DI$COUNT @ Penthouse Mouse RUNWAY 2!

Hello my dear Paris '99ers,
This was the night when dreams were made, tears were cried and new and exciting things emerge from Melbourne's fashion belly!
That's right, the Penthouse Mouse Runway Series, the most achingly cool place to be during LMFF took place on Friday night in the most achingly cool warehouse in no longer seedy Fitzroy, ok well, a little seedy for a Southsider like me :).
Anyway, the kids were out and about to see the hottest new underground designers in town, and I came along in great to support to two amazing girls who I've had the pleasure to know for quite a few years and watch them grow and do big things (Gaga, Britney, M.I.A are all fans indeed)!
The air was thick with anticipation as the seats filled up, and I managed to score a really good and clear view of the runway, ok well, good for the naked eye, and quite terribly awful for a little iPhone camera which struggled immensely with the all the action and lighting which lit up the whole frame. No complaints, it made for some really interesting, moody and drunk-like photos as you'll see below.

It was a real RMIT reunion; Raggatt, as designed by Naomi Raggatt who graduated when I just started the course, Above, designed by Nyssa Marrow, who was the year above me, and of course Nadia Napreychikov who started with me and finished with Cami James a year after in 2009.
Although the clothes from Above and Raggatt were beautifully conceived, cut and finished (RMIT standards of course), I felt that the finer details that really made the pieces were a little lost on the runway with its harsh lighting and inability to really see the clothes up-close, but that is a minor complaint.
The structured drape at Raggatt was lovely, and pieces seemed to almost fold in on themselves and emerge again. This could be seen in the skirts and dresses. I really loved a beautiful agile red silhouette with intricate folding from just above the waist and under the knee in the pant (see photo for its gorgeous movement, imagine you have consumed much alcohol..).

Above's collection featured all manner of traditionally tailored garments with cutaway backs, sheer inserts and much layering. Sleeveless trenches put over sheer sleeved vests and a backless pea-coat paired with a sheer skirt were a highlight for me. I even congratulated Nyssa post show with the terrible phrase 'your cutting was a cut above' (pun honestly not intended...)!

And then a massive cheer rose from the crowd as the DI$COUNT video started with loud blaring music then continued without, flashing fast still images of the girls' work, their studio, their logo, the hand sewn $ signature in the lining of their statement studded hypercolour leather jackets, and then the music started again, and we were off!

Loud, glaring, obnoxious, colourful, sequined, pinned, studded, belted, aggressive, platformed, gimpy, sexy, punk, clubby, this is DI$COUNT!

Gianni Versace smiles from fashion heaven, and Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac had better certainly watch their asses, as these girls and their collection pack a serious bite!

Funnily enough, Nadia told me after the show that the video should have played as the models walked, danced and snaked their way around the runway, but I assured her that no-one even noticed and it was one hell of an exciting intro.

Enjoy! xx

And now hopefully my first ever video will work, if not, sorry, just come over and I'll show you on my phone! :)

xx

Hermes; Hearts and Crafts premiere at NGV, amazing!

Hello dear Paris-ers!

Yesterday I had a wonderful wonderful day. And to think that I almost didn't actually go!
I started the day with a beautiful fluffy omelette swimming in cheese, mushrooms and frozen peas (no longer frozen of course.. :S) and a tomato juice for breakfast, had a quick catchup with a friend, and then decided I was tired and might skip the thing I had been looking forward for weeks; the Melbourne premiere of the Hermes (pretend accent is there) documentary Hearts and Crafts.

If you remember back to my preview of LMFF post, this is one thing I said would be a highlight of the whole week, and it was free! Perhaps this is why I suddenly thought, meh, that's ok, I'll miss it. But a sudden burst of inspiration caught me, and I jumped into the car with 25 minutes to go (it started at 1).
As if it was meant to be, I had a clear run down St. Kilda Road, no traffic, no red lights, and there was a parking space right outside the VCA building, the last place where you can actually park before it is all no stopping! Amazing, right? Well, I only had enough parking for an hour which was a risk, but with 15 minutes to go, I briskly walked past the Arts Centre, over the bridge and into the Ian Potter centre just as the line to go inside the theatre was moving. Hooray!

