Day Three of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia brought with it some terrific clothes, aching feet, fashion PR types becoming increasingly jaded and loose-lipped (overheard: “if one more blogger complains about where they’re seated they can get the fuck out.” LOL! FASHAN!), and the mythology of street style is quickly being debunked, one carefully choreographed ‘candid’ moment at a time. Here is our wrap of MBFWA day three with photos snapped on the Sony Xperia Z smartphone.
Fuck high heels mate. Day Three was time for the scuffed pair of RM Williams I’ve had for 10+ years. Dion Lee opted for black RM boots for his Opera House presentation on Tuesday evening so workman boots are where it’s at y’all.
Alice McCall took inspiration from the ocean with a collection of pretty, feminine dresses and cocktail wear showcasing McCall’s love of colourful prints and elaborate cut outs. Sculptural ruffles showed up on sleeves, hemlines and peplum waists emulating the rippling of underwater organisms and tidal fluidity. An illustrative periwinkle blue botanic print on white was beautiful, appearing on a floor-length dress worn on Model Of The Week, Julia Nobis, and a terrific pyjama-like shirt and trouser set. Prints also featured on a selection of opaque white dresses that ought to walk off the runway directly into the wardrobes of trend-conscious pretty young things. The collection as a whole seemed to have indulged a few too many varying influences that didn’t tie together cohesively, but these are definitely sellable clothes that reference-check a bunch of existing trends.
Street Style receives as much interest as the clothes on the runway if not more. This is a conclusion I’ve reached, not because I’m a particularly observant expert on human behaviour, but because I have seeing eyes in my skull. It’s fascinating to see the strange process that goes into creating the still photographs you end up peeping on [enter whatever fashion blog here]. A lot of the images that seem like candid moments captured in one lucky frame are actually choreographed mini photo shoots (that are AMAZING and hilarious to watch for any seasoned gawker), and the ability with which seasoned street style subjects can roll their eyes at a demanding photographer before magically transforming into photo-mode is genuinely impressive.
Here’s Jessica from Tuula Vintage working her light before the cameras.
One of the most anticipated events on Wednesday’s schedule was the We Are Handsome runway show. As predicted, the show was a lot of fun, very colourful and energetic and featured some amazing brand collaborations. We Are Handsome hooked up customised headphones from Monster Headphones, a special lipstick range in collaboration with Maybelline, and customised single speeds from Bondi Beach Cruisers (which, of course, were ridden in high heels – now available for purchase direct via ASOS!). Design team Indhra Chagoury and Jeremy Somers included the mens range in the show, a welcome new addition for audience members with an appreciation of carved abs. The new swim and resort options included microscopic black string bikinis, one-piece bustiers and retro high waisted two-piece sets, ’90s-style leotards, billowing caftan tops, leggings and basic trunks for the dudes – all in a multitude of digital prints. Penguins, foxes and jungle giraffes joined the We Are Handsome menagerie, with lions and tigers returning to the mix, in addition to florals and a few painterly landscapes.
Impressively branded goodie bag items:
Girls:
Vanishing Elephant staged their debut MBFWA show in the Blacksmiths Workshop at Australian Technology Park in Redfern, a cavernous industrial space filled with archival blacksmith equipment, rusted tools suspending from bare brick walls and heritage listed locomotive engines from days of old. The instantly-wearable showcase of threads for girls and guys steered more toward Vanishing Elephant’s casual street wear sensibility – cool slouchy anoraks, grandpa-style wrapped and belted cardigan coats, Hawaiian-style shirts in a number of great prints (pastel paint splashes, tail-flicking sharks on a white background, and sunset over New York’s Liberty Island come to mind), classic button-down shirts in oversized polka dots and jailbird stripes, tapered chinos, and so on. The styling, by Mark Vassallo, was fantastic with looks compiled so brilliantly even the socks had hero moments (textured fuzzy pink pair, I’m looking at you). My only gripe was the lack of the Mod-flavoured suiting they do so well, but c’est la vie. There’s a long list of pieces I would have stolen off the models and worn right out the door.
