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RAFW Highlights: Those We Love...And Loved Even More!

May 5, 2011

A powerful beginning to Rosemount Australia Fashion Week 2011 with the return of Lover to RAFW after 5 years. We recap this week's most noteworthy shows....

ZIMMERMANN. Inspired by idyllic summers and long hot days, this collection was right up our alley. Held in a luxury-car showroom in North Sydney, Givenchy model Ruby Jean Wilson took to the catwalk to open the show while mechanics were working on Mustangs and Maseratis next door. Diamond-cut inserts, intricate lace, embroidered brocade and perforated squares featured alongside multi-coloured trims.

KARLA SPETIC. Karla Spetic’s girls took to the runway looking like they’d stepped out of a 1960′s Slim Aarons photograph. Knee-grazing shift dresses and skirts in colourful bold prints were paired alongside bright purple shirts and tangerine lips. A sleek low pony completed the look with what is no doubt, the hairstyle of the moment.

GARTH COOK. Merging talent Garth Cook presented his Nouveau Clone collection in the first group ready-to-wear showcase of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. With a collection comprised entirely of silk, the designer gave us the best of his signature architectural style with sheer shirt-dresses, crushed two-tone tunics and mini-dresses with sexy split detail at the thigh. Cook has also experimented with a print for summer 2011/12 - in mottled black-and-brights that he worked with tailored jackets, trousers and shorts.

ELLERY. Anticipation was high for the Ellery show and it wasn't just the clothes that caused a stir. Following her celeb-heavy Perth trunk show in March, Kym Ellery's Australian Fashion Week show today didn't disappoint with a bevy of A-list Aussie ladies, including the face of Myer, Jennifer Hawkins. Looking stunning in a strapless yellow corset and long skirt (see below), Hawkins showcased Ellery's summer 2011 designs perfectly. The collection - entitled The Second Marriage - is inspired by David Hockney's contemporary artwork and features prints, peach, leather and gold detailing.

DION LEE. Despite the 45 minute wait, Dion Lee's much anticipated collection was heralded as 'innovative' and 'highly architectural' by those who sat in the brilliantly lit auditorium of the Sydney Opera House. According to Lee the focus was on the silhouette - in micro-shorts, cocoon shapes and dramatic drapery. “Fabrics were developed to create textural chaos,” he said. “Synthetic treatments were applied to natural fibres, with wool and silk coated, printed and stencilled with silicone inks and thermal film.”The effect was extremely modern and wonderfully fresh in a week where designers are happily playing it safe. Loved the cut-out details (a Lee signature), the soft pastel palette and the sexy body-con dresses with draped backs or exaggerated splits to the thigh.

AND OUR FAVOURITE.....

LOVER. It might have started over an hour late (not unusual for shows), but the Lover RAFW 2011 show was one worth waiting for! Designers Susien Chong and Nic Briand haven't shown at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in five years, which gave an air of anticipation to a show that proved to be the perfect culmination to day 1 of RAFW. Taking inspiration from the Chinese Mythology The White Serpent, Lover's 2011/12 collection bought to life the beauty of romance "tempered by tragedy". It was unmistakably Lover, with lashings of French lace and leather in hues of red, white and black that were styled effortlessly but tailored sharply.Short, delicate lace dresses were shown alongside long, romantic sheer gowns that were toughened only by statement heels and a bold cherry lip. Although the collection was centred around the idea of tragedy, it seems Chong and Briand have breathed new life into the cult label.

RAFW spring summer 2011-12 highlights from Lover, Ellery, Dion Lee