Australia
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Since fashion designer Michelle Jank’s runway debut in 2000, she’s been championed as Australian fashion’s next big thing. The Daily What has always been a huge fan of Jank’s work and can announce that Jank has packed her bags and taken herself off to Paris, to see if she can make it in the world’s undisputed fashion capital.
In Australia Jank has been something of a jack-of-all-trades in fashion. She’s not only designed her own demi-couture line, she has worked with other designers such as Tsubi and Alex Perry and has been a stylist working on fashion shoots for magazines such as Vogue and The Sydney Magazine. Jank also styled the most recent Myer collection shows. She will be base herself in Paris with her photographer partner, Jason Capobianco. The Daily What wishes them both the best of luck.
The Federal Publishing Company is trying to offload its magazine division, which includes all the Vogue titles as well as GQ. Sources in various publishing companies have told the Daily What that their company is seriously considering the acquisition. Fairfax is said to be interested in adding the FPC titles to its magazine stable, as is News Limited and Pacific Publications.
But the news that really surprised the Daily What is that ACP is also an interested party. Why would ACP, which owns titles including Harper’s Bazaar, Gourmet Traveller and Belle, want to also own their direct competition in the form of Vogue, Vogue Entertaining and Vogue Living you ask? One theory doing the rounds is that ACP wants to buy them to basically, well, kill them. With the closure of Follow magazine and Follow Gentleman last week, this option would make ACP the undisputed leader in the fashion magazine market.
No sooner do I declare that the Daily What is going to have a self-imposed moratorium on stories about high end designers doing ranges for low-end retail stores (last week), that news of more such deals comes to hand. Kate Moss is now in on the act and is designing a range for the UK retailer Top Shop. The range, which will be an ongoing project, will hit Top Shop stores early next year. The Daily What also understands that Target Australia will soon unveil a budget-priced fashion range by a big name Australian designer. The exact details, such as which designer, remain a closely-guarded secret. However, a source has told the Daily What that there is more than one designer involved and the range, or ranges, will hit Target stores before Christmas.
Last week Cosmopolitan magazine hosted a preview screening of The Devil Wears Prada and the Daily What was lucky enough to be invited along. To someone who has spent a large part of his career working on magazines, movies about the publishing industry always seemed way too glamorous and unbelievable. Which begs the question: is The Devil Wears Prada an accurate portrayal of life on a fashion magazine? Well apart from the fact that the offices of the fictional magazine, Runway, are way too nice, there are some striking parallels between fact and fiction. For one thing, Meryl Streep’s portrayal of the fictional editor, Miranda Priestly, was chillingly like many editors I have met over the years – some of whom were in the audience that night.
Come next month expect to see all manner of products turn pink in support of Breast Cancer awareness. One brand of mineral water already has a pink screw top version on the shelves and, next week, expect to see Tim Tams with pink packaging and, would you believe, a pink filling.
For the more fashion – and figure – conscious you might want to head into Jeans West to get your hands on a range of t-shirts designed by Australian designers such as Marnie Skillings, Alice McCall, Kirrily Johnston and Alba Fan Club. The charity t-shirts retail for $29.95, with $10 from every t-shirt sold going to the Cancer Council to help fund research, education programs and support services for those affected by breast cancer. The t-shirts will be in Jeans West stores nationally from October 9 for a limited time.
The US-based cotton promotion and research organization Cotton Incorporated recently conducted research into what women like to wear.
The results indicated, among other things, that old rules such as mixing a pattern with another pattern were passé and that wearing one designer head to toe was an absolute no-no. Interestingly, when asked by Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor if they prefer to buy clothing that is more fashionable or higher in quality, 57.3 per cent of female respondents opted for quality. And despite the popularity of dresses in stores and on catwalks at the moment, women it seems just like to wear jeans.
Lifestyle Monitor revealed that women think it’s OK to wear jeans to the office and that, on average, women wore jeans four days a week (darker coloured denim was the preferred choice, in case you were wondering). Then again, most jeans are made from cotton.
Considering that fashion is all about what’s next, I guess it’s inevitable that when a fashion designer gets to a certain age, people will start to speculate about what’s next for them. And that age appears to be 74.
