Harper's Bazaar Runway, L'Oreal Fashion Festival

The Friday night shows of the L'Oreal Fashion Festival were buzzing.

I was delighted to finally meet Carly from Lady Smaggle in person, recognising her wildly fierce hair from across the room. Love it.

She and HarbourMaster had rushed in from the Mimco show in the city, while I was seated next to the lovely Patrick Price from Fjorde Magazine.

I learned that media accreditation means you can get high quality photographs of the event (brilliant!) so I was able to enjoy the shows rather than fretting too much about my digital camera.

Scanlan and Theodore are a favourite at my office, so I watched with interest to see what designs might appear on my colleagues in the coming months. Turtlenecks, apparently, and thin belts. Turtlenecks are a style I would be happy to leave in peace, along with the feeling of suffocation they evoke. Each to their own, though.

Dion Lee, last year's winner of the Woolmark Designer of the Year award, is now sponsored by Pacific Brands - a controversial move sure to evoke reactions on both sides of the fashion fence. His designs this year were arguably less outrageous than previous shows, but I felt his creativity shone through nonetheless.

Dion Lee (I actually took this photo, thank you very much.)

Jason Brunsdon was hit and miss: I loved his vivid palette of tropical shades, but was less enamoured by the cuts.

Jason Brunsdon

Aurelio Costarella. My favourite designer from this particular show. Lots of leather, corsetry, and fitted white raw silk. Plus, he bucked the prevailing trend to favour sturdy, waist-cinching belts that served to define the torso. Delightful.

Aurelio Costarella. Photo by me.

Collette Dinnigan.  Too much lacy gothic princess. The velvet 80s-style floor length black gown (complete with bows and diamantes) was eye-catching for all the wrong reasons.

Toni Maticevski finished the show with a plethora of Grecian off-the-shoulder gowns in a palette of white, cream and ivory. Elegant, understated, and a delightful way to wrap up Runway 5.

Toni Maticevski

Then, it was off for drinks in the Westfield Bar before dashing back for Runway 6, hosted by frankie magazine. Stay tuned.


Get my updates via email