To celebrate Adelaide Fashion Festival starting next week (22nd-25th October), the festival partnered with Mercedes-Benz Adelaide to hold an exciting Mercedes Benz Adelaide Fashion Festival (MBADLFF) styling event. Selected bloggers were invited to play dress-ups in clothing from local labels Lexi Clothing, Australian Fashion Labels, Greta Kate, Jaimie Sortino, SIG The Label, Caleche, Liza Emanuele, Naomi Murrel, Scott & Scarce, Simmone Standing, Casper&Pearl, Paige Rowe and couture+love+madness.
As well as getting the chance to dress ourselves up for a blogger photoshoot, we were also offered glamourous props worth up to $100,000 to work with. Yes, every car in the Mercedes-Benz Adelaide showroom was part of our playground, including the sleek four door CLA-Class, the smooth E-Class, and the insanely luxurious S-Class Mercedes Benz.
Since pretty much every non-food related dream of ours had just come true, we couldn’t wait to dive into the silky pile of designer clothing.
Lexi Clothing
This super slinky black number by Lexi Clothing was insanely flattering and the perfect black tie event dress. Although giving off the impression of an evening gown, the piece is, in fact, a fun and flexible play suit, so you can afford to go a little crazy in this one. Mel had fun swirling and twirling for the camera, capturing the garment’s movement in action. Featuring a deep plunging neckline and two daring front splits, all heads will literally turn as you walk into the room. We paired it with a simple but necessary gold leaf waist belt from Jaimie Sortino, enhancing Mel’s waistline and showing off some shape.
Lexi Clothing is a branch off from huge couture label Alexis George, who generally specialise in gorgeous gowns and standout cocktail wear. This new step for the brand aims to combine the glamour of Alexis George couture with the ease of a ready-to-wear line, focusing on trans-seasonal pieces in flattering, classic silhouettes. Lexi Clothing will be showing during the Adelaide Fashion Festival on Friday the 23rd of October at 6:30pm. Tickets are available here for only $30.
couture+love+madness
couture+love+madness was the designer behind this fiery creation, with the vibrant red standing out brilliantly against the sexy black Mercedes. If only we could always have a Mercedes accessory with us to make us look this fab. The gorgeous evening dress is designed in a traditionally provocative way, with the high neck offset by the super high side-split running up the leg and a low back cut. Harnessing the perfect balance of sexy and classy, this dress made Mel feel she was a classic Hollywood starlet being swarmed by the paparazzi and adored by her fans. It certainly wasn’t the worst feeling in the world!
couture+love+madness is one of Adelaide’s few couturiers who doesn’t focus mostly on bridal, as designer Christina Tridente opts to experiment with bright colours, moody fabrics and interesting detailing instead. couture+love+madness will be joined by five other amazing local couturiers at the much-anticipated Couture Culture show at the Adelaide Fashion Festival. The show is on Saturday the 24th of October, and tickets are an easy $30. You can buy tickets to the show here.
Casper&Pearl
We’ve always been big fans of quirky fashion label Casper&Pearl, as designer Stacey Hendrickson‘s garments are easy to wear and extremely versatile. The sophisticated two-piece pictured above can be worn together to create a statement cocktail outfit, or separated and dressed down with basics for an easy daytime outfit. This well-loved boutique brand has long been a favourite among young girls, and it’s easy to see why with the sophisticated structure of the skirt and the playful cut of the top. Stacey traditionally styles the top with the sleeve off the shoulder, however we mixed it up to make a one-shoulder cut.
Casper&Pearl are part of the popular Ready To Wear Event on Thursday the 22nd of October at 12pm which features ten local labels showcasing their new season collections complimented by a two course lunch. Fashion and food? Best event ever. You can buy tickets to this event for $75 a person here.
