Melbourne indulged its love affair with black last night, at Spring Fashion Week’s second official parade. Entitled “Out Of The Shadows,”the parade showcased the country’s quirkier designers, with an emphasis on thedeconstructed, the irreverent and the downright unwearable. Opening the night’s proceedings was a retrospective by Fat, featuring house favourites like Tsubi/Ksubi, Lover, I Peck Your Pun and Romance Was Born.
Organised chronologically, the parade provided a fascinating snapshotof each year in Australian avant-garde fashion. Veteran New Zealand label Nom*D kicked off the parade proper, with a collection that turned conventional fashion inside out. Exposed seams, raw edges and complex layering combined for a deconstructed look, unified by a palette of black, white and grey. Splashes of muted red, tartanand stripes were used sparingly, playing on the punk aesthetic alreadysuggested by the use of Dr. Marten boots.
For those after a cleaner look, Melbourne’s own Alpha 60 offered a collection that was well tailored and wearable. Slouchy pants, long-line T-shirts and winklepicker shoes made for an androgynous collection,complemented by hooded shift dresses for the girls and slimline shirts andsuits for the guys.
Once again, Alpha 60 presented their signature screen-printed tees, with last year’s pin-up Laura Palmer being replaced by Drew Barrymore in Scream. The latter half of the parade injected some colour into theevening with both Therese Rawsthorne and TV eschewing the lure of black. Rawsthorne’scollection used splashes of hot pink peeking out from beneath black skirts, as well as bold floral prints on boxy, 80s style jackets, while TV experimented inshades of blue – from pale eggshell blue, to sky blue to the colour of chambraydenim. Seemingly inspired by the Native American Indians, TV incorporated tassels, dream-catchers and Navajo-esque patterns in their collection, along with elaborate ruffles and quirky cut outs.
Photographer Louis Porter