Art Gallery

Today marked the opening of the RMIT Student Exhibition at the No Vacancy Gallery, as part of the MSFW Emerging Designer Series. The exhibition titled 3 ¾, puts the spotlight on the designs of 16 talented final year RMIT students, who have the opportunity to present their own experimental, theoretical and abstract expressions of fashion and design.

Rather than showcasing the final product of fashion design in the form of garments in a collection, the exhibition celebrates the entire design process, emphasising the need to challenge the ‘conventional’ representation of fashion. Students were encouraged to experiment with a range of design processes, which are documented in the spectacular installations, animations, images and sculptures on display at the No Vacancy Gallery.

It’s clear these students know their stuff; just listening them explain the purpose of their remarkable works was inspiring, let along having the opportunity to experience first-hand, the sheer merit of their work. You will be hard-pressed to find a group of students as passionate about their craft as these budding fashion designers.

Alana Hersh’s design statement titled, ‘Textilis’ explores the amalgamation of architecture and fashion from 2D to 3D, in the form of a stunning silk/organza installation.

“I’ve used a range of techniques such as weaving, crocheting, pleating, braiding and knotting to discuss the idea of decoration and surface, and to determine whether decoration is superficial or if it can be embodied,” she said.

Those who question the substance of the fashion industry and fashion design as a trade, will most certainly be proven wrong upon viewing the incredible student exhibits. It is obvious that hours upon hours of painstaking labour, planning and speculation have gone into the development of the 16 creative displays, of which are all stunning representations of fashion as an expressive medium. Perhaps the exhibition helps explain the paradox of the frivolity of the fashion industry, through the attempt to encourage individuals to engage with fashion in a new and different way.

Student Meghan Hutchens explored this very notion in her exhibit titled ‘Fashion Image’. Through a series of images and stills, Hutchens unpacks the fashion process to demonstrate the crucial stages of the design process. From conceptualization, to interdisciplinary collaboration and communication, she explores the notion of fashion as, “everything but the garment.”

The MSFW RMIT Student Exhibition gives students the unique opportunity to not only present their inimitable works and designs in a public forum, but to also test their individual design concepts for their potential to create a collection in the future. This is a free event, open to the public from Tuesday 6 September to Sunday 18 September.

Melbourne Street Fashion is a proud supporter of the Spotlight MSFW Emerging Designer Series. To celebrate our support of the Emerging Designer Series, we're giving away two double passes to two MSFW 2011 runway events. But be quick, the prizes are held on Friday and Saturday!

Words: Christie Sinclair

She had Eric Clapton on his knees and George Harrison needing no other lover. Most famous for inspiring two of the greatest love songs of all time during marriages to both of these men, the legendary rock muse Pattie Boyd is now showing – for the first time in Australia – her personal collection of photographs taken during both relationships.

Scoring a small role as a Beatles-crazed schoolgirl in the 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night the relatively unknown model soon became a household name after being begged for a date by an infatuated Harrison. As it became apparent that the relationship was serious Boyd endured the fury of jealous Beatle fans. Kicked abused and stalked — yet nothing deterred Boyd from marrying the Beatles’ guitarist.

Her marriage to Harrison gave Boyd entry into the world of rock and roll royalty where she mucked around with photography capturing intimate shots of The Rolling Stones The Beatles Clapton and other famous friends.

The collection which is showing as part of the Images of Rock’n’Roll exhibition at Melbourne’s Silver K Gallery gives a rare opportunity to show the individuals behind the superstar personae. We see Ronnie Wood the artist painting his friends we see an in-love Harrison lying on a bed we see Clapton and Harrison chatting on a couch — giving us a glimpse of the friendship before Clapton fell for his friend’s wife.

Boyd embodied sixties sex appeal. Mick Jagger tried to seduce her Ronnie Wood did seduce her and Harrison’s good friend Clapton became obsessed with her. Idol to the icon Twiggy has even said that Boyd was a major influence upon her own look.

It was this allure that inspired Harrison to pen ‘something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover’. This song “Something” has even had seduction god Frank Sinatra deeming it the best love song in fifty years.

Despite his love for the English model Harrison couldn’t resist his fans the “Apple Scruffs” who lingered outside the Abbey Road studios. Sick of being cheated on Boyd hit-on her husband’s friend Clapton. Still in love with Harrison, Boyd ended the affair pretty quickly. Clapton didn’t take it well and wrote probably one of the most plaintive and definitive love song of our times “Layla” about his unrequited love for Boyd.

Harrison finally ended his marriage in 1973 however later he tried to work things out with Boyd - yet she had run off with Clapton. The new couple married in 1979 but after ten years Clapton’s drug addictions and infidelities led to its collapse. The flawed marriage along with Clapton’s destructive behaviour was regularly played out in the media. Despite this Boyd’s photographs reveal a calm and loving side of the relationship.

Now living in the English countryside with her partner of 13 years, real estate developer Rod Weston, Boyd’s life couldn’t be further removed from the drug, sex and party lifestyle of the rock ‘n’ roll elite. Preferring not to dwell on the past the photographs momentarily allow her to go back to a different lifetime. This is ultimately the beauty of the collection. Boyd has managed to portray her superstar subjects with such familiarity that we too can briefly feel part of their world.

Images of Rock 'n' Roll is running now until June 28 at Silver K Gallery, 1092 High Street Armadale.

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 10.00am - 5.30pm Saturday 10.30am - 5.30pm &amp Sunday 11.30am - 5.30 pm