Parties & Pop Ups

I’m sure you’re aware of the recent shifts in consumer buying behaviour; our smaller boutiques and labels are suffering at the hands of international online rag-trader giants as Aussies turn to overseas markets for a competitive deal. Now more than ever, our independent designers need support to keep them afloat in this current retail crisis.

So what's the appeal in purchasing independent fashion? We discussed the difference in quality and exclusivity in Series One of our Independent Designer articles. But what about good old-fashioned shopping? I’m not talking about trawling through website after website, online store after online store. I know it’s rather convenient to shop online at times, especially when it means you don’t have to immerse yourself in a car-park battle or even get out of your pjs, but lets not forget the physical experience of shopping. Online shopping is a great way to browse products and help us quickly find what we are looking for, but the disconnection and lack of physical interaction only increases the difficulty choosing your product and post purchase dissonance.

Phoebe Garland, co-owner of Garland & Garland Fashion, a leading Sydney-based fashion agency believes we need to recognise the contribution independent fashion has made by reinforcing the personal service and the wonderful relationships you can have with the smaller boutiques and buying from Australian retailers.

“These smaller retailers have contributed significantly to building these multinational apparel companies. And, these are the retailers that are really suffering. They simply do not have the luxury of operating on the higher margins the chains stores and vertical operators do and they have quite often been lining the pockets of the big apparel companies for years,” she said.

Customer service is a notion most of us have consigned to oblivion now that we have the option of online shopping, but it plays a very large role in customer satisfaction and positive brand image. The physical connection between the consumer and a product is imperative, and it is the customer service that can help facilitate a positive outcome in the end.

It seems department stores and large fashion retailers pay little attention to customer service, which is interesting considering the vast competition from online stores and overseas e-boutiques. So if you are after knowledgeable and friendly staff who virtually live and breathe fashion, head to smaller boutiques and independent retailers.

There is nothing quite like stepping into your favourite boutique and knowing you will be greeted, assisted and treated like a friend rather than a potential buyer. You won’t have to search five floors and numerous un-manned counters, or have to deal with stroppy sales assistants who are more interested in simply making sales than helping you find the perfect garment. Although boutiques generally employ less staff, this allows more time for training and ensuring they employ the ideal candidate for the job.

Skill shortages are also not a problem as many independents employ ‘stylists’ as opposed to sales assistants, whose role is to assist the customer in finding the perfect garment using their broad knowledge of fashion and the particular brand.

Celebrity Stylist, Amber Renee agrees that stylists can drastically enhance the shopping experience by providing independent, educated advice to assist the consumer in selecting the best possible garment in the least stressful manner. She also notes that stylists advice is generally not biased as they are not pressured by sales targets or under any conflict of interest.

“If the stylist is educated on body shapes and skin tones they can provide advice that relates directly to that customer – rather than show what’s been the ‘best seller’ or ‘what everyone loves’.”

Words: Christie Sinclair

After the incredible work from the RMIT Graduate fashion show that Melbourne Street Fashion had the pleasure of seeing at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2010, we were all so excited to see what was install for next years graduates!

Melbourne’s historic GPO Shopping complex recently hosted an exhibition of third year work from RMIT fashion students.  The event showcased their work for the year and giving us a taste of what is to come. The worked ranged from dresses, to swimwear, from elegant ready to wear to chaotically creative pieces. The quality of the work was impressive, as people have come to expect from RMIT, with students so advanced in only their third year, next years Graduate show is bound to be something else.

Words and photos: Max Sanderson

Limedrop's temporary concept store is pretty-ing up Melbourne Central with suspended plants, grass, flowers and fashions hung in a summer-perfect greenhouse.

The official launch for Limedrop's temporary 'pop-up' store lured us out on Friday night. With us, a stylish, free-booze loving crowd helped turn Melbourne Central's tunnel walkway into a scene common of a Brunswick party: cool kids and plenty of street style gems (heck even Face Hunter man himself, Yvan Rodic was there!)

The shop itself, (which is modelled on a greenhouse) displayed the current collection and some pretty nifty accessories amongst suspended plants and a simplistically pleasing modular wooden racking system. Designed in collaboration with Georgina Armstrong and Pip McCulley of design studio, Wonder, the shop is certainly worth a visit- especially as it's only there for summer.