Casper&Pearl
We love Casper&Pearl so much, we had to feature it twice. In a move completely opposite to what we usually do with our love for the monochromatics, here is Kristen in a bright and colourful outfit. If anyone could get her out of her usual shades of black, it’s Casper&Pearl. This insanely fun playsuit embodies everything about summer, and is unfortunately already sold out online. If you feel like wearing summer on your body, cross your fingers and hope Stacey Hendrickson is planning a second release, or get on that phone and start calling stockists to see who’s got any left. Wearing this playsuit made Kritsen feel like she was ready to tackle the warmth head on, decked out in colours of confidence and could easily move from lunch dates to bar hangs.
Casper&Pearl will be at the Ready To Wear show on Thursday the 22nd of October at 12pm and tickets can be purchased here for $75.
Simmone Standing & Liza Emanuele
Speaking of summer, how yacht-ready are these black and white striped Liza Emanuele Pants? Made of light, breathable fabric that flows brilliantly around your legs and further ventilation provided by the chic side splits, these pants are a must-have for sipping cocktails on a boat. These pants are paired with a masterpiece of a top from Simmone Standing the Label, and is one of the five wonders of fashion with it’s insane structure and gravity-defying fan shape. Simmone Standing’s collection is mostly full of chic whites and artistic design work, while the iconic Liza Emanuele works with a whole lot of colour and signature patterns each collection. Kristen felt like a true fashion blogger before fashion week wearing an outfit that was more like a piece of art than usual every-day clothing.
Liza Emanuele is starring in her own show on Thursday the 22nd of October at 8:30pm, tickets are available for $30 here.
Simmone Standing is showing as part of the Ready To Wear show, on Thursday the 22nd of October at 12pm and tickets can be purchased here for $75.
Jaimie Sortino
As superficial as it sounds, it has always been a dream of Kristen’s to wear a beautiful couture gown and pretend to be a princess. And who better to provide the royal gown than Adelaide’s own Jaimie Sortino. We’ve long raved about this talented couturier’s divine creations, but never had the chance to actually wear one until now. This amazing, deep blue gown was an absolute dream to wear and the design could flatter any figure. The huge train made Kristen feel like she was walking on water, and made her look like she could possibly be graceful (she generally falls down and hurts herself a whole lot). To add a bit of edge to the dress, it was paired with a leather neckpiece from Paige Rowe, which could just as easily dress up a basic outfit or a party dress. If you’re looking for a staple accessory for the season, this neckpiece will provide you with more wear and options than any basic necklace. No formal outfit is complete without a glass of wine in hand, and Wick’s Estate was there to provide the next perfect prop (after the Mercedes of course).
Jaimie Sortino will be showing his new collection as part of the Couture Culture show on Saturday the 24th of October, and tickets are a steal at $30. You can buy tickets to the show here.
Paige Rowe will be showing with the Ready To Wear show and lunch, on Thursday the 22nd of October at 12pm and tickets can be purchased here for $75.
Naomi Murrell
Pair Naomi Murrell jewellery with a glass of Wick’s? Wine not.
Simple, delicate rings are all the rage right now, and these Naomi Murrell bands are as subtle and sophisticated as they come. Featuring elegant, thin rings with simple band detailing and tiny feature shapes, these dainty accessories are an easy staple that you can wear every day.
Naomi Murrell is part of the Ready To Wear show and lunch, on Thursday the 22nd of October at 12pm and tickets can be purchased here for $75.
Jaimie Sortino, couture+love+madness & Mercedes Benz-Adelaide
We finished the evening with a playful photoshoot together, going for a strong look by wearing our respective evening gowns in striking colours navy and red. These bold, primary colours happen to compliment one another ever so perfectly, which also acts as a bit of a subtle metaphor for our friendship for we do tend to compliment each other quite well (especially when it comes to running The Adelaidian together)! Work certainly doesn’t feel like work when you’ve got your best friend by your side.
FRIENDS FASHION AND FAST CARS: Mercedes Benz Adelaide Fashion Festival is all about bringing people together for an appreciation of the finer things in life, and after competing in the Style Challenge alongside our other fellow bloggers, we definitely couldn’t agree with this concept more. Thanks for reading about our amazing day with Adelaide Fashion Festival and Mercedes-Benz Adelaide, we can’t wait to see you all at the Adelaide Fashion Festival next week!
