Last month, The Adelaidian was invited in to the world of South Australia’s sartorial movers and shakers for the new season launch at Fashion Concept Collective in Adelaide Central Plaza.
The store is a hidden gem in the David Jones complex, but a treasure trove for those who don’t have time for the cut and copy, fast fashions saturating a market obsessed with looking the same. Supporting established and emerging local brands, Fashion Concept aims to showcase the best that ‘New Gen’ Adelaide has to offer.
Now welcoming the new year, Fashion Concept’s range of new stock is combining all sorts of weird and wonderful designs to create your ultimate 2016 look.
Simon Williams, of Use by Simon Williams, has crafted a label that aims to speak to ‘all of youse’; a clever wordplay he admits was inspired from a childhood in the Northern suburbs. Williams studied at the South Australian Academy of Art, currently teaches at UniSA, and was recently commissioned by Cristina Tridente (a top Adelaide designer) to craft bespoke jewellery for her catwalk collection. Perhaps the most striking feature of Williams’s work, is the allusion to traditional concepts of what makes jewellery, and his playful spin on this; using colour, texture and a rejection of traditional cuts. The statement earrings on display at CC resembled precious gems as they would naturally be found, however, they were in a myriad of vivid colours and made entirely of poured resin/stainless steel.
Simon Williams discusses his jewellery label Use.
In contrast to this, but also spotting a gap in the market, new kid on the block Tori Anne Gill has crafted Dark Thorn Clothing. Throwing back to the Victorian era with a distinctly ‘now’ twist, Gill’s premiere collection shows a deep appreciation for beautiful tailoring and contrasting, soft flowing fabric – all in black. From humble beginnings sewing with her mother and grandmother at home, Gill now designs in Adelaide but outsources the manual sewing to Sydney due to demand. Standout pieces include a full length, flowing, column goddess skirt in chiffon with gold detailing , and mini dresses with blouson sleeves that button at the cusp, gold filigree button detailing running from the cinched waist to the throat. (@darkthornclothing; darkthornclothing.com)
The ever regal Dark Thorn Clothing designs.
The ladies at Don’t Do Pretty are beacons for body positivity, and clothes that not only have personality, but a social conscious. They reject the disposable nature of current fashions, placing focus on the detailed construction of their garments with the purpose of the style and textile lasting. Silk is clashed with leather, fluoro with monochromatic and a handful of sequins thrown in for good measure. It’s adventurous and loud, and Don’t Do Pretty want to ensure that their clothes instil a sense of fun (but also power) in to the women who kit themselves out in their collection.
Don’t Do Pretty.
Sweet and gentle in manner, Zoe Elizabeth’s self-titled label is anything but demure. Predominantly self-taught, this young Adelaidian is breathing life in to the stomping ground of brands such as Cameo and Finders Keepers, creating a collection that burns in to sunset colours and simmers out into cool shades of monochromatic. The cuts of the garments are contemporary, but distinctly focused on flattering the individual shape – something that many current brands forget in their attempt to cloak a straight up and down mannequin. (@zoeelizabeth_thelabel).
Zoe Elizabeth’s sunset and monochromatic palette.
Pop culture players Fools and Trolls (featured on the likes of local Instagram memestress and muse @carolynduchene) run alongside the provincial chic of Willow & Grace, and it is this seamless juxtapositioning of labels that showcases exactly how many artists are paving the way for new ground in Adelaide’s fashion scene. Shake off the pre-conceptions of what you think that Adelaide is, and step into a new skin at Concept Collective: it’s vibrant, inspired and so damn alive.
Quirky Fools and Trolls designs.
