Fashion Week is a frockfest far far away and of negligible interest to most ordinary mortals who are not privy to the VIP trade-only fabulousness and glamourosity of Carriageworks in April. Voxfrock monitored a a flow of anecdotes to that effect this week, and conducted a quick straw poll this afternoon which also concluded the stream of “news” out of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia was less than useless to many of the switched-on consumers who will ultimately buy, or not buy, the collections when they hit stores from June.
One particularly breathless beat-up about a “war zone” between Myer and David Jones buyers at fashion week, for example, had our industry poll-ees spluttering in disgust. “Why do they wheel out that old chestnut every bloody season?” one bawled, “Who CARES…just tell me about the CLOTHES…!” Others complained about the week’s flurry of same-old same-old ticked-off opinion pieces about the public moral and health “dangers” of the slimmer-than-average young women working as fashion models. “Can. We. Move. On. Perleeeze. It’s an occupational health and safety issue. The modelling industry needs to deal with it…” (Voxfrock would also like to insert here that there is still no “role” before “model” and better, more tenderly focussed education for all girls from primary school age is still needed to embed this.)
Thank the Goddess for www.Jasu.com which livestreamed the week’s 40-odd shows without comment (or even a decent backtrack but, that’s another issue entirely). No beat-ups, no hysteria, just frocks. Five of our seven straw-poll-ees this afternoon, said they tuned to Jasu.com at least a dozen times this week. “Full screen, feet up, double espresso or glass of wine – it was like being there, only better,” said one. Two added they saw all the shows or, near enough. “My kids are on school holidays; they went crazy all around me!” one confessed, “But I was addicted…”
So there you have it; Voxfrock concludes mainstream media outlets might engage their fashion-savvy readers and watchers more effectively if they drop the beat-ups, the same-olds, the hysterical bollocks and discombobulated show summaries by adjectival amateurs and produce simpler, more frock-focussed reports, imagery and videos instead. Voxfrock also suggests that if some fashion writers and bloggers would ban expressions such as; “Strut their stuff…” and “Grace the catwalk…”, fewer of their followers might find it necessary to lunge for a vomit bag as they read.
In light of all the above, Voxfrock will now skirt (pun intended) the more popular streams of information out of this thinner-than-average fashion week and summarise the skeleton key trends that ordinary mortals will shop for in spring/summer 2013/14 to compose their personal version of nowness.
THE LIST
Pictures of Voxfrock’s favorite shows: Getty Images and Lucas Dawson Photography.
Silhouettes: Stiffness personifies Nowness for spring. There are alternatives, naturally, but stiffness is cutting edge. The cleverest designers cut and folded thick or papery fabrics as they would cardboard, emphasising their unyielding nature. The look is paper-doll; garments applied to the body without empathy; a stiff, freestanding silhouette of their own. The techniques were used most effectively in shoulder lines and sleeves, such as in the Ellery collection (pictured below), manipulated to stand out, exaggerated extensions beyond the body line.
Fabrics: Thick technical and coated fabrics, leathers, duchess and papery silks, crisp cottons. Laces – but not as we know them – used as sheer, decorative panels or partially, cut as filigree placement pattern features on darker, lighter or sheer back-fabrics. Satin and extremely high-sheen and plastic technical fabrics. Metallic yarn mixtures and brocade, sheer organza-like and fine mesh fabrics.
Colours: White, black, egg yolk, aubergine and purple, electric blue, navy, ice-cream pales, silvers (especially) and metallics (generally).
Details: Zips as feature details. Cut-outs and cutaways. Transparent extensions.
Hemlines: Floor sweepers to knicker-grazers, with knee, mid-calf and micro-mini most common, and the occasional ankle-grazer appearing fashion forward. Assymetric and dragged hemlines.
Dresses: Mini frocklets with close-fitting bodices, cutaway arms and belled, A-line or rara skirts. Boxy, flat front shift frocks. Longer and looser and often high-waisted knee and mid-calf dresses. Maxi dresses of slack silky volumes.
Bottoms: Pencil skirts in all hemline options. Shorts in co-ordinated or matched pattern combinations with blouses or jackets. Trousers from tight and cropped at mid-calf or ankle, to classic pleated oxford styles, classic flares widening from narrow fit above the knee to floor-grazers worn over high-heeled shoes, soft and wide legged flag and patio pants. All styles matched into sets, making the trouser suit a definitive spring 2013 ensemble.
Tops: Mid-riff and brassiere-style structured crop tops, short cap-sleeved blouses, long sleeved silky and stiff shirts. Sleeves have returned to fashion with a bang and occasional cuff.
Compiled by Janice Breen Burns, Terry Carruthers and Megan Burke; info@voxfrock.com.au
