Birthday Suit: Smoke and Mirrors

Sydney label Birthday Suit is not for the faint-hearted. The designers have reached new heights of imaginative possibility with their kitsch, sci-fi inspired Winter 2010 collection, entitled 'Smoke and Mirrors'. An exhilarating mish-mash of allusions, textures and shapes, Birthday Suit's designs speak to those bored with the prosaic. From richly hued bustiers to skin tight jumpsuits,  Birthday Suit's clothes trepidatiously tread the line between statement pieces and costume wear, projecting a future of theatrical and exuberant attire. But when such brashly colourful clothes are available for winter '10 rather than a time far, far away, why wait?

Boots in Summer?

I've been eyeing off these Jeffrey Campbell boots lately. Kind of Ann Demeulemeester-ish, but much closer to my price range. But it's heading into summer here and I'm probably going to get sick of them before I get a chance to wear them. What to do?

RSFF draws to a close and I don't want to go back to the real world

One of the best things about volunteering for RSFF was being totally immersed in fashion for an entire week. Normally I have to tell myself to shut up when I start talking about clothes/designers around my friends and family because I don't want to bore them to death, but RSFF was of course like a mesmerising aesthetic wonderland where fashion was the first thing on everyone's minds.

I dragged my twin along to watch the review show on Wednesday night but embarrassingly fainted halfway through because it was so hot and stuffy in the tent, and had to be helped out by security. (I think I stepped on someone's toes in my heels as I was about to pass out which must have been unpleasant for them, so sorry to whoever that was!) I was fine once I got out into the fresh air, if a little mortified, and miffed because I missed out on seeing Gail Sorronda and Arnsdorf. On the bright side I did catch Dion Lee's designs, which were modelled first, so at least the night wasn't an entire write off.

I ushered for the City Chic plus size show which I thought was nicely inclusive and realistic, if somewhat ironic, for a fashion week that was otherwise entirely faithful to the size zero doctrine of the industry. It did come across as one of the more relaxed and dynamic shows of the week, which the audience really seemed to enjoy.

On Friday night I went to another review show and managed to retain consciousness the whole time, go me! I went with one of my few friends who is obsessed with fashion and we both fell in love with the Bec & Bridge floral harem pants, which I've now pre-ordered. The Romance Was Born pieces were gorgeous but I was a bit disappointed with the toned down presentation after hearing about their over-the-top RAFW show.

Saturday was my last day working at RSFF. I really enjoyed dressing backstage and getting to see how the shows operate (chaotically!) and being the dork I am I got super excited and starstruck when Rachel Rutt was sitting two metres away from me but I was too shy to say hello. The Alex Perry show was really fun because some of the dresses were really fiddly with corsets, HUGE skirts, zips, clasps and rows of buttons so it made for especially tense and hurried changes backstage, with lots of yelling and squeezing tiny models into even tinier dresses. To be honest, before the show I wasn't much of a fan of Perry's designs (probably because as a cash-strapped, decidedly not-famous student I never need to think about red carpet appropriate dressing), but seeing the detailing and structural tailoring up close made me develop great respect for him as a designer, even though the "princess" aesthetic of his clothing isn't my thing.

All in all I had a really great time at RSFF and don't want to go back to reality and deal with writing my thesis. I would love to stay suspended in a fashion week dreamland for just a little bit longer...

Christopher Kane for Topshop

The Christopher Kane for Topshop collaboration combines two of my favourite things, namely a superbly inventive designer and an innovative chain store, in a nicely affordable little package. I'm continuously drawn to clothes that encode some kind of intriguing thematic contrast. In his Fall 2009 collection for Topshop, Kane delivers such a dichotomy, celebrating the female form through figure-hugging dresses and leggings, whilst the strategic addition of silver eyelets and hardware speaks of a subversive undercurrent that anchors the pieces in a no-man's land, somewhere between girly and tough. The duelling impulses of Kane's designs result in an edgy, raw kind of look so covetable that I may be forced to permanently stalk to the Topshop website come September when the collection drops, in order to snag a few choice items from the 39 pieces available. I'm particularly eyeing off those boots. If I don't get my hands on them I might cry. Don't say I didn't warn you!

EDIT: Apparently the lookbook pics were leaked early and Topshop has requested they be taken down, so unless you are wily enough to track down the photos floating across cyberspace somewhere, this Vogue shoot may have to suffice.

Seafolly @ RSFF

Photo: Marie Claire via Twitpic

The Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival lunchtime shows kicked off today with Seafolly's playful Summer 09 collection. I'm volunteering at the festival this year so apart from stuffing show bags full of MOR and Redken goodies, I got to catch the show. I was hoping to see Jess Hart as she's the Seafolly ambassador this year, but she didn't walk the runway. She did make a pre-recorded appearance that screened before the show. (In the clip, Hart was of course sporting a Seafolly bikini, accessorised with Ray Ban clubmasters, which I'm betting on as this summer's eyewear must-have). Serving up a varied range of designs to suit divergent tastes and body shapes, the Seafolly 2009 collection presented an irreverent and sometimes elegant take on swimwear, from brightly hued bikinis to beautifully embellished one pieces. The label's use of fringing was an amazing visual choice for the runway, swaying in sync with the models' movements, though I'm sceptical as to whether the fringing will look so great after a dip in the ocean. Ruffles decorated both bikini tops and bottoms, as well as a stunning one-shouldered one piece in gunmetal. 1950's inspired ruched and high-waisted bikinis were another highlight that made summertime feel just that little bit closer...

Trimapee On Sale

If you've got some spare change lying around, you may want to check out the Trimapee sale at Estile.com. Click here for an invite if you aren't already a member. Happy shopping!

Konstantina Mittas' Defiantly Strange Winter & Summer

Breathing new life into Australian fashion through the creation of breathtakingly ethereal silhouettes, Konstantina Mittas' Winter collection (entitled 'Breath') presented a clothing dream-land, where garments took on imaginatively fantastic shapes. From a bell sleeved dress with floor length wings, to an asymmetrical fan-sleeved dress, Mittas embraced a decidedly contrarian beauty that was all the more entrancing for its inimitability.



Mittas' penchant for the unusual also pervaded her Summer collection, 'The Strangeness'. Invoking 'strangeness' in its best possible form, Mittas rejected the quotidian, with precisely etched laser cut-outs in perforating polka-dots incongruously complementing voluminous skirts. An eye-assaulting palette of black and neon yellow underscored Mittas' defiantly innovative aesthetic and her rejection of the conventional, which one can only hope will continue for many seasons to come.