All too quickly the final day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia arrived, and brought with it another beautifully warm and sunny day. Since the collections all week have been for Spring/Summer 2012/13, it’s been rather appropriate that the weather has been suitably lovely all week as well. The last day saw a strong eastern influence, more bright colours and a good mix of established and brand new talent showing.
First up were Suboo, who showed off-site at the Summit restaurant, on the 47th floor of the Australia Square building, with Sydney harbour as their stunning backdrop. They showed a bright and breezy collection of pretty resort wear with the colour of the week, chartreuse, once again making an appearance, hardware accessories in pastel shades adding a quirky appeal to the collection.
Asia’s finest young design talent from fashion school Raffles were next up, with their top four graduates making their MBFWA debut. Winson Tan, Gabriel Lee, Crystal Tsoi and Ayaka Ichikawa certainly did themselves proud with their stunning collections, with intricate details, beautiful fabrication and clever draping featuring strongly in their showings.
Left to right – Winson Tan, Gabriel Lee, Crystal Tsoi
Master of Australian couture, Akira, made a very welcome return to fashion week after an absence of several years. This time he chose to use the Box installation space with a show which drew audible sighs from the audience for its sheer brilliance. An amazing fusion of eastern and western design, Akira’s garments are so incredibly intricate and his mix of kimono and gown shapes so perfect, that it was impossible to look away from the exquisite beauty of his creations.
Opening their show with one of the more creative displays of the week, Blessed Are The Meek used striking holographics and smoke to create an otherworldly atmosphere inside the theatre space. The collection itself also had an ethereal feel with flowing white garments, accented with purple, aqua and floral prints. Pretty seashell motifs, subtle harness-like accessories and coral headpieces added extra fantasy factor to the show.
Left to right – Ayaka Ichikawa, Akira, Blessed Are The Meek
The second of the New Generation shows followed in the tent, with seven young labels displaying their collections including: LF Markey, Ash to Gold, Uscari, Little Gracie, Aanchal Chanda and Luela. This show also included one of the most humourous moments of the week with two fed-up models removing their clearly ill-fitting shoes mid-runway while exchanging rebellious smiles, which drew quite a few giggles from the audience.
Left to right – LF Markey, Ash to Gold, Uscari
The standout amongst this crop of New Gen’s was Ash to Gold for their stunning sheer garments and unique graphic prints that were beautifully draped, also for their clever styling (loved the triangular bags and cuffs).
Left to right – Little Gracie, Aanchal Chanda, Luela
Style Hong Kong saw a return to the far-east again, with Harrison Wong, Hei Lau, Mondovi Couture Lingerie and Chailie Ho showing a range of really different collections. The standout of the four was definitely Harrison Wong for his slick menswear, which incorporated military styling and bold red accents.
Left to right – Harrison Wong, Hei Lau, Chailie Ho
The onsite finale for MBFWA was Nana Judy’s rocking runway show in the tent, which featured a fantastic live band, whose lead singer did a great job of working the crowd and creating a fun atmosphere. Long haired guys came out first in a range of street wear in an earthy colour palette, before big haired babes in coloured skinny jeans and bra tops worked the runway, followed by more denim and lots of sheer tops and shirts. It was a fittingly vibrant finish to an amazing week of stunning shows.
Although not technically a show, Fernando Frisoni officially closed MBFWA with a gorgeous masquerade party at the Sir Stamford hotel, with several themed rooms and a fashion crowd eager to let their hair down after a hectic week of shows.
It feels like MBFWA totally flew by in a colourful, sparkly blur, but it’s been a truly wonderful week filled with sublime fashion, charming people and lots of fun. This coming southern hemisphere’s summer is going to be a beautiful one with lots of pretty prints, bright colours and gorgeous girly garments – can’t wait!
– Evelyn Ebrey
Photo Credit MBFWA Image Gallery