VoxFrock’s coverage of Melbourne Fashion Festival 2026 kicks off today with a frow-eyed view by Paris “RATPARIS” Williment from the Noir Reign Runway, a regular sparkler on its vast Independent Programme. Click back for more reportage as the weeks unfold and to meet our 12-member crew of future fashion journalists and photographers tutored by their exceptional young mentors. Bon appetit.
Words: RATPARIS Photos: Kieran McNamara and Chloe Inwood/Nakamori Kuroi
Burrowed below the sprawling grounds of Collingwood’s Abbotsford Convent, the stripped bare Good Shepherd Chapel was stark contrast for the glimmering, ethereal elegance of Noir Reign Runway.
A collaboration between local fashion label Asher + Archer and couture jeweller Silent Dove, Noir Reign was a show of opulence that effortlessly avoided pitfalls common to some ‘sustainable fashion’ shows.
Both Asher + Archer and Silent Dove cite their love and commitment to sustainable business practises which, in all honesty, made me a tad apprehensive.
And, perhaps this will catch me some heat: but, I did go to a Steiner school and thus, feel my opinion is justified by lifelong indoctrination in “ecological guilt”.
Sometimes, “sustainable fashion” sucks. Sometimes, it relies too much on conceit about its own ethical and ecological practises, making it taboo to acknowledge when it happens to be expensive, labour-intensive or, God forbid, ugly.
It takes true talent, vision, excellent make and a swathe of sustainable principles to meet and exceed my critical standards.
It takes intentionality, visible at every level. And, much to my relief, every single look brought forth for Noir Reign in that tiny white chapel, met my lofty expectations.
Remarks such as ‘excellent tailoring’ and “couture craftsmanship” are ubiquitous in so many runway reviews, so I shan’t gush here over the masterful tailoring of Asher + Archer, or the craftsmanship behind Silent Dove’s jewellery, as this collaboration of local creatives is much more than just a technical triumph.
The marriage of materials, the coloured schemes of each look; it seemed to me, someone’s been sipping on the Dries Van Noten tea.
Silent Dove’s pieces, specifically the necklaces, could almost serve as outfits on their own; grand in scale, heft and movement, each bead and glass disc working together to throw a thousand tiny disco lights.
I can’t help but love jewellery that makes its own music as it moves, drawing attention to its wearer as they move through the world, a concept I find to be the epitome of femininity.
This collaboration works because both brands understand how to create pieces that command presence through movement and music.
This understanding, and the implementation of it, is why I left Noir Reign with tears in my eyes. To know that wearable art is being made ethically – sustainably – in our own back yard seems almost too good to be true. But to to see (and hear) these pieces is to believe it.
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