akira Isogawa to name a few. Johnston's collection was one of the highlights- featuring more (bang on trend) soft draping and muted colours than her show in Sydney, but still with the perfectly placed pop of orange.

Finetti's collection was beautiful, yet it too was borderline safe, with many of his looks similar not only to one another, but previous collections. His trademarked bodiced mini dress featured heavily throughout the collection, with sheers and a hint of an uneven hemline giving it a modern spin. I especially loved the dress below (partly because it reminded me of Dion Lee's Rosemount O Dress) for the incredible structure that was responsible for the collection's architectural saving grace.
If there was a brief for the Brisbane shows, Akira would have nailed it. His use of refreshing summer colours, floaty fabrics and models in sandals suited the place and climate, and has epitomised Queensland Fashion (strange, for a Sydneysider...)





Pictures from zimbio

Fashion Week...well, one of

Alex Perry

Things have been a bit stagnant around here, but the opposite can be said for the fashion world. The last few weeks have been a non-stop whirlwind of festivals, parades and fashion shows, and it doesn't look like it's letting up anytime soon. Last week saw the culmination of Sydney's Rosemount Fashion Festival coincide with Myer's Spring/Summer Fashion Launch, as well as the opening of Brisbane's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, phew!

Never one to take a back seat, Alex Perry didn't fail to disappoint, despite claiming to "tone it down" due to the state of "our economy." The collection did have a more subdued feel to it- almost centering around the staple LBD- but the crowd definitely wasn't disappointed in terms of Perry's trademark dramatic gowns. Another standout in the Perry show was Australia's Next Top Model winner Tahnee Atkinson, who donned a sparkling (almost too short) bodiced mini (Balmain anyone?) Definitely refreshing to see such a gorgeous, healthy-looking girl in a design usually reserved for the walking twigs.

Tahnee in Alex Perry

It was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of trends in Sydney, with some designers eager to break away from the drab winter gloom and with spring (literally) just around the corner, seemed bursting to get messy with colour. Although white was a standout at Therese Rawsthorne, Kirrily Johnston's show featured a palette of sunshiney goodness.

Kirrily Johnston

The power trend is still very much in business, with the structured blazer remaining the key trans-seasonal piece whilst waiting to finally shed those winter layers. Still prominent at camilla and marc, the look for spring sees the power players being diffused with a softer edge, as seen at Manning Cartell.

camilla and marc

Manning Cartell

Uneven hemlines have also carried on from April's Melbourne Fashion Week, with Ellery favouring this flowy silhouette. Kim Ellery is definitely one to watch, with her collection featuring artistic cutouts (Wang-style) paired with this season's take on harems.

Ellery

Another favourite of mine was the Bec & Bridge show, proving our designers are still taking their cues from the best, with looks from both this and the Ellery show slightly reminiscent of the Louis Vuitton Spring 2009 collection.

Bec & Bridge



photos courtesy of zimbio.

Still blazing ahead of the rest...softly.

Alexander Wang SS09

Magdalena Velevska SS09/10

camilla and marc SS09/10

Photos: Style.com, Vogue and Grazia. Grazie!

Looks like the suiting trend is here to stay (for now anyway!) While the strong-shouldered blazer trademarked by Christophe Decarnin at Balmain isn't going anywhere, the sharp tailoring of last season has been diffused with softer, more feminine shapes for spring.

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Alexander Wang showcased many a blazer starting spring 2008 and his collections have been littered with them ever since. The pink number shown above, paired with equally bright softly pleated shorts, set the benchmark for our own spring/summer collections in terms of colour especially. With the barometer set to strong shoulders, soft draping and summer colours, it was only a matter of time before the shoulders started heading south: literally.

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Aussie designers have taken their cues from the greats; with the trends cropping up in the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week earlier in the year. On-trend-nowhere-near-newcomer Magdalena Velevska showcased her first independent collection combining summer colours with softly draped silhouettes, whilst still favouring "the shoulder". Dynamic duo camilla and marc continued on the success of their previous blazer-heavy collections this time following suit (no pun intended) and favouring a more delicately dishevelled aesthetic.

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The '80s fanatics can continue to rejoice; big shoulders are here to stay, and this trend has made sure everybody's suiting up.