This week, it’s all about Melbourne.
#L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival is GO.
From Monday, March 19, check for regular Voxfresh Voxfrock reports online, Facebook and Twitter (Babbleonbyjbb).
#Many events have already kicked off ahead of the festival’s official VIP knees-up at Government House, March 19. Windows by Design for example, sponsored by the City of Melbourne and Dulux, is one of more than 100 individual events in the week-long fashion and cultural programme. It features intriguing collaborations between progressive retailers and designers and artists including Richard Nylon and Gwendolynne Burkin for Ombra (pictured), sculptor Kate Rohde and Pieces of Eight, Steph Hughes and Polyester Records. Bookings for L’Oreal beauty workshops with Alex Noonan, beauty director of Marie Claire on Saturday, March 23, are also filling and tickets for Thursday’s business seminar and key shows at Central Pier, Docklands, selling steadily on Ticketek. The festival’s Shop The Runway app enables instant look-swaps and post-show click-throughs to individual designers’ websites and lookbooks, www.lmff.com.au
This week, it’s all about Melbourne…
Richard Nylon and Gwendolynne Burkin for Ombra
#The Spirit of the Black Dress is one of several key initiatives during LMFF to kick-start sustainable fashion ideas among emerging Australian designers. It’s in its fifth – and sadly, final year owing to a lack of funding – and lured a record number of entries for 2013. The entry criteria is self explanatory and the results range from impeccably pure design to way-out wacky. Following the competition’s gala launch at Melbourne Exhibition Centre and presentation of 10 finalists this week (pictured), a free exhibition of the designs as well as photographs, film clips and information continues public promotion of its vital message of ethical production and sustainability from March 18 to April 1, at the Intercontinental Hotel, The Rialto on Collins Street, Melbourne. The ten 2013 winners are Benjamin Ringuet of Ringuet, Christie Trowbridge, Marion Liese and Christopher Hamblin of Marion Liese, Naomi Tettmann and Elke of Tettmann.Doust, Jean Cooper of Pink and Grey, Kathryn Beker, Renee Bock, Shannon Carmody, Viviana Pannell of Basquesse and Cordelia Gibbs, www.thespiritoftheblackdress.com.au.
The winners
#LMFF’s premium and corporate hospitality ticket packages include access to the Rekorderlig fashion lounge where, pre and post-shows, guests are catered by a fleet of canape-laden waiters and offered their choice of the Swedish cider company’s exotic varietals including pear, strawberry-lime, orange-ginger and winter cider flavours. Rekorderlig is also sponsoring an exhibition in the lounge, of giant replica photographs by Swedish street fashion blogger Caroline Blomst (examples pictured). For information on premium ticket packages, go to www.ticketek.com.au and for corporate package enquiries, gracescriva@lmff.com.au or 9654 5599, ext. 205.
#Eugenie Cashmere is celebrating another LMFF by commissioning a show-stopper window installation by eccentric artist Suzie Stanford at 457 High Street, Prahran East, www.eugeniecashmere.com
#The Cylk flagship store, 497 Chapel Street, South Yarra, is also plugging into the LMFF hoopla with a collaborative window installation by artists Bec and Maddie Sharrock entitled “Made in Melbourne” and featuring an edit of digitally printed silks and coats inspired by natural crystals. Creative director of Cylk, Keshia Abeysekera, says the commission highlights the brand’s intention to increase local or onshore manufacturing of its collection from 50 to 80 per cent in the next year. “We are passionate about supporting local industry,” she says. “This has always been integral to our ethos. When many manufacturers are relocating off-shore, cylk is responding to this desire of the Australian consumer to buy locally-made by bringing more of our production home to Melbourne.”
Cylk will also show a collection pod in the L’Oreal Paris Runway show to be presented by Cosmopolitan, Friday March 22, www.cylk.com.au.
Creative director of Cylk, Keshia Abeysekera
Compiled by Clarice Burke; intern@voxfrock.com.au
