This was Camilla and Marc’s first evening RAFW show and they chose a killer venue in the opulent old State Theatre.
They also had some serious stars on the behind-the-scenes team. The collection was styled by Michelle Jank who has herself shown at RAFW (I was fortunate to see her breathtaking S/S’08/’09 show); celebrity stylist and ghd Ambassador ‘Big Jon’ Pulitano was on hair; and the divine Michael Brown, Australian Artistic Director for Lancôme, was on makeup.
You may have already read that this was one of the most difficult shows to get into of the week. I experienced an ‘infinite variability’ of my own, in that I had secured a backstage pass and thus got into the venue early; but like many of the Kiwis I had a GA (general admission) ticket which meant no seat. Dammit if they weren’t serving Moet pre show so I made do with downing a couple of glasses and chatting with New Zealand Fashion Week photographer Michael Ng (the pit was set up in the anteroom through which you entered the show itself) while waiting for the more fortunate to be seated.
Backstage had been very tense. The State Theatre’s maze of little rooms didn’t make for much hair and makeup space and like many others of the week, the show was running behind. I took a picture of Michael Brown at work, did a quick interview, took a few pictures of the models in their super cramped dressing area, and decided it was best to get out and let the team do their work.
That turned out to be an unfortunate decision, as no one with a GA ticket seemed to get a spot where you could see the show very well and I hadn’t seen much backstage. If you look at the pictures you can see as much, if not more, than I could! But I do have info from the show notes and personal impressions to share.
“A new impression with strong bold colour, overblown prints and opulent fabrics” – well that is evident, check the electric blue pants suit, the many lipstick pink pieces, the bold colour-blocking we saw so much of at RAFW; the striking glittery blue and yellow print, spectacular in a one shouldered long sleeved dress, or mixed back to a sparkly shell pink in one very unusual short sleeved, long dress.
“Razor sharp tailoring creating graphic lines” – nowhere was this more attention-grabbing than in its incarnation as a lipstick pink neoprene vest (Camilla and Marc weren’t the only label to use neoprene this week) strikingly paired with some of the label’s cool, super-slouchy pants.
Other standouts were the label’s fresh use of sheer – an ivory sheer vest over a short sleeved lipstick pink tee, a cool pale grey dropped waist dress with ivory bodice under a sheer, back-fastening short sleeved jacket. Taking the concept further, some outfits were accessorised with witty bright perspex clutches.
Suffice to say that my front-row dwelling media room neighbour, Janice Breen Burns – fashion editor of the Melbourne Age – named Camilla and Marc’s one of her favourite shows of the week. Well, she should know!
Words and images by Julie Roulston using a Samsung SH1000