A small introduction by the Hermes Australia head honch Karin Upton-Baker (former editor of Harper's Bazaar) let us know a little bit about Hermes' beginnings as a saddlery and the company's mission to create things of absolute quality, a small round of applause, and we were off!

And what a beautiful little film. We start of course with the saddle makers, and the visuals of hands working leather; stretching, cutting intricate curves with absolute precision, sewing complicated stitches entirely by hand, it's a visual feast. Snippets of interviews with artisans who have worked at Hermes since their teens give a sneak-peek insight into the caring and nurturing culture within the business.

A woman who has been in the drawing department for the scarves for 33 years says a drawing can take up to 2000 hours. Her younger colleague who works predominantly on the computer comments on the discourse between new and old world techniques and how much they learn from each other.
We see the colour mixing department and printing factory where pigments are mixed by hand to specifications from the colour department further up the chain of command. Scarves are printed both automatically and with gentlemen pouring paint into the trays of a hand operated screen, again a mix of heritage and technology.

Everything at Hermes has had a human hand create it from scratch. There is no production line as such. In the bag department, a piece is assembled entirely by hand by one artisan, who then applies their own mark on the bag upon completion. All those interviewed speak of the pride they have when the final mark goes on; the bag will become someone else's but will always remain theirs. We see people from all walks of life working in the factory in an idyllic town in France. A 20 year old says how she cried with happiness when given her permanent contract, a 59 year old woman in training recalls her days as working in a bakery, and man who used to build model ships in his room and now makes Birkin bags says he would like to remain there forever.
The whole time we see their hands working; caressing, creasing, stitching, creating.

Jewellery, glass blowing to create the amazing crystal glassware, the mold makers, everyone has a story. A deaf man, a political refugee, a man who began working at Hermes through his father (his three brothers work there too).
I especially liked the gentleman who sorts out the exotic hides, matching croc patterns as if it were one entire skin, marking out faults to avoid when cutting pieces for bags. He says it comes with practice, but he can read the skin, he know what will be a back, a front, a flap, its really interesting, and of course because its in French its that touch more chic and romantic too!

So clearly I am glad I went, and also, rather amazingly, after my rush to get back to the car and the inevitabilty of having a nasty parking fine as I was 25 minutes overdue, I found a pleasant surprise by not having anything fluttering off my winscreen wiper, hooray!
To celebrate I drove down to South Melbourne and had a cup of coffee and bruschetta at St. Ali.
Yum!

To take you off today the ubiquitous Hermes orange leather, my favourite :)
xx

Spirit of Black Dresses and Fashion/Art!

Hello dear '99ers!
Its been a little while since the last post but rest assured there is always something happening here in Paris '99 land. And of course its also Paris Fashion Week, which draws to a close tomorrow but has given us some stellar collections this season, and in fact all of Fashion Month was just a cut above, its something in the economy I hope, creative boost, finance boost, everyone happy indeed!
It is also the pre-season for L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, and I have already been to 2 out of the 6 or so events I plan to be at. Last night was the Gala Launch for the Spirit of the Black Dress, as posted earlier, and also the opening for the Fashion Loves Art Loves Fashion exhibition at Sophie Gannon Gallery.
This was my first stop, and primarily to see the collaboration between MATERIALBYPRODUCT and Julia DeVille. Both these artisans have been carefully and tirelessly carving out their own distinct signatures in the field of fashion and jewellery design for years. Julia is known for her mixing beautiful stones with animal bones in a romantic as opposed to macabre manner, and Susan Dimasi has long been refining her design systems to produce fashion that is sustainable in both its production values and timeless style.
The whole exhibition however, was fabulous, showcasing the collaborations between artists and designers of the highest calibre. We had Del Kathryn Barton continuing her romance with Sydney's Romance Was Born, Josh Goot teamed up with John Nicholson to make some stunning peep toe boots with feature heels and Scanlan and Theodore's spring campaign as shot by the legendary Nan Goldin, who I incidentally discovered on my absolute favourite show, Six Feet Under, where Claire goes to art school and her shenanigans continue.
Enjoy the photos!

