Inheriting the mantle previously assumed by Gerard Butler and Alessandra Ambrosio on Monday [that is, of an international celebrity who makes an appearance at Australian Fashion Week, one that at first appears to be totally incongruous until you start asking all the right questions], Lupe Fiasco made his catwalk debut at Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week last night, bringing down the deep house at the Song For The Mute show and eliciting a spontaneous round of applause from a characteristically subdued, severe and very Fashion crowd.
Speaking backstage before the show, Lupe described how three years ago he discovered the label shopping in luxe Sydney menswear department store Harrolds, where he promptly “fell in love with the whole piece and three years later it culminated in ‘How about you jump on a plane and fly to this fashion show for three minutes – could you do that for us?’ Absolutely! The cool thing about them is that, when I saw them, it was like ‘This has to be from Japan, or Korea’ but it’s from here, so to me [designers Melvin and Lyna] are the bar of Australian fashion because they compete with Rick Owens and the big dogs on the world stage in Paris.”
“I’ve never walked in a show,” he continued. “There’s no preparation. I’ve just been watching the real models. I’m literally just going to find a guy and steal all his moves and because I’m going last, I’m going to incorporate different steps. There’s no practice though – it’s showtime!”
And coast…
Photo: Stefan Gosatti via Getty
