Melbourne Fashion Festival‘s first premium runway “Utopia” was a nostalgic revelation for Voxfrock rookie journalist Erin Visagie. She found herself reflecting on fairytales and talking “femininity and connectedness” backstage with fellow rookie crew member and professional stylist, Joel Parkinson. Scroll down to meet Erin and click back tomorrow for more daily updates by Voxfrock’s crew of future journalists and photographers. Words: Erin Visagie Photographs: Chrissy Dore.
As a young girl I was always fascinated by fairytales. I loved nature, its magic and in my eyes, this was what the Utopia runway captured.
Its celebration of contemporary feminine dressing and vintage references evoked the charm, spirit and essence of nature and fairytales with an array of much-loved local labels: Acler, Aje, Maara.Collective, Van der Kooij, Nevenka, Ginger & Smart and Leo Lin.
Even Utopia’s atmosphere in the Royal Exhibition Building was bubbly and buzzing, an ambience difficult to describe: chill upbeat music, bright colours everywhere, and that sense of playfulness peculiar to Melbourne’s unique fashion culture.
The show’s audience was gorgeous, diverse, sporting outfits from lace and plisse pieces to power suiting, puffy-sleeved gowns and flowing dresses.
The most striking part of Utopia was the introduction to each brand’s collection on a backdrop that illuminated different aspects of nature, from the beauty of a sunset to the freedom of a bird in flight.
One of my favorite highlights was the backdrop of beautiful pinks, yellows and oranges in a sunset to introduce locally loved brand, Van der Kooij. Its collection emphasized plisses, watercolours, pastel palettes, as evokative as that sunset.
As a first-time Melbourne Fashion Festival attendee, I was awed by the surroundings, from the piercing pink lights, to the array of stunning outfits, conversations all around me, and brilliant designs on the runway.
I even got to speak to stylist extraordinaire, Joel Parkinson, about the metaphor behind a Utopian runway concept: “It communicates sophisticated femininity and connectedness to the natural landscape,” he explained. “A series of looks that speak to our softness, our innocence and our spirit. It finds inspiration in its surroundings, almost like nature at play with fashion. Think dreamy hand embroidery, statement prints, delicate silks, and voluminous silhouettes and floral appliques.”
Joel also provided a beautiful sentiment to Voxfrock about what fashion means to him as a stylist: “The moment you put a garment on, you’re immediately revealing something about yourself to the world,” he said. “And, I admire that there are many facets to expressing and articulating your persona visually; it makes it easy to find your tribe and your niche.”
Another inspiring aspect of my Utopia runway experience was meeting an array of lovely individuals after the show, including fashion stylist, Bernice Andrews, board member of the Melbourne Fashion Festival, Kallie Blauhorn, model, triathlete and disability advocate, James Parr, and founder and designer of Jamela Boutique, Seher Istar with her friends, Hiba and Amna.
Photographer Chrissy Dore captured this picture of the gorgeous Jamela trio sporting their exquisite Jamela Raffia Bucket hats. Jamela Boutique is actually the innovative brand that launched the world’s first hijab-friendly hat. It’s designed to allow modest fashion wearers to feel stylish and confident by wearing stunning hats that can mesh with hijabs. As a culturally diverse person, seeing a brand like this making waves in the fashion world is beautiful to behold.
To me, fashion is all about creativity, being inclusive, evoking meanings/feelings and presenting different metaphors in each aspect of what you wear, design or style.
Clearly, the Utopia Runway captured nature’s beauty and magic with a collection of vibrant, rocking pieces that exhibited impeccable attention to detail. In addition, the loveliness of the onlookers we spoke to also captured how beautiful fashion can be.
Meet Voxfrock Rookie journalist Erin Visagie