Limedrop's Pop Up Concept store is located at Melbourne Central, Level 2 Linkbridge (between Saba and Calibre).

Words & photos: Tilly Pearman

Last week we went along to the Vanguard party thrown in a South Melbourne garage space next to St. ALi Cafe to celebrate the close call of Summer and to launch the Spring Summer 10/11 range Good Morning Rucksack Wanderers.

Bam Brands decked the place out nicely and there was even a sweet BBQ out the back in the lane. Bless.

Take a look at who was there...



Photos: An Architect Photographed my Undies

Last Friday Somewhere boutique hosted the launch of 'Sometimes' Magazine. In their own words, sometimes they sell clothes, sometimes they host exhibitions and last week they launched a magazine.

Canvassing a collection of conversations and creative submissions from prominent local and international designers artists and musicians, here is what Melbourne Street Fashion found at the party.



Photos: Max Sanderson

Held at RMIT Alumni Court at the old Melbourne Gaol all historical morbidity was shoved aside on Wednesday night to make way for FAT’s rather simple showcasing of Montreal label Complex Geometries. The event heralded quite the turnout- edgy young things came for the clothes and stayed for the good vibes radiating all round.

The recipe for said success involved little more than coloured lights a DJ free drinks and an expansive (albeit fake) lawn. Ah and of course the tiny Mongolian Yurt shoved in the corner too. A lovely girl who warned patrons of the low ceiling of the entrance (a warning which I did not properly heed to much to the detriment of my cranium) manned the doorway to the Yurt.



Within its circular perimeter lay a desk and two racks of cotton dresses and oversized t-shirts which left barely enough room to peruse comfortably without knocking something over. The clothes themselves all fail safe black white and grey were anything but the oft uttered cliché “simple with a twist” which in most cases translates directly into “boring”.
From afar the pieces appeared to be seemingly simple but once lifted off the rack they were completely perplexing. Oh yes there was much more than just a “twist”. There were drapes folds and asymmetry nips pleats displaced sleeves and spangled floor trailing bits (if you’re having trouble envisaging anything my friend aptly described the clothes as “very complex potato sacks”).

These “complex geometries” amounted to a great deal of confusion as to which limb was to be inserted through which slot in the garment but the quiet complexity was all part of the beauty. Personally if I could ask for anything more it’d be for a smoother fabric. The fluidity of the pieces could be enhanced by trading the “I washed this t-shirt too many times and now it’s kind of thin and starchy” material for more jersey.

However, Complex Geometries - known already for its functionality and trans-seasonal appeal - will no doubt be welcomed by the Melbournian crowd. Let's face it: the whole city seems to have an inherent liking for effed up basics.

Complex Geometries is available from FAT Stores. FAT is also holding their infamous garage sale from now until April 5th. Rock up to 210 Brunswick St and you may be able to score some other 'basics with a twist' for a margin of the price - including Cheap Monday, Bassike and Skinny Nelson.

Words: Emma Do
Photos: Hayley Hughes

There's something humbling about Dai Fujiwara as he addresses a packed out lecture theatre at Melbourne's RMIT. Maybe it's his interpretation of the English language or perhaps his stereotypically petite Japanese frame? Whichever it is the creative director of Issey Miyake certainly manages to win over his patient listeners with a rare and insightful talk about the brand that many (including myself) had left behind in the nineties.

"Well-worn books in the library" are discussed by lecturer Robyn Healy before introducing Dai to the stage. It's a clear indication to the long-lasting love affair we as a nation have with Mr Miyake. Invited by the University to speak in conjunction with the current exhibition The Endless Garment (curated by Robyn Healy) and as part of the LMFF schedule, Dai journeyed with us into his world of rounded simplicity and daring innovation.

Speaking predominately on his A-POC concept which he developed back in 1998 Dai touched on notions of the highly topical sustainable design and the incredibly Eastern approach to dressing the human body. As a man who has the rare ability to fuse science with beauty Dai explains how his ongoing relationship with technology led him to A-POC.



The design "system" as he classes it challenged the way we perceive cloth via a computer-programmed knitting machine that creates tubular lengths of fabric with pre-set patterns inside. No longer constricted to the conventional methods of garment construction A-POC uniquely allowed people to cut the fabric themselves following pre-made guidelines that welcomed a new dialogue of genderless and ageless design. This unique approach to fashion not only focussed on less fabric waste but also contributed to a widening trend in integrated design with higher customer engagement.

