The circus to end all circuses- Rosemount Australian Fashion Week- for the most part, was a glorified parade of half baked ideas and semi conscious creativity. While only a few designers shone on the runway (Carly Hunter, Arnsdorf, Christopher Esber, Romance Was Born, Dion Lee, Karla Spetic, to name a handful of the best), it seemed like most of the good stuff was happening off the catwalk. I went to visit Above to check out their summer 2011 collection, and while I was quietly impressed, I was not in the least bit shocked. From humble beginnings mere seasons ago,
Above have matured, well (excuse the pun), above and beyond the rest.
Fingering the rack proudly, one half of the Above team, Kerry Findlow, gushes with pride. “I’m really excited about [this collection] it feels… it’s bigger, but it all has a reason.” Based on a subtle palette of muted navy, grey steel and burnt orange, the collection is refined and thoughtful. “That’s what we’ve always tried to do, just something that’s really focused. We had other options for the season but it got to the point they just kind of fell by the wayside and we hadn’t really thought about them again so we thought ‘well they don’t fit so well just do without them and go with the really concise stuff’”.
Concise indeed, the range is direct and purposeful, and follows in the Above tradition of high quality, easy to wear wardrobe staples. Kerry’s excited explanations ring true of the clothes hanging before me. “We’re redefining what we call a ‘classic Western wardrobe’”, for instance, a great shift dress is important, but Above puts their own stamp on the classic staple with scarf detailing to create “more opportunity to make it fit you, because we all have such different body shapes anyway!” The scarf is a running theme in the collection and features on many of the tops, jumpsuits, pants and dresses. “We’ve always thought that the scarf is the most adaptable piece of clothing, so we’ve incorporated in ways that you can actually wear.”
For Above, it’s all about “how people adapt their clothes to change their meaning”, and this season the girls have taken nostalgic childhood favourites and reworked them to create contemporary favourites. For instance, an oversized blazer and pants are reminiscent of home-tailored op shop finds, where for instance, “you find an old pair of pants you really love you so take them in and belt them- we dropped the fly and made them asymmetric.” There’s even a t-shirt and a dress that mimic the way pre-teen girls tuck the bottom of their t-shirt into the top in order to expose their midriff- invoking romantic school yard imagery of little girls with big girl aspirations.
My favourite pieces are a pair of high waist shorts, a shirt and blazer, all appearing to have a laser cut print through the white cotton fabric. Kerry explains the method Above used to create this effect- burning. The print is made by the process of devore, where by the pattern is literally burnt out of the fabric, with another, stronger pigment used to define the lines. As I coo over this ensemble, Kerry’s smile widens. “It’s definitely come a long way. It feels like it has come a long way… We’re starting to make a real little history for us.”