WELCOME TO THE 2015 VOXFROCK AWARDS! AN OUTRAGEOUSLY ARBITRARY LIST OF OUR PICKS OF VAMFF’S BEST, SELFISHLY COMPOSED AND ARROGANTLY DEFENDED (DON’T EVEN BOTHER). HERE YOU GO..
BEST COLLABORATION
THE VOXFROCK AND RMIT ROOKIE CREWS OF REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS WROTE AND SHOT SOME OF THE FESTIVAL’S MOST CONCISE REVIEWS AND EVOCATIVE IMAGES. JUST SAYING. CONGRATULATIONS ROOKIES GRETA RICHMOND, ZHONGDA WANG, STUART CHENN, SEBASTIAN PETROVSKI, MICHAELA BARCA, GEORGIA QUINN, KIRRA JERAM, ZACHARY OUSLINIS, MERVE TOGAN, LAUREN THOM, PRUDENCE TRINKA, RAGNHILD UTNE, BRADY HASELER, AUBREY COMBEN, ALESSIA FERRARO, ALEXIA PETSINIS AND SIMONE POOLE. LOVE YOUR WORK. (AND, LET’S LOOK AT SOME MORE, BELOW.)
BEST SHOW
WELL, DUH. ROMANCE WAS BORN GAVE ORDINARY MORTALS A GLIMPSE INTO THEIR GLORIOUS IMAGINERY WORLDS, RESERVED UNTIL NOW FOR A COMPARATIVELY FEW TRADE AND MEDIA VIPS AT AUSTRALIAN FASHION WEEKS. UNDER A THICK ARBOUR OF LAZERED PAPER GUMLEAVES, THE SCENT OF EUCALYPTUS IN THE AIR, LUKE AND ANNA, THE ENDEARING DESIGNERS SALES AND PLUNKETT, UNLEASHED THEIR FASHIONABLE VISION (WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM CREATIVE DIRECTOR MARK VASSALLO, PRODUCER GERALDINE FRATER-WYETH AND MAKEUP DIRECTOR RAE MORRIS FOR PRICELINE) OF AUTHOR MAY GIBBS’ ICONIC GUMNUT, WATTLE AND BANKSIA CREATURES. YOU KNOW THE REST.
SECOND BEST SHOW
AFTER DAVID JONES’ ROLLICKING OPENING SHOW – 240-ODD OUTFITS ON FOUR, SIX AND TEN-DEEP MODEL SQUADRONS – RUNWAY ONE WITH BASSIKE, CAMILLA & MARC, DION LEE, ETRE CECILE, SCANLAN THEODORE AND TOME, WAS A SOMBRE – NEAR GOTHIC – SHOCK TO THE VOXSYSTEM. BUT, IT GREW ON US. ONE MODEL A TIME ON A TELESCOPIC RUNWAY (HERE’S ONE! SHE’S COMING! SMALL, NOTSO SMALL, BIGGER, BIGGER…NOW SHE’S GOING! GOING, SMALLER, SMALLER…) DOES FOCUS ONE’S ATTENTION ON THE DETAIL OF EACH AND EVERY FROCK. WHICH IS NICE. WE LIKED SCANLAN THEODORE ESPECIALLY.
BEST COLLECTION
JOSH GOOT’S GRAND SHOWCASE WASN’T SO GRAND (WE’RE EVER HUNGRY FOR A BELL AND WHISTLE, A LITTLE POMP, THUNDER AND FIREWORKS), BUT HIS COLLECTION WAS HANDS DOWN THE SLEEKEST, MOST COHESIVE AND VASTLY ADMIRED IN THE AFTER-PARTY-MATH. (THE VOXFROCKERS NOTED ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, HOWEVER, THAT JOSH’S VISION APPEARS EXCLUSIVELY GEARED FOR STRIPLINGS.)
BEST OFF-SITE EVENT
STONNINGTON’S FAMOUS FOR FASHION BOUTIQUE HIGH TEA AT MALVERN TOWN HALL. CAKE, FROCKS, BUBBLES, NUFF SAID.
