Cult Worship

Brands curated for MFW’s hump day runway mix skewed closest to Melbourne’s infamous “generic” aesthetic: often black (not always), avante-garde (invariably) and subtly, sizzlingly original. VoxFrocker Theadora Violet captured best bits of this aptly named Cult Runway’s and – special treat for moi and toi – Ru Elliot filed her inimitably personal ruminations on the show (staged in the State Library’s majestic Queens Hall) and its knock-on meanings in her own life. Scroll down to meet today’s VoxFrock crew and click back and back for dailies right up until MFW’s deathknock closing runway Sunday.

Photos: Theadora Violet Words: Ru Elliot

I was initially confused by “Cult Status”, a name that, to me, conjures brands with a feverish following, strict adherence to a particular look; perhaps internet girls? (And, am I one? If I’m a girl who’s always on the internet, crafting an image of myself for others to follow? In a way, this show said, yes I am.)

From the opening look by Club Venus I understood. This was my generation, raised online but also, accustomed to using the internet as a place to give our outsider-ness a place to thrive.

There was a black miniskirt, visibly paneled, deliberately make-do: a partying-till 8am-taking-digi-cam-photos-with-her-friends- and-dj-ing-in-her-bedroom ketamine-chic sort-of look. It embodied the energy of youth, her life in a cultural panopticon, symbol of constant surveillance, staring at her.

This was only reinforced when Robert Baxter came out to perform their high-energy home-grown pop-star goodness. Robert, an old friend from my own days working till 5am in clubs, has used the internet (and their undeniable star power and work-ethic) to launch a career that now sees their face projected across this runway show.

It’s not all fun and fantasy though. Wilson Jedd Adam’s presented the third chapter of his ongoing recycled work, ‘Fantastic Plastic’ and this was intriguing again.

Wilson Jedd Adams. Photo: Theadora Violet

His outlandish shapes and couture grandeur were rendered in shiny, reflective plastics, cellophanes, polyester, an illusion the models were fashioning themselves out of digital detritus, commenting on climate crisis with the actual detritus that surrounds us all the time.

Others made fantasy reality. Brand Gotham, for example, turned to nautical inspiration, grounding sailor hats and shipwrecked maidens firmly into street context with an undeniable urban cool, their deer print from last season (as worn by Baxter) transformed into diamonds coveted by the kind of girl this runway was raging about.

But, this girl, she also contains multitudes, after a big night out slipping into the plush textures of, say, a light blue jumper by Chris Ran Lin.

And, maybe, remnants of last night’s bold black eye makeup still there, keeping her edge but allowing us a look into her softer side. A look she’s carefully curated for Instagram or Tumblr.

And so to the finale: as all models excreted en masse I thought about all the i(n)t(ernet) girls I’ll never know, who have made their image exactly what they want it to be. Maybe they are cult leaders after all.