There will be very few runway reviews of the third night at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week that don’t open with innuendo, puns or jokes. Those on Twitter, Facebook or within earshot of the Melbourne Town Hall will know why. The rest of you are about to find out, then kick yourselves that you weren’t there.
With a name like Ristefsky Macheda (hard to spell, harder to tweet), you might envisage elegant tailoring, sharp suits or crisp blazers, but this label does nothing of the sort. In fact, the models wearing RM were not the sort of man that you might see on a city street, rushing to a law office or saving a life over an operating table. Rather, the boys who sauntered down the runway to open Work and Play on night three of MSFW would be more suited to a football field or a stage in a dimly lit club. I’ll let your imagination (and the photos) guide you, but rest assured your man (or any man you might know) is in good hands wearing Ristefsky. Judging by the squeals of delight (and cameras raised above heads) from the female audience members, (who I can only assume paid $35 to see clothes at MSFW), the lack of fabric on these models was far more appealing.
With a change of music and lighting, we were all suddenly thrust from our dreamlike states and thrown right back in the middle of spring fashion – Bettina Liano bringing us to the here and now with bright sparkles and bright colours. ‘Jean Queen’ she may be but last night she waved her magic wand and delivered a standout collection of orange, pink, red and black, throwing in some white and green to balance the looks. Wetsuit style fabric (or so it seemed) looked great in highlighter orange and pink, the perfect match to models candy pink hair extensions.
Autonomy saw the boys return to the catwalk, disappointingly, clothed. Designer (and DJ) Nick Demkiw is heavily influenced by music and his very cool collection of casual menswear would not look out of place at a pub listening to a band on a Sunday afternoon. Checks went with denim, striped tees and a captain’s jacket took on a nautical theme and almost every outfit had a scarf – though some were shirtless. As one tweeter commented, ‘ Surely if it’s warm enough for a scarf, you also need a shirt?’ No complaints here.
Hand drawn and printed textiles are at the heart of Alexi Freeman’s Melbourne made garments, incorporating his trademark prints and metallic fabrics to create an elegant and unique collection. Focussing on black, silver and grey, Alexi’s ability to drape and accentuate the female form in all of his designs has made him one of the most popular ready to wear collections, selling to boutiques and private clients in Australia and New Zealand, Europe and the USA.
Bringing the boys and girls together on the runway for the first time tonight, Thom Finch’s collection of classic, everyday garments looked comfy and appealing to a wide audience. The colours were muted – black, grey, charcoal, tan – and only popped with some acrid yellow and a red check toward the end. Asymmetry and drape were highlight features and cleverly designed.
It takes a certain type of man to feel comfortable in an electric blue sequin blazer (with red shoulder detail) but with so many amazing Jack London suits to choose from, a boy needn’t feel this is the only trend on the cards. A cobalt blue suit, teamed with blue pinstripe shirt and red skinny tie was retro cool, the three piece grey suit dapper and sophisticated. The finale piece, a feathered blazer, falls into the same category at the sequin blazer, to be enjoyed by few (but I wouldn’t say no if he made one for me).
Swim and resortwear label White Suede lived up to their name in part, showcasing plenty of white on the runway. All white dresses, twinset and bustier, large cross prints and a mottled pink print before some muted oranges, my favourite tangerine gelato and some shiny leggings. A self-confessed Flinders Lane addict, designer Jacqui Demkiw, (watch this space to see the relationship to Nick from Autonomy?) is known for her unique digital prints and modern sculptural silhouettes, all evident on the runway tonight.
Our final designer for Thursday, Leopold, never fails to surprise me, opening with red and showing dresses, pants and shorts in the sexy hue. A pretty print in faded burgundy featured in dress and skirt form, a yellow and grey shift dress the perfect summer frock. For the boys, a blazer with leather lapels and a hot pink jacket showed the contrast in designs by Shandor Ganacs and Boyd Parry, cementing their relaxed and easy style that blends the traditional with the contemporary.
Shoes by Novo, Seabago, Betts, Croft, Peeptoe, Volley and Converse.
Image Credits: Jennifer Estrada