Seemingly always two steps ahead of the more "trend"" led fashion pack the Miyake brand became as much about self-education as it did about educating the customer. Teaching us the relationship between clothing and the body was another unique concept that the 4 Dimensional design philosophy routed within A-POC stood to represent. A-POC (A Piece Of Cloth) A-POS (A Piece Of String) A-POM (A Piece Of Machine) and A-POE (A Piece Of Education). Almost childlike in its simplicity this 4-part explanation perfectly depicts the slowed down and unfolding way in which Dai's mind works.

A we listen attentively and giggle at his pronunciation of the word ""vacuumer"" stories of colour research trips to the Amazon Jungle - where they scientifically investigate the colour of leaves water and soil - help us understand his love for acute detail and the poetic language of texture colour and line within fashion. His emotionally connected outlook later reveals his childhood love for the wind and how this subsequently led to the highly inventive collaboration with Dyson vacuums.

The collaborative attitude is something which underlines a key relationship style within the Miyake team. Again a clear learning process for them the collaborative method usually welcomes architects scientists or product designers who are in no way obviously connected to fashion. During the talk Dai points out furniture designer Ron Arad and Mathematician William Thurston to justify this point and explain how the two can happily join together and form innovative new design.

He concludes with a video of the latest Autumn/Winter collection which took place in Paris earlier this month. Appropriately drawing the evening to a close the mathematical inspired collection draws on the aforementioned Thurston with the consolidated conception of ""beautiful geometry"". Shapes and models relating to the universe inform mathematical inspired tubular constructions that drape around the body in a colourful balance between scientific formulae and aesthetically pleasing art. As the final model steps out onto the catwalk we begin to applaud not only to the fabulous collection but to Dai Fujiwara himself and his rare and beautifully intelligent mind.

Words: Tilly Pearman
Photos: Holly Childs

There's a buzz around Insert Coin Here a group exhibition held in two vending machines roving the streets of Melbourne. Curated by Nella Themelios and Kim Brockett, this show sees 'fashion objects' by over 60 artists and designers - including Dylan Martorell, Sarah McNeil and Jarrod Zlatic - dispensed randomly to the public for $2 a pop.

So far the vending machines have appeared at Craft Victoria and at Captains of Industry with the fash-objects at both locations selling out in a matter of hours. The official launch, held at 1000 £ Bend, saw the vending machines again sitting empty - or at least they were empty by the time I got there. On the whole fashion at the launch was restrained but the key to the event was accessories or fashion objects some of which appeared to have popped straight out of the vending machines and into people’s outfits.

Next stop for the (refilled) vending machines will be Alice Euphemia in Cathedral Arcade where they'll sit from Sunday 14th March for a week - but you'd be silly to expect their delicious little trinkets to stay put for that long. Your last opportunity to pull something special from the machines will be The Thousands Shop in Curtain House from Monday the 22nd March to Wednesday 31st March. Don't miss out. BYO $2 coin.

Words and photos: Holly Childs

It’s hard not to notice the buzz around Melbourne this week. In the lead up to the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival which is officially on this week it seems that every store gallery designer and fashion what-not has thrown an event in anticipation of Melbourne’s celebrated festival. Unless you’re on some kind of caffeine-insomniac-fashion-crazed binge (it’s been known to happen) it’s near impossible to attend all of the pre-parties. But judging by the ‘snug’ seating that got me very cosy with my neighbour Friday night’s Penthouse Mouse runway was one event not to be missed.



With LMFF celebrating Australia’s talented established designers, Penthouse Mouse gives up-and-coming designers a space to present their latest collections during the festival. Running from the 6-19th March Penthouse Mouse – the brain child of Moth Designs which is now in its fourth year – is a temporary fashion store arts and events space and friday night was their biggie of all events – the Midmouse Runway.

In the former Naval and Military Club off Coates Lane the night started with drinks on the roof-top courtyard. After an hour or so we were invited into an intimate room for the runway.

First up was guys’ label Autonomy offering smart street-wear with leather gloves and draped-hooded jackets.

