RAFW Day one done and dusted, permed, printed and sculpted

So day one of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in it's 15th year...How did it end up? Permed, printed and sculpted, with outstanding splashes of ruffles, fur, feathers and sumptuous leathers in between.
Sydney's Circular Quay was a buzz of stylishly dressed individuals, armed with computers, iPhone's and Blackberry's this morning when I arrived and the up to the minute texting, uploading typing and camera flashes continued the whole day.
The day held many a juxtaposition and many a new direction, whether it was the old turned new or the new purely out dating the old.
Oyster said it first on their front cover earlier this year "Print is dead." That statement was very much true and very much not at fashion week today. On the runway print was well and truly alive, with the first three shows at the Overseas Passenger Terminal delivering exactly that.
Ginger and Smart, The Seventh Wonderland and Camilla all had their fair share of vibrant graphic prints but the front row..the front row on the other hand was all about the internet. Laptops rested on specially installed trays and images streamed live onto the internet so if you weren't there you my as well have been.
And so it is, that this delayed blogger, can only offer you this, my personal reflections and favourites from the day.
The Seventh Wonderland did indeed deliver a wonderland fantasy, as a long time lover of the label and loyal wearer I may be slightly bias, but every season this swimwear label seems to blur the boundaries of beach and day wear more and more.
Models meandered out in clean cut, hand sculpted, hand designed prints that offered a sophisticated chic to modern day swimwear. Designer. Bonnie Coumbe, did not disappoint when it came to her background in customized prints, graphic lines and a myrid of vibrant colours interacted in a mesmerizing display of swimwear fantasy.
The next not to be missed, with an equally vivid array of colour and prints, was Camilla, who deserves a special note for her showcase, which began with the beginning of the ground breaking digital movie Avatar and ended somewhere between its success and it's enormous scale production. Camilla successfully encompassed both.
Models stormed out in vibrant prints complete with headpieces, colourful make up, permed hair and in the end wigs and plastic helmet style hats. No stone was left unturned and no colour was ignored.
After that, with eyes spinning in colour, it was time for the harder style of Lucette where crimping and braiding still ruled supreme in the hair but with an entirely different wardrobe and state of mind. This was one of my favourites of the day.
One of the increasingly consistent trends to emerge so far made its debut, corseting and leather bodices and suspender style waist adornments. Body harnesses and rock style 80's pieces were softened with flowing print skirts and dresses creating the perfect juxtaposition of soft, hard and no where in between. It was a delightful visual sensation to be apart of, with multiple pieces that can be de-constructed and re-constructed to speak a thousand different words. In short a stylists dream.
The first ready to wear show was a pleasant surprise unveiling the talents of Uscari and Carly Hunter, two labels that are definitely worth watching. Carly Hunter's polka dot sheer dresses were certainly a favourite of mine and the construction and simplicity of Uscari won me over within a heartbeat and the first wave of music.
Zambesi, was Zambesi at its best delivering wearable pieces in an androgynous style, with strong elements of each gender splicing up the aesthetic. Always a show not to be missed and a style not to be underestimated.
The final show on my setting first day of fashion week horizon was Aurelio Costarella, a designer who has caught my eye and my admiration ever increasingly over that last year. His show confirmed my feelings that he is one of the finest designers in Australia today, with an attention to detail that is second to none.
Pleats bounced under cascading ruffles and sculptural corsets and leather bodices bound them at the their routes. The colour palette went from dark to light seemingly symbolic of a journey into the light and indeed his collection was like the sigh you breathe when you finally reach the end of that journey. His was a painless journey though, one where your breath was not stifled by the darkness, but by the sheer magnificence of the beauty of the light that dances amongst the shadows along the way.
Without getting to metaphorical and romantic on you, the collection was a work of art where not only the detail stood out, but the simple elements, that framed them, which took on a life of their own. The textures were so vivid it was hard not to leap onto the runway and touch them. It was simplistic, sculptural, delicately detailed design divinity, that hugged both the body and the heart of fashion as an expression of beauty at the same time.
Nothing more needs to be said.
That is where day one ended for me and it couldn't of ended on a higher note.
In summary the favourites were all there, the prints, the colours, the fluid tailoring and the sculptural dresses and of course the leather. Loving the leather.
The hair and make up was above and beyond and it seems any of us who threw out our crimping irons may have to hunt them back down. Hair is big, crimped, braided, teased and twisted, it has a textural personality of its own! I'm calling mine back in right now...though I think the 2005 multi-styling model might not suffice for such a smooth crimped style. We will see.
Day two holds new promises of pattern, print and textural magic, be it white or dark magic, it's magic nonetheless so lets hope tomorrow is even more magical than today. The standard has been set high though.
So for now, so long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, good night.
Rx
For more of my more up to the minute coverage head to Tangent Magazine and Le Black Book