EQUAL BEST OFFSITE EVENT
MIMCO BOSS CATHRYN WILLS AND THE COLLECTIVE HUB’S LISA MESSENGER, HOSTED CREATIVES COLLIDE, A DINNER FOR 25 WOMEN OF INFLUENCE IN A PRIVATE DINING ROOM AT FITZROY’S CUTLER & CO. DELICIOUS, TERRIBLY ELEGANT AND COSYGLAMOUROUS, ALL AT ONCE. WE WERE SHOWERED WITH THOUGHTFUL GESTURES (CATHRYN’S CAREFUL INTRODUCTION OF EACH WOMAN AND HER CAREER) AND LITTLE GIFTS (MIMCO BANGLES, A BEACHPEOPLE BEACH TOWEL, BOXES OF NECTAR AND STONE CHOCOLATES!) BUT, MOST DEEPLY MOVING WAS THE REALISATION THAT, ALTHOUGH WE REPRESENTATED A DOZEN CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES, WE WERE ALL – NOT TO PUT TOO FINE OR MODEST A POINT ON IT – ORIGINALS. NATURALLY, CHAT AND GIGGLES ABOUT OUR INEVITABLE YOUNG TRIBES OF PLAGIARISTS – REPLICATORS OF CAZ KHOO’S EXQUISITE SWEETIES, FOR EXAMPLE, KERRIE HESS’S GORGEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS, TANIA DE BONO’S UNIQUE TYPEFACES, EVEN MIMCO’S RELENTLESSLY ORIGINAL HANDBAGS AND JEWELLERY – WAS A RARE AND REFRESHING RELIEF. MIDNIGHT WAS MY GLASS-SLIPPER MOMENT (I WAS BY FAR THE OLDEST WOMAN THERE) BUT COULD HAVE HAPPILY SETTLED IN FOR THE NIGHT IF NOT FOR A FULL FROCKSHOW SCHEDULE NEXT DAY
EQUAL EQUAL BEST OFFSITE EVENT
NIXI KILLICK. JOY UNBRIDLED.
NIXI KILLICK. PHOTO: LUCAS DAWSON
BEST FRONT ROW
(BAHAHAHA!) IT TOOK JUST ONE MELBOURNE SPRING FASHION WEEK (LAST SEPTEMBER) AND ONE MELBOURNE FASHION FESTIVAL (THIS ONE), TO RENDER DECADES OF FRONT ROW TRADITION IN TATTERS. ONCE IT WAS A GUEST LIST FOR WORKING MEDIA (IE: BEST VIEW, GEDDIT?) AND A RESPECTFUL NOD TO FASHION’S HEIRARCHY OF VERY IMPORTANT CURRENT AND RECENT CREATORS AND CONTRIBUTORS. THE FROW NOW, IS AN UNDIGNIFIED SCHEMOZZLE OF WANNABES, INTERNS BARELY OUT OF BRACES, BFFS, BOYFRIENDS AND WHOTHEHELLAREYOUS?. TICKETS ARE SOLD FOR A PREMIUM OR DISTRIBUTED LIKE LOLLIES OR CHOOK FOOD BY WHO KNOWS WHO FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT FAVORS, LEAVING CAPTAINS OF FASHION AND WORTHY BLOGGERS AND JOURNALISTS PERCHED BEHIND THE RABBLE (PROPER CELEBRITIES EXCEPTED; WE LOVE A PROPER CELEBRITY BUT, WHERE ARE THEY?), UP THE BACK AND IN THE NOSEBLEEDS IF THEY BOTHER TO ATTEND AT ALL. THE VOXFROCKERS’ FAVE FROWER THIS WEEK WAS SOMEONE’S BRUISER BOYFRIEND WHO LEANED FORWARD (RUNWAY ETIQUETTE 101: DON’T LEAN FORWARD!), LEGS SPREAD (RUNWAY ETIQUETTE 102: SCOOCH UP, LEGS TOGETHER!), AND PLAYED WITH HIS PHONE (WHAT FROCKS?) WHILE DISTRACTEDLY BOUNCING TO THE BEAT (RUNWAY ETIQUETTE 103: DON’T BOUNCE TO THE BEAT, ESPECIALLY ON THE FROW!). DID HE CLOCK A SINGLE FROCK? NYET. NOR DID MOST OF HIS FELLOW FROWERS SEATED IN HIS LEANING LINE OF SIGHT. FROWER; SCHMOWER.
Janice Breen Burns, jbb@voxfrock.com.au, with Terry Carruthers, info@voxfrock.com.au
