MBFWA 2013: Shows and Showmanship

Despite all the air-kissing and too-eager stamps of approval, the fashion media is starting to tell us what it really thinks. Australian Fashion Week founder Simon Lock penned a refreshingly frank opinion piece for The Australian this week; an analysis on the relative successes and failures of this year’s five day affair.

In particular, Lock’s succinct and forward comments about show production and venue choice jumped out at me. Not only did they ring true and loud for the week that was, but the rumblings of similar sentiment from media leaders was enough to convince me that the issue was about more than glitter and smoke machines.

Hello ELLE Australia / photo: Zimbio

Daytime shows on location should be given only to designers who have the capability and talent to add something really special to the event. Camilla Franks, who produced a most amazing show experience, complete with a teepee and llamas camped in Centennial Park, is a shining example of a designer who should be given a location show during the day. There is no point travelling from Carriageworks during the day to go to a similar warehouse venue.

Carriageworks is a great venue, and its industrial inclination allowed both the necessary space (including a lobby, two separate runways and a presentation ‘box’) and the creative ‘blank canvas’ to cover almost any type of show. Industrial, concreted warehouses seem to be the fashion venue du jour, and for two very good reasons: the starkness will either be the perfect foil to a collection, or it will be the ultimate empty space for creative reinvention.

Carriageworks / photo: Concrete Playground

Lock’s frustration was shared by Glynis Traill-Nash (who has since been appointed fashion editor of The Australian.) She summed the issue up twitter-perfect on Day Two, asking “The questions is, why do offsite shows in industrial venues, when Carriageworks is an industrial venue?”

Twitter: @GlynisTN

That came after Christopher Esber at an offsite warehouse, although it did feature a bright blue and orange matrix of scaffolding. Similarly, the Ellery runway was set up inside an abandoned building in the Sydney CBD. Of course, you cannot take any credit from Kym Ellery's collection, or any power bestowed by big-time model trio Julia Nobis, Ruby-Jean Wilson and Hanne Gaby Odiele. But the question for both shows, and a handful of others, still remains: why go to an offsite venue that is much the same as the one you left? 

Christopher Esber / photo: The Vine

Consider that other designers took the official space and tricked it up a helluva lot more. We saw the extreme in the unstoppable Romance Was Born, who created a magical, perverse wonderland that had every second fashion journo dropping the words ‘mushroom trip’ like they knew how that felt.  Then there were more moderate, but still heavily decorated, shows like Hello ELLE Australia; with its gold glitter catwalk, champagne waiters and giant E-L-L-E balloons. And finally, the shows that incorporated only the subtlest of touches – think Ginger & Smart’s runway featuring only graphic black lines, creating the same geometric print as their garments.

Romance Was Born / photo: Ausmode blog

There was an entire spectrum of production, which acts as proof that the venue has the versatility to cover just about every level of embellishment. 

Of course, that is not to say that none of the shows should be held offsite. There were certainly venues that brought something extra to the table. Lock is 115% right in crowning Camilla Franks the Queen of the Offsite Show. It was an all-encompassing experience, with laughing hippie children playing on wooden swings, llamas wearing Camilla-typical prints, and the ‘runway’ itself housed inside the most glamorous teepee ever.

Georgia May Jagger and Camilla Franks / photo: News.com

And Lisa Ho, whose collection was my favourite of the week, showed in the cavernous foyer of the Art Gallery of NSW. Although the aesthetic opposite of Camilla, it was impossible to deny the grandeur of the marble venue as the morning light streamed in through giant windows.

Lisa Ho / photo: 10 Magazine

At the end of the day, it needs to be about necessity. What is it about a collection that means it needs to be shown somewhere offsite, and what will that venue add? Where is the extra showmanship?

Lock calls for a collaborative effort; that we need to work together to achieve the best possible program. And that means being realistic. If it is just about four more concrete walls, the taxi fares might not be worth it. 

By The Industry Baby with No comments

MBFWA: Day Three

It speaks volumes of the Australian fashion industry that each day of MBFWA is better than the last. And the increasing attention from international correspondents is proof that the world is taking notice, too.

Based on the photos, stories and roaring praise flooding in from the shows on Day Three, you have to wonder how they can keep upping the ante.

TOP RUNWAY LOOKS

Once again, there was no way it could be narrowed down to just one. It would have been oh so easy to pick at least four entire shows. Although, after much agonising…

Lisa ‘Ho my God!’ Have you ever seen Australiana look so good? Lisa Ho always creates beautiful garments that are the epitome of luxurious, feminine beauty. But this is bold and unusual. It’s not often that the unlikely concepts of “bush flora” and “glamour” are so happily married. Yet, here it is.



Australian dream / photo: vogue.com.au



The dress looks as if it has been poured on to the model, thanks to those long, slinky nude panels. They create a lithe, flowing hourglass shape which hits the womanly element that Lisa Ho is so good at. Such a fluid cut is akin to the elegant gowns Elie Saab is famous for, but with a unique print grounding the dress as distinctly Aussie.

And then there was Ellery. In what was being heralded early as the best show of the week, Kym Ellery brought tough-girl cool by the metric shitload*.

*Yes, this is a scientific unit of measurement.



tough-girl cool / photo: vogue.com.au



I love this because a) Kym is a fellow West Aussie girl done good, and b) she has achieved draping that is not being tagged as sensual, opulent or soft.

No. While definitely masterful, these tinfoil silver swathes are far from soft. A tough, streetwise edge is a better way to describe it.

Whether this is something that the average woman could wear (read: probably not) is irrelevant.  It is a pure statement, an unapologetic demonstration of skill, and a damn good way to close a collection.

TOP STREET STYLE LOOK

Of course, it’s Yasmin Sewell, the Aussie expat of infinite style.

wrap it up / photo: harpersbazaar.com.au

The headscarf is where it is at. It is so, unbelievably cool, especially with hair as chic as hers. Colour me envious.

And if you didn’t think a plain, white tee could be very 'fashion' (as Rachel Zoe would say) – think again. Regimentally starch and structured as opposed to the comfy, slouch tee you would wear on a casual occasion. After all, she is dressed for the Ellery show, and MBFWA’s best show calls for a ‘very fashion’ tee.

By The Industry Baby with 2 comments