Oops! Technology fiend! My 1s and 2s and 0s got all mixed, this is clearly the Scanlan image, Julia and MBP begin with the vintage mannequin, enjoy!

 The full Scanlan catalogue, it will be cherished forever in my collection :)

So this piece is made from the cross section of the heels, or rather the heels are made from many of these pieces joined together, amazing!

Kinda killer, yum :)

Here it is, a typical and beautiful MBP work with pinked edges, marking dots and woven seams.

Suspended arms and be-ring-ed hands.

 The amazing crystal saddle, and the deer was stillborn, no animal was harmed, in fact it was somewhat saved!

Fabulous quilt, every inch covered in detail!

A beautiful cultural meesh-maash by Romance was born, a bit Afghani, a bit Peruvian, a lot cool :).

The amazing Erin Wasson, one of my all-time favourites, and the shots have such a beautiful mood, Nan Goldin but with only a hint of the darkness she usually captures.

Wow, not bad a for a quick in and out right!
A glass of lovely white and a chat to the wonderful Susan Dimasi about what's what in the zoo (haha), I headed back onto our wonderful public transport system where, yes, I received a cat call, (really?!). Perhaps I should mention I was wearing leather horse riding gaiters that are like compression bandages on my calves, a Tom Ford for YSL tuxedo jacket and ripped up jeans, and was draped in my gorgeous rabbit fur throw (which actually zips onto the bottom of its companion coat which will surely make a number of appearances this winter!). Fair enough I suppose!

Outside, in the line at The Trust (on Flinders Lane, just behind the Immigration Museum) I met and had a chat with the mother of one of the designers, what a fabulous start to the night.
Inside, it was all systems go, and if I may congratulate the wonderful Jane Hayes (and team) on a simply flawless evening. The champagne was flowing, trays of little sweets, slices and candy abounded and the turnout was huge and of the highest quality indeed! (Fabulous to catch up with and meet all of you, you know who you are ;)!) (Too many brackets, confused much.. I am..)

And of course, so were the black dresses we were all there for! In its 4th year, the event looks for fashion forward but sustainably designed/made/conceived garments, and none of the dresses tonight actually looked 'sustainable', but what does that mean anyway? Well, a whhhooooolllleee other story not for this particular post anyway, but if you want to know my opinion, just ask!:)
From Lisa Taranto's couture-esque gown with triangular folds and a big pouffed skirt which then cascaded to the ground, Sonya Kraan's intricately folded woollen skirt with a perfectly fitted leather bodice, Gabriella Ferrante's dramatic sliced up leather dress with bustier detail and almost literally the cheekiest of them all Berri Drum's hand crocheted number where the loops grew in size towards the hem, every dress was different and all of them welcome.


As luck would have it, my trust iPhone ran flat out of battery and so I only could get a few reasonably qualitied shots (say what you will...).

The intro video, wet tresses and dresses and all, I loved the music, worked with the mood perfectly.

My dear friend Sonya Kraan's folded dress, amazing technical skill!

Berri Drum's crochet number.

 Gabriella Ferrante, definitely a highlight of the night! (and lovely mum too!)

Jessica Robertson from Slow Palette in Syndey. What a wonderful technique working with silk chiffon, the dress almost floats off the body.

Christina Exie, and I must say the designers silver jewelled bodice was amazing in itself (there'll be pictures on other blogs I'm sure!)

Lovely flowing back by Christina Exie.

The finale, and Lisa Taranto's skilfully made dress can be seen!

And here are the aforementioned gaiters, before, and a much relieved after!

It was a pleasure seeing everyone at the start of what is to be a fabulous and impressive week! And dont' forget, if you at any stage want some time out and a champagne and quiet balcony, the salon and me are available 24/7 throughout the whole week (*tongue in cheek wink*)

xx to all!!