Voxfrock Rookies Chrissy Dore and Eleanor Smith found poetry in the shadows and flow of the legendary designers’ Melbourne Fashion Festival show
Photos: Chrissy Dore Words: Eleanor Smith
A gloomy Saturday afternoon, rain hitting the grey pavement outside Angel Bar, the perfect backdrop for legendary Melbourne designers Denise Sprynskyj and Peter Boyd’s Mal de Mer show. A day that not only fit their title theme “seasickness” but marked a full revolution in S!X’s creative history.
The last time they presented an “ocean related” body of work according to Peter Boyd, was their Jellies show at Australian Fashion week in Sydney in 2001. “Marion Hume titled it the worst show she had ever seen…,” he recalls nonchalantly now, “So we wanted to recreate that sort of sensation again. On the day we showed Jellies it rained as well….”
Mal de Mer was naturally cyclical, inspired by the past year of universal upheaval and unease. “A lot of it is to do with 2020 because there was so much uncertainty,” Denise Sprynskyj explains. “A lot of people had thought that that year had just sailed away…”
In a year that felt like a shipwreck, the designers, revered icons of deconstructionism, were understandably inspired by the RMS Titanic. Their collection pulled something new and beautiful out of the deep dark watery depths of 2020.
Sounds of the sea, stormy and menacing, then calm and blended with smooth French songs from the Belle Epoque, cultivated an immersive experience. The looks captured a sense of the unforgiving nature of the sea: swathes of blue, purple and seafoam wrapped around bodies as if forced by water. Nightgowns draped, flowing, folding. Regal eveningwear in structured lavish garments; exactly as you might expect in a Titanic passenger’s trunk.
Japanese Shibori-dye techniques carried the memories of water in their making. Bits of plastic stuck to some pieces were there for a reason; “We’ve been working with the Brazilians on plastic and the waste in the sea,” says Sprynskyj, explaining the political undertone in a rustling Galleries Lafayette bag.
Mal de Mer was an intimate show, a challenging showcase of conceptual designs and its audience, a mix of industry professionals and RMIT graduates, testament to Sprynskyj and Boyd’s active involvement and reputation in Melbourne’s fashion community. “We’ve always treated the show, in terms of fashion design practice, as a performance and to show ideas,” says Sprynskyj. “Production happens later…”
Meet the rookies:
Chrissy Dore (above) is a Melbourne based photographer, social media professional and publicity consultant with 12 years’ experience in public relations and social media for lifestyle brands. This is her first turn on the Voxfrock Rookie crew.
Melbourne writer and student Eleanor Smith (above) is passionate about meaning and criticism in fashion and values ethical, sustainable processes and local designers. Read more of her writing on Fronts//Facades This is Eleanor’s first time on the Voxfrock Rookie crew.