There have been plenty of rumours this year that the 74 year-old designer Oscar de la Renta, was about to retire and that the collection he just presented in New York would be his last.
The fact that he has
recently been treated for an undisclosed medical condition only added to the rumours. According to Women’s Wear Daily, however, Oscar isn’t going anywhere soon. And considering he’s at the top of his game and his company has an estimated revenue of $US750 million, why would he.
Valentino Garavani, also 74, will celebrate the 45th anniversary of his fashion house in March. As his company announced it’s half yearly sales results of $US1.14 billion, Valentino also faced rumours of his imminent retirement. With sales figures like these it’s a wonder shareholders aren’t trying to keep the designers working at any cost.
The list is getting too long to reiterate, and the Daily What is going to have a moratorium on stories about high end designers doing collections for lower end retailers. Wednesday it was Vivienne Westwood doing a range of shoes and accessories for Nine West, today it's the cult French label Paul & Joe designing a range for the US division of Target. 
Paul & Joe designer Sophie Albou was recently announced as the next designer in Target's Go International initiative to offer customers affordable fashion, which also includes ranges by Isaac Mizrahi and Luella Bartley.
The Paul & Joe for Target range is comprised of mix-and-match separates and accessories with prices ranging from $US7.99 to $US149.99. Affordable fashion indeed. Hopefully, this will also be the last time the Daily What will plead with the Australian arm of Target to stock the range here.
Perth-based fashion designer, Anna McEachran, is one of the winners of the British Council’s Realise Your Dream scheme. The scholarships – worth $10,000 – were announced at a function in Sydney last night and were awarded to six Australian creative professionals between the ages of 19 and 26.
McEachran's entry was one of 850 and the prize includes travel to the UK to work with a mentor of her choosing. No word on exactly who that mentor will be as yet, but the director of the British Council in Australia, Christopher Wade, says the council, "will use it's powerful UK network to find suitable mentors with industry experts and money-can't-buy work experience."
McEachran’s label, Moocha Bella, has won plenty of acclaim in her native Perth, and this latest accolade will be sure to give her a major leg up in the industry.
The high/low phenomenon continues. English designer Vivienne Westwood has designed a range of shoes and accessories for the US division of shoe retailer Nine West. The queen of tartan’s collection for Nine West includes shoes with names such as Coquette (stilettos), Gladiator (boots) and auntie (stacked heel) which, you guessed it, make good use of tartan.
At first blush the marriage of Westwood and Nine West is an odd pairing, not least because the grandmother of punk has, in the past, voiced her disdain of chain stores. The reason she designed this range, she said at the launch of the collection in New York, was that too many people conformed to a look based on low-priced clothes of little imagination and poor quality. There’s no word when the Westwood collaboration will make it into Australian stores, but when and if they do, expect them to walk out the door.
Marc Jacobs might not be an Australian, but it seemed almost unthinkable to review the highlights of New York Fashion Week and not include him in it. Jacobs. After all, what Jacobs shows on the catwalk today will be what chain stores are doing next season. He has a knack for knowing how women will want to dress before they do. He also has a knack for reinventing the wheel each season and presenting a collection that is a radical shift from the season before.
Last season everything was dark and sombre in Jacobs’s world, with heavy layering on models who sometimes appeared to be weighed down with large hats. This week, however, spring had definitely sprung. Against a backdrop of rolling hills, Jacobs’s models walked down an elevated bright green catwalk in a collection that was light and airy in a palette of whites, creams, pale greys and black. Where his layering in the past had seemed heavy, here the technique was used to produce lightness.
One standout was an asymmetrically layered dress is pale grey jersey. Jacobs also showed his whimsical side, such as in a horizontal striped off-the-shoulder dress with huge billowing sleeves. Mind you, it took a model like Karen Elson to pull it off.
The Australian label Tight Knickers pulled off one of the more memorable stunts in Australian Fashion Week history by dispersing $15,000 in $5 notes into the crowd after their fashion show this year.
The team behind the label described it as a social experiment, and it was certainly an eye opener to see who scrambled for the money and who let it be. Now the label is at it again. News comes that every Monday until Christmas representatives of the label will wander the streets of Sydney and hand out Tight Knickers clothing to the homeless.
