Here VoxFrockers Ru Elliot and Chrissy Dore review Refined Edit, MFW’s showy tribute to fashion’s classicly classy concepts of glamour, grooming, good taste and snapping-fresh modernity, all bundled into one utterly lovely runway. You’re welcome. Bon appetit and check back later for the VoxFrockers’ last blasts and wrap reports from MFW 2024.
Words: Ru Elliot Photographs: Chrissy Dore (Scroll down to meet the VoxFrockers.)
The Refined Edit runway was exactly that, a show for those with an eye for exacting silhouettes, pitch perfect tailoring and quality to rival the European houses. A show that reflected the values of Melbourne’s stylish elite.
Designers played to the classic tastes of those ubiquitous subscribers to ‘melbourne black’ who branch into white or muted prints on their more daring days and increasingly, recently, into pink and green, now staples on the streets outside events like this one.
There is an outlier group of Melbourne’s most stylish too, exemplified during this show by brands such as Nevenka. Designer Rosemary Masic had expertly transformed fabrics that many might associate with a Brunswick nonna’s house, into garments that would be right at home in a Michelin star restaurant. Crochet table cloths were elevated into gowns, curtains transformed into a light trench, perfect for spring weather.
Trench coats appeared in many iterations across the show. For Maara Collective they were exacted in a way that felt vital for any working woman traipsing through the CBD: lightness of fabric, classic finishes, perfect for spring’s middling weather and the dappled light thrown through fresh leaves.
Maara Collective’s warm-toned ochres were a welcome offset against the harsher black and white palettes of some designers. The “Wednesday Addams” girly goth work of Gail Sorronda for example, and the sculptural silhouettes of Mariam Seddiq.
Gail Sorronda’s tiered dresses were reminiscent of childhood dreams of runway garments, shortened to practical lengths, worn over black boots, giving off the energy of a young girl’s playbox, all grown up.
Mariam Seddiq on the other hand, covered the “event dressing” requirements of a fashionista, with constructions that screamed “photograph me”.
Gary Bigeni showed silken drapes and expert tailoring. The simplicity of his designs allowed illustrative prints to sing their song. Perhaps not for the women who wear monochromatic outfits, they spoke more to the eclecticism of Melbourne.
Anything, even a chaotic outfit, can be as chic as a Chanel coat in this city. The Refined Edit show as a whole, in fact, spoke to the parts of Melbourne’s style that make it the city it is; the diversity, the acceptance and the constant building and breaking of stylistic rules over and over again.
Meet the VoxFrockers
Ru Elliot, journalist
Ru has assisted in the curation of historical fashion exhibitions and currently works in a variety of roles with local designers while on a hiatus from tertiary study. Her journalism projects have featured in publications such as ALICE.D magazine and zines published around Melbourne, London and Paris. Ru is passionate about exploring links between the zeitgeist, the past and the contemporary fashion landscape.
Chrissy Dore, photographer/crew mentor
