Adelaide Fashion Festival held its opening parade yesterday afternoon at the Published Arthouse, celebrating with a two-course lunch and plenty of fashion to feast on. The Ready To Wear runway showcased a multitude of different local designers including the likes of Scott and Scarce, Julie White, Naomi Murrell, Millicent Elizabeth, casper&pearl, Lucy Giles, Kate Anderson, Simmone Standing, Paige Rowe and 66 The Label.
Entering a room full of personality and edge, the Published Arthouse’s walls were covered in colouful graffiti art while a runway made of fake grass sat central to the room. The set up surrounding the runway bore white outside tables and chairs for guests to be seated for the show, almost resembling a kind of grungy garden party.
The tables were decorated with a kitsch style, bearing plants in wooden plank boxes and a watering can filled with ice, topped with a bottle of Aqua Panna to share. In keeping with the common motif of wood, barrels lined the middle of the runway and, attached to the large pillars in between were street signs with various names such as ‘Designer St’. It was a sweet little fit-out; the theme was rather different to what we were used to for a fashion show, but it was well thought out and certainly worked a wonder.
After grabbing a much needed coffee from the guys down at the Jack Greens stall, we prepared ourselves for the show to commence as Premier Jay Weatherill took to the stage to say some opening words.
This year was the first for the Premier’s Design Award which offers one lucky TAFE fashion design student the opportunity to undertake a massive twelve month mentoring program. As Weatherill states, “the award creates an opportunity to get a head start in building a sustainable career in the fashion industry. We are so grateful to our fellow South Australian designers for offering up their time and expertise to assist these talented young designers.”
Announcing Sophia McMahon of ATLAS The Label the lucky winner of the 2015 Premier’s Design Award, Weatherill and Australia’s Biggest Loser past host Fiona Falkiner proceeded to open the much anticipated AFF Ready To Wear show.
Mumurs softened as the music began and boys on skateboards unexpectedly rolled out from behind the stage, weaving through the crowd doing tricks and flips.
Models stormed the runway one after the other, with a group pose at the end of each designer’s round standing against graffiti written ‘#2015AFF’.
If anyone knows us, they’d know just how much we love our monochromatics. Scott and Scarce won our hearts with their use of black and white, showcasing a signature pattern design on a fun sleeved playsuit, a crop and skirt two piece, a couple of dress styles and more. Minimalistic and chic, the pattern is a sure-fire attention-grabber and works well for just about any occasion. We particularly adored the long dress with midriff cutouts, worn with white strapped heels for a more formal look.
Scott and Scarce
Speaking of patterns, our all-time favourite Casper&Pearl breezed down the runway with a set of new signature styles, including a daring aqua/blue and black print used on a few playful dresses. Designer Stacey Hendrickson also managed to create a vintage yet totally modern look with the use of intricate lace on a flattering structural ensemble featuring a high-neck crop and skirt, a definite favourite from this collection. The crop top’s sleeves enhanced that vintage appearance as they flared elegantly off the shoulders.
Casper&Pearl
And in sharing our final favourite of the day, although all of the designer’s works were outstanding to say the least, we got the chance to see Simmone Standing‘s newest collection which she had actually showcased at New York Fashion Week recently. Her pieces are more a piece of art than anything, structured in the most unique way with quality fabric for a look that gets everyone asking: “What designer is that?” But, as Simmone states, “There’s a lot of hard work that goes into making just one of these pieces, it’s not an easy process.” So, if you find yourselves yearning over one of her fantastic white bustiers, consider saving up for it as a piece generally goes for somewhere around $800 (for which it’s technically worth more considering the time and effort spent making each one)!
Simmone Standing