A cynic might see the stunt as nothing more than cheap marketing; an optimist as a kind gesture. Nevertheless, the news reminded this writer of a joke by Jerry Seinfeld – something about the homeless needing homes more than hip t-shirts.
One of the biggest trends of the last few seasons has been the return of the dress, and it shows no sign of abating. Dresses have been everywhere on the catwalks, with barely a trouser to be seen. Kit Willow’s collection, presented in New York this week, was heavy in dresses in predominantly neutral colours – the other big trend of the season – with a bit of black and the occasional splash of colour thrown in.
This is Kit Willow’s second outing at New York Fashion Week and she showed a sophisticated range of dresses – everything from A-lines to smocks to floor-length evening gowns. Where her collection truly shone, however, was in the number of cinch-waist dresses she showed. They were refined and elegant and looked like the perfect thing for summer. A high-waisted skirt in beige linen and a cream silk blouse looked effortlessly chic, and showed that Willow is brilliant at mixing fabrics and playing with textures.
This was perhaps one of the more understated collections by Sass and Bide designers Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke. Their signature heavy embellishment was almost nowhere to be seen. You can’t help thinking that this collection, presented in New York earlier this week, was a concerted attempt to make their higher-end line more commercial.
Denim has always been Sass and Bide’s core business, and a very successful one at that, but high fashion is where the really big margins, and therefore profits, are. Previous catwalk shows in New York by the label have been heavily styled with over-the-top hairdos sometimes even with plastic horses woven into them. The models in this season’s show looked elegant and chic with simple slicked back hair and clean makeup. The collection was largely a black and white one – always good sellers – with some neutrals and shimmery metallic fabrics. Tulip-shaped skirts were a recurring theme here, as were floaty A-line dresses.
There was no doubt the collection bore the duo’s distinctive signature, but it was a refreshing change to see such a restrained approach to it.
In previous collections Maticevski has shone when it comes to tailoring, but frankly I have always found his evening wear too complicated and veering towards the over-the-top. At times in this, his first New York collection, it seemed like he was going down that road again. However, when it came to evening wear in this collection it was light and delicate. It would hardly be surprising if some of this collection doesn’t end up on a red carpet somewhere. There was also some beautiful draped satin gowns that hung perfectly from the body. Speaking of bodies, there was plenty on show in this collection which featured lots of barely there organza and voile garments Maticevski stuck to a gentle palette of whites and neutrals and made plenty of use of simple A-line shapes. Sometimes less really is more in fashion.
The great thing about denim jeans is that they are a truly egalitarian item of clothing. And the bad thing about them is that they are a truly egalitarian item of clothing. Every designer these days seems to be churning out a denim range to cater for the consumer’s desire for jeans that are a little different. Levis, the denim authority, has come up with a unique take on jeans with a difference. Each pair of the Capital E range by Levis are an original and hand made. The Capital E range comes in a variety of styles and washes for men and women.
When it comes to fashion weeks, Paris is where the art happens, Milan is really all about menswear, London is often where hot new talent is discovered and New York, well, it’s all about sales. Which is why so many Australian designers are hotfooting it over there and showing at New York Fashion Week, which runs until Friday, because as the song goes: if you can make it there …
New Zealand-based designer Karen Walker decided to show in New York this season after eight seasons in London. It looks like it might have been a smart move. The New York press has been raving about her Saturday night show. Walker told Women’s Wear Daily her spring-summer 2007 collection was inspired by, “Forties British Victory girls, the girls who worked the farms while the men were away,” she said. That translated into pretty floral prints, puffed sleeves and a few ruffles. With this collection Walker showed that she is a great colorist with a deft use of hot pink, electric blue and chartreuse. A real victory for the Kiwi designer.
You have to admire Anna Wintour for her habit of flying the facing of controversy. Wintour, the editor of US Vogue was pilloried in the book The Devil Wears Prada written by her former personal assistant, Lauren Weisberger. When it came to the premiere of the film version of the book, all eyes were on whether Wintour would attend. Not only did she attend, she wore Prada.
