So Australia has spat out another crack-eyed lovely for the fashion world to feast on. Anja Konstantinova was born in Saint Petersburg but migrated here at the age of twelve so that her mother could join the Australian Ballet Company.
I think there's a whiff of North by North West-era Eva Marie Saint about her:
- but Eva didn't have those eyes.
And yeah, she's short. Who cares.
I don't really believe in the word 'flattering', but...
Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour by Maurice Quentin de La Tour
There are few things that look nicer on a lady than a good scooped, rounded-square neckline.
Mr De La Renta knows what I'm talkin' 'bout:
One of my (many) favourite moments in Napoleon Dynamite:
Why did she put three exclamation marks? And why did she put hearts in them??
Summer Wheatly is a stone cold bitch.
From US Vogue, September 2006.
Undulating black aluminum foil - a very pretty description indeed, but in my mind it's definitely the Garbage Bag Dress.
Dita Von Teese is looking beautiful in the February edition of InStyle magazine:
But that's hardly a surprise since she's channeling Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl:
Honestly, there aren't many people I wouldn't kill for this 1970 Lanvin skirt:
#sothat'swheremiucciagotitfrom #whyamiusinghashtags #Idon'tevenunderstandwhathashtagsarefor
I probably can't justify buying a new entertainment system for one movie, but would you believe that the dress in question has yielded yet another colourful surprise:
I never noticed that purple tulle petticoat.
But please don't rush to get my autograph.
Fame ain't easy.
p.s. The extraordinarily beautiful dress/ shoes/ gams to my left belong to the extraordinarily beautiful Chelsea Whitbread - undoubtedly a street-style favourite at this year's RAFW.
Watch this. It is outrageously beautiful and probably the best Australian film since forever.
Every time I watch a movie that features the Bach/Gounod 'Ave Maria', I wish that Fauré's 'Requiem' had been used in its place.
Shit son, Ksubi don't put a foot wrong, huh?
Also in Australian Fashion Week's early years, the event's indomitable founder, Simon Lock often boasted that we had the advantage of showing the first of the international Spring/ Summer collections. Going by the calender year this may indeed be the case, but as anyone with an awareness of fashion trends will know, Australia is seldom the source of directional collections. Perhaps it is because of this that I often approach AFW with my rip-off radar on high alert. Personally I think that it's just as well that these days local magazines maintain the general policy of, 'if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all'. Better to leave the snarkiness to broadsheets and bloggers.
On that note...
It was in October 2009 that Phoebe Philo sent this leather blouse down the catwalk for Céline.
It is simply disappointing that Gary Bigeni would bring down the tone of his otherwise stellar collection with a style of garment that has long-since hit the High Street sales racks.
What's the point?
Similarly there was a whiff of Lanvin's Fall 2011 greyscale roses in one of Limedrop's prints:
Limedrop
Image from fashionising
Lanvin
In fact I don't think Limedrop's print is terribly problematic - yes they have taken inspiration from an international look, but they've also brought something new to the table via the painterly zig zags. I can't help think, nevertheless, that there are more than a few Australian designers who would do well to put in place a self-imposed ban on viewing international collections. We can do better.
My favourite garments at the New Generation show came from Paper Skye, and it was nice to see a designer choose to whisper rather than roar. Pleats were everywhere this week but Paper Sky's workmanship with this tricky fabric surpassed that of many local fashion stalwarts.
Images from fashionising
And perhaps it's silly consideration, but I was so glad that, unlike in the majority of other shows, the models were wearing substantial undergarments beneath the sheer fabrics. I mean honestly, what does an entirely visible nude g-string have to do with fashion?
And I don't know what's going on with exposed belly button and bulky belt, but how cute is this lace collar?:
Images from fashionising
One to watch, I reckon.
So there's two things a swimwear model needs to do...
Images from fashionising
...walk and wax.
As if the Resort Wear group collection wasn't bleak enough already.
Gwen Stefani also rocked the chola/ chicana vibe in her stupendous "Luxurious" video.
The weight of the fabric stops the hemline from looking like a rehash of a too-recently passed trend. For me, at their best, Sorronda's designs hint at the monumentality of Renaissance garments:
Portrait of a Gentleman by Giovanni Battista Moroni, 1550
Il sarto by Giovanni Battista Moroni, 1570-1575
Probs maybe some of my favourite prints of the week came from Michael Lo Sordo.
On first viewing it looks like smoke but now I'm thinking it's a little more like ink in water. And if you're into that, you must check out Mark Mawson's photography:
Does this Gary Bigeni outfit look a wee bit familiar?
Well here's a something from Lisa Ho's Winter 2011 collection.
So by now everyone knows that this year's Fashion Week was awash with white.
Yawn.
What few interesting whites there were came from Josh Goot, Lover and Gail Sorronda.
This Goot suit in particular reminds me of Joseph Losey's magnificent screen-adaptation of Don Giovanni:
But on the whole the whites we saw were a tad insubstantial, not to mention a little mournful (and no, I'm not just saying that in order to justify using a 30 Rock quote in the title of this post, though this does make me happy).
Butterflies were a motif of Dhini's show and it was therefore an uphill battle for me to love this collection, but love it I did. The undeniable standouts were three sheer dresses, cut in the style of a 1940s trench coat.
I love the rather bulky, masculine lines of early 1940s clothes, but admit they may have limited appeal in a contemporary context. Dhini's use of ultra-feminine sheer fabrics in this style is therefore a lovely and clever conceit. One is given the impression of viewing the ghosts of fashions from a bygone age - and what could be more lovely.
And, could it be, a black dress that doesn't have everyone in the room narcolepting? I think so!
What's more, that looks like the first viable drop waist I've seen in a long time.
Oh well done to the siblings Freeman, well done.
