Melbourne Fashion Festival is GO for 2021 and our Voxfrock Rookie crew of future fashion journalists and photographers poised to file from its key runways, parties and kneezups all over town until the last light blinks off on March 20. First cab off the rank, Atusa Alexandra Mo covered the marvellously Melbournesque salon hosted by iconic designer Lisa Barron in the operatically spectacular Langham Hotel on the festival’s opening night
Words: Atusa Alexandra Mo
Pictures: Karon Photography
“The is one of our first events post-lockdown and we are super excited to have Lisa opening the season at the Langham!” says Jeffrey van Vorsselen (pictured below with Langham ambassador, Brodie Harper), managing director of Melbourne’s Langham Hotel, echoing the relief many of us feel now Covid protocols are easing and parties starting.
In the Langham’s posh Aria lounge the air seems filled with love for Lisa Barron, the designer Melbourne women fell in love with in the 1980s when she first showed her flattering, classic styles.
In a short spin around the lounge I meet some of Lisa’s biggest fans: Suzanne Hoppe from the renowned Chapter One boutique, says she’s stocked Lisa Barron for more than 30 Years. “Lisa sticks to what she knows,” Suzanne says, “She keeps her styles real and timeless, nothing airy fairy.”
Kathryn Hammerton has sold Lisa’s designs for 15 years in her eponymous event dressing boutique in Beechworth. “For me, Lisa has been a staple,” she says. “Lisa knows how to cut; her styles are always winners in my store.”
Jody says she’s been a loyal client of Lisa’s for 10 years: “I have a million different dresses of hers,” she says, “I always feel like Lisa designs clothes just for me. I could be going to an evening event or a barbecue; I always feel comfortable with her styles. I have a personal connection with the brand.”
Lisa Barron’s fall/winter collection is shown salon-style, models walking between tables set with champagne, cavier and exquisite little canapes. It’s a timeless offering, covering options from morning to evening, classics in soft neutrals, chic shapes and easy cuts in fine fabrics suited for an effortless “post-covid” lifestyle. A slide show of highlights from Lisa’s 37 years of designing screens at one end of the room.
Lisa describes the collection as one that celebrates life. “It’s hard to move forward with fashion without looking at the past,” she says. “Last year changed fashion a lot, but there are areas of special occasion dressing becoming even more glamorous. People are responding to events with even more ideals of dressing up and celebrating life.”
Lisa keeps classic glamour alive for evenings, intuitively adapts to relaxed fits and fabrics for the daytime needs of her many top-flight corporate clients. “This season my corporate collection has fabrics with more movement in them,” she explains. “I kept the cuts the same, aiming to create softer designs.”
“Fashion is always evolving,” Lisa says. “For now, this is how it is; as a creative designer I always like to foresee not more than 2 years ahead, then wait to see what the world brings on.”
Meet the Rookie:
