Planets away from the dim-lit catwalks and pounding backtracks of Melbourne Fashion Festival, another kind of frock show also takes shape around this time of year.
Stylelights, scheduled on March 26, is a fashion show too, but one with a few typical ingredients missing. No sullen, stick-thin teen models, for example. No celebrity front row. No hierarchy of banked bleacher seating. In fact, not even a catwalk or runway to speak of. Organiser Kerry Daly stages Stylelights annually to promote retail traders along Camberwell’s Burke Road and busy shopping junction. Tickets sell quickly, mostly to local women and girls – and men and boys – charmed by the event’s reputation (it’s also still known as a “parade”) for presenting new trends in what is essentially, an old fashioned way. “It’s relaxed, everybody chats, has a beautiful dinner, watches a beautiful fashion parade,” says Ms. Daly. “And, it’s a lot of fun.”
Ms. Daly stages Stylelights, broadly in the manner of a 1950s salon, with smiling models (yes!) and guests seated around tables in a large private dining room above Camberwell’s spacious Georges Restaurant. A typical night revolves around prize draws, a guest speaker (this year, Yours Truly was chuffed to be asked), gift bags and a core show pulled together by renowned stylist and veteren fashion show producer Lucy Kiraly (main picture, top). “It’s a very interactive parade,” Ms Kiraly says. “Models are at floor level so our audience can actually talk to them and touch the garments if they like. It’s very intimate and relaxed.”
Ms. Kiraly appears focussed on fashion’s ability to intimidate, and counters this by stripping her styling back to a set of foolproof, easy to understand principles of classic dressing. Key trends are whipped in from her observations of trends evolving on runways in Paris, Milan, New York, but edited for the needs of real girls, working women, mums, dads…. She is also quick to reiterate, however, that “real” doesn’t mean unsophisticated. “It’s a beautiful show, but with information,” she says.
Models are cast who validate the sizes, shapes, ages and tastes in Stylelights’ audience. “I have a model in her 50s, a model who is 18, and sizes ranging from eight to 16,” Ms. Kiraly says, “What I feel I’m giving (the audience) is reality, with a very modern, but classical feel, and a bit of styling for different shapes, sizes, ages…” She harvests garments for styling from the latest rack drops among Camberwell’s dozens of fashion retailers including Feathers, Sportscraft, Blue Illusion, Country Road and Gazman, brands well known for their grounding in “real” people’s wardrobes, as well boutiques such as Esse, Oska and Mimma Priolo, for specialty and higher end options. And, she interrogates each retailer about which trends appear to be registering the best first impressions among their customers. “They know their market better than anyone,” she says. “So, I’ll visit every store and listen to what they’re saying.” The result is a fashion show precisely calibrated and pitched to Stylelights’ varied audience.
“We’re not creating a fantasy couture show,” Ms. Kiraly says. “But, there is definitely room for a bit of that glamour, especially with evening wear.” Among her participating retailers, a handful of high-end boutiques provide the eye-popping frock or three that every fashion show – even a perfectly pitched Parisien-salon style parade – needs to finish with a bang and a sparkle. “Yes, the fabulous evening gown on the six-foot-four size-eight model; we do add that glamour bit at the very end,” Ms. Kiraly says, “But mainly, it’s a happy night, a beautiful show, and probably the most educational parade they’ll see!”
Stylelights, 6.30 to 10.30 pm., Wednesday March 26, Georges Restaurant, Burke Road, Camberwell. Tickets $80 single, $300 group of 4 (half table). Book here.
For more information, www.camberwellshopping.com.au
Janice Breen Burns, jbb@voxfrock.com.au
