If, according to Sydney’s fashionista industy insiders, Australian Fashion Week is synonymous with pushing beyond standards and expectations, then today’s launch further reiterated this rhetoric, setting a grand-scaled precedent for the week long gala event.
Stationed amongst the quintessentially patriotic backdrop of Circular Quay, the exclusive five day, industry-only event will feature over 100 established and emerging Australian designers showcasing 45 Spring / Summer 2010 collections and complimented by 50 accessory designers in Emerge.
Lisa Ho
During the early stages of its conception, founder and event coordinator, Simon Lock created a vision for Australian Fashion Week, “to establish Australia as a nation that was innovative and able to compete internationally in the sophisticated world of ready to wear fashion.”
Fifteen successive years on, it has evolved into an annual phenomenon, well surpassing Lock’s fervent hopes. The power and passion of the designer visionaries behind the clothes are to be praised for catapulting his foresight to far loftier ranges, placing Australia in a confident and rightfully earned position on the world class fashion event platform as true global competition.
Today’s Lisa Ho, Ginger and Smart, Seventh Wonderland, Bec and Bridge and Camilla parades were amongst the first collections of the week on show, with inspirited New Zealand newcomers, Zambesi and Stolen Girlfriend’s Club making their initial foray into the spotlight.
Designers executed several stand out trends for the new season:
Lisa Ho
Sweet ruffled ensembles were a constant in several collections; effortless transparent chiffon blouses and dresses returning as welcomed staple signature pieces, while silk shorts, billowing harem pants and Grecian-inspired, maxi gowns complemented Lisa Ho’s colour palette of burnished hues of muted mushroom, salmon pink, lilac, moss green and earthy browns catching our romantic eye.
Seventh Wonderland’s swimwear range drew inspiration from symmetrical lines of aesthetic beauty. We saw bikinis, flowing kaftans, tanks and high-waisted shorts varying from the delicate and fluid to hardware-adorned, structured panels and detailing, juxtaposed against digitally printed bright floral and marbled water prints.
Seventh Wonderland
Across the board, faux tans seem to be making way for a more translucent, natural glow. Dewy, nude, high sheen complexions and glossy lips set the scene for ethereal-like bodies fashioned with lashings of strobe cream and shimmery powder, evoking grown-up femininity laced with childlike charm and innocence.
Hair is generally abundant, tousled and unstyled. Volume is either naturally blow dried or injected into tresses through crimping and teasing, while Seventh Wonderland’s models’ barely there complexions offset by Medussa-inspired coiffure swirls, mimicked a slightly more brazen approach to managed styling.
Ginger and Smart provided an arena of ‘future beauty’ transience, presented through a dreamy-inspired, higher state of consciousness. Wearing reflective demeanours, models floated along the runway in a haze of fresh, dewy, sheer skin tones setting an indifferent tone for a colour palette shifting from shades of nude, lilac and pastels to grounded tones of olive, smoke and oily blue. Fabrics in a mélange of frayed, perforated, frilled and knotted textures manifested as effortless accompaniments of fluid trousers, sleeveless blazers, silk tees and bodysuits.
Ginger and Smart
High voltage hues marked Camilla’s highly anticipated Avatar-themed show of flowing kaftans and wrap ensembles. We were captivated by her bold blends of fuchsia, turquoise, burnt orange, metallic gold, lime green, purple and leopard print-inspired prints, enhanced by intricately adorned sequined and feathered head installations. Severe, attention-commanding eyes corresponded with severely risqué neck lines - unflinchingly alluring.
The French refer to this as décolleté – we just call it dead sexy.
Camilla
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