Wintour has also fallen victim of the antics of anti-fur campaigners for her decision to wear fur – most notably having a tofu pie thrown at her when she arrived at a fashion show in Paris recently. This month Wintour fired her next missive in her war with the anti-fur lobby. The September edition of her magazine contains a six page advertorial promoting fur as a must have and “An ideal refinement for females to conquer chic city life and elegance.” The spread includes fur items from labels such as Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, Michael Kors and, yes, Prada.
Everything he lends his name to has a habit of turning into gold. When he designed a range of Vans sneakers last year (which sold for $150) they sold it as soon as they hit the stores. Expect the same frenzy when his range of jeans for Wrangler makes its way into stores in Australia. They've already appeared in US department stores with price tags of $US300 for jeans and $400 for jackets. And the prices have left many industry analysts in the US wondering whether Jacobs might be stretching his cool credentials this time. Customers are used to seeing Wrangler-branded jeans in discount department stores in the US for as little as $US15. Then again, maybe Marc Jacobs collection will give Wrangler a bit of giddyup in the fashion stakes.
Hermes knows a thing or two about luxury, not to mention how to put on a good party. To celebrate the opening of the company's new Elizabeth Street, Sydney flagship store a series of events were thrown (after all, the store is bigger than its predecessor, but not quite big enough to house the brand's legion of fans).
Guests at Tuesday night's cocktail party, which included Maggie Tabberer, Carla Zampatti, Nick Tobias and the ubiquitous Tom Waterhouse, were treated to Moet & Chandon, quail eggs, foie gras and lobster sandwiches. Talk at the event, however, centred around the exclusive dinner the night before at the Sydney Equestrian Centre. Specifically, the talk was about the waiters. The 80 dinner guests were seated at one long table, which was laid with an array of Hermes' tableware. They were attended to by a team of 40 waiters. That's right - one between two. Now that's luxury.
With every fashion sports label making polo shirts these days, it’s nice to see a classic return to take back its rightful position as the market leader.
The humble Lacoste brand is having a renaissance at the moment thanks to the brand’s creative directoir, Christophe Lemaire.
The good news is the polos still come in the pique fabric and hot colours that made them so famous.
And, yes, they still have the embroidered crocodile on the chest.
When Mark Vassallo stepped down as editor of Follow magazine, after just a year in the job, it seemed like the magazine was just hitting its stride.
But Vassallo has never really been one to sit still. As a stylist he’s worked for clients ranging from Chanel to Hugo Boss to Estee Lauder; and is the man credited with discovering the Australian modelling sensation Gemma Ward.
When he returns from New York, where he will be working on Josh Goot’s debut show there, he will take up his new position as Stye Director of Harper’s Bazaar.
Australian Fashion Week (AFW) finally has a naming rights sponsor – Rosemount Estate wines.
The multi-million dollar deal will see the event called Rosemount Australian Fashion Week for the next five years. And while the news left many a twitter that the deal could see the fashion set sipping Yellowglen at next year’s event (Rosemount is part of the Fosters group of companies, which also owns Yellowglen), it will give the event some much needed cash.
Maybe AFW could take a mint leaf out of New York Fashion Week’s book and get Nestle to sponsor the event with its Mint Pattie brand. The American version of the sweet is called Peppermint Pattie and has been around since the 1940s and is one of the sponsors of New York Fashion Week. Hershey’s, the company that owns Peppermint Pattie, thought the event would be the perfect vehicle for making the confectionary the sweet of choice for fashionistas – after all, it has 60 per cent less fat than the other top-selling chocolate bars. And it leaves your breath fresh for all that air kissing.
Alicia Richardson has worked in fashion media for the past 12 years. The first five were spent as part of the editorial team at Australian Elle Magazine, she then moved to New York in 1999. Based in Manhattan for the following five years, she worked on American Elle Magazine and www.elle.com (covering fashion, the New Yorks shows and beauty) and helped to launch the Bloomingdales fashion title, B Magazine, where she remained Beauty Editor until 2004.
Now back in Sydney and Editor of What's What, Alicia is able to immerse herself in both local and international fashion to keep you up-to-the-second with all the news and inspirational trends.
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