Next was Subfusco who was one of the stand-outs of the night with their futuristic collection. Key pieces included the women’s silver pants and the guys’ drop-crutch skinny trousers as well as the men’s black metallic parker. OK OK offered men and women’s basics. Guys were dressed in denim on denim – a very popular look of the night – with almost all the menswear designers using this look.

Satu was on-trend with animal print tights and leather-look bandage skirts and dresses which were accessorised with adorable backpacks and studded gloves. In their first LMFF show Vanguard presented wearable menswear. Their signature black and white Aztec graphic featured on knitwear stood-out which was especially fantastic when used for the knit pants.

Next Leonard St. mixed silk floral dresses with bright graphic jumper dresses for smart yet fun looks. From Brittan closed the show with beautiful embellished wool dresses and a striking men’s suit. Joining Subfusco they were the stand-out of the night.

The night ended on a high note with everybody out back to the courtyard for some more drinks and all freshly inspired by the talent of these young designers and full of excitement for the week to come.

Words: Jean Kemshal-Bell
Photos: Hayley Hughes

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Trimäpee is a label synonymous with theatricality and great events. Of course this last Thursday was no exception. Illusion Delusion was held at their relatively new QV store - a space that’s been set up perfectly for these kinds of openings.

The installation featured mannequins wearing special one-off creations made especially for the exhibition. Pieces such as metal head dresses and plastic shoulder pads all styled together to look as if they were all part of a nomadic samurai warriors.

Trimäpee's new AW2010 collection is inspired by all things ancient Japanese taking elements from the traditional clothing the samurai wore and turning it into the something modern and very Trimäpee.

The crowd was suitably impressed and huddled around the pieces discussing elements of the creations while they them selves were also impeccable styled. Sighs – just what is it with fashion week that brings out the best street fashion? You can of course check out all the shots we took in the street gallery.

Words and photos: Hayley Hughes

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We were lucky enough to receive a much sought after invitation to a once in a life time event: the very first screening of both Friedrich Gray and Romance was Born's AW2010 collection concept short films.

Friedrich Gray's film Dislocation opened the night. Directed by Tim Richardson and shot entirely in black and white, the short set a sinister scene for the coming collection. Model Emma Balfour wore dark pieces from the collection which beautifully contrasted with the cinematic scenes of barren landscapes. The film referenced the classic cinematic scenes such as those created by Ingmar Bergman. Renowned for a minimalist approach to design and refined elegance, this piece by Friedrich Gray set the tone for what we can expect to see with this new collection.

A complete contrast to the first film screened Romance was Born's City Limits did not take itself too seriously. Having fun with fashion is Romance was Born’s ethos and this film superbly reflected this. The film opened with the main protagonist seated in a limousine and dressed in an outrageously 1980's glam rock creation. She chats away on her mobile to her accountant whilst hands simultaneously come into shot that pass her slurpees candybars and a range of other random things. The film follows her on a surreal journey as she is a surrounded by a bevvy of characters dressed in OTT bedazzled (and just plain fun/crazy) Romance was Born designs. The new collection looks set to attract more acclaim and Vogue covers than their last.

Words and photos: Hayley Hughes

Penthouse Mouse is arguably Melbourne Street Fashion's most anticipated LMFF event. This year's opening proved once again why. Held in the old Naval and Millitary club, the venue was a labyrinth packed with lots of nooks and crannies and had a wonderfully retro vibe. The wood panelled bar and old squash courts added a surprising element to the mix of the designers and artists whose work was on show.

Melbourne Street Fashion's faves all showcased their impressive design talents in lovely fash-tallations that incorporated their brands aesthetic. Limedrop's popular cloud print was referenced in a puffy cloud wall installation that immediately pulled your focus to the basement floor.  Trimapee's installation on the other hand was comprised of a mass of ropes – pulled from the walls - that suspended their innovative clothing and accessories like pieces of art. In contrast the lovely Estelle Deve decided to go down the minimalist route with a paired back austere window display showcasing her art deco inspired Lunar Mare jewellery collection.

Everyone we spoke to was firstly impressed with the calibre of work on display but also with just how well dressed the crowd was. Melbourne's fash pack was out in force with everything from a customised kilt to a beautifully tailored suit being worn - and that was just the men!

Words and photos: Hayley Hughes

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