Our first guest blogger Yolanda Finch, LMFF’s Creative & Production Advisor, takes us around the fashion circuit for a fashion pack report providing insight into the around-town happenings through the lens of the Festival team and friends!
The last couple of weeks are always jam-packed with launches and parties as everyone sneaks in the coming months’ celebrations before Festive Season fatigue sets in through December and beyond
What: Versace at Crown cocktail party & store opening
Where: Crown Casino
When: Nov 17
The Wrap:
A gorgeously dressed crowd, plenty of Veuve and oysters, a rather generous gift in the bags – we must be at Versace! Arriving at the recently opened store at Crown we were attentively received, allowed an appropriate time to mingle with the beautiful and beautifully tanned, then shown the way to the after-party at Le Bar so we didn’t leave too many sticky prints on the luxury goodies that were so very tempting to paw and purr over. Très sleek to be sure.
What: Somewhere store grand opening
Where: Lvl 2, Royal Arcade, 314 Little Collins Street, CITY
When: Nov 18
The Wrap:
I love going to any shindig where, despite the sauna-like conditions in the top floor, non-airconditioned gallery/store space it’s held, the kids will still not undo their top button because that would ruin their bowtie with tailored short and exquisite Italian laceup shoe combo. The cool kids keep getting cooler and the Somewhere opening was prime hunting ground for sartorialist bloggers and style profilers – here’s me in front of one such style snapping moment, happening on Little Collins St while Jens Lekman did his thing on the DJ decks upstairs.
Yolanda Finch
Jens Lekman
The opening was great but the store itself is greater. Head in and remind yourself that retail spaces can be inspiring and I challenge you to leave without some hyper-cool Scandinavian fashion or snapping up a Craig Dermody artwork (which is #1 on my Christmas list if my family/friends are reading).
Craig Dermody, “Shapes in the Sky”
What: Arnsdorf pop-up store launch
Where: 69 Gertrude Street, FITZROY
When: Nov 19
The Wrap:
Jade: Let’s do a pop-up store before Christmas. Kat: Um, ok, where? Jade: I dunno, let’s have a look on Gumtree. Kat: Hey here’s one we could take next week! Jade: Let’s do it, you send the email and I’ll gather some mates to completely renovate the well-positioned but purple & yellow walled space on Gertrude into a gorgeous, chic, light and airy store suitable to house my exquisitely cool S/S collection in time to open in one week. Don’t forget the strawberries and champagne. Kat: I love my job, I love my job, I love my job…
Jade Sarita Arnott proves she’s a can-do kind of designer with an excellent team to realise the vision that is the genius of Arnsdorf.
What: Limedrop pop-up store launch
Where: Level 1 GPO, 350 Bourke Street, CITY
When: Nov 20
The Wrap:
Thank goodness for some extra assistance with the nightmare that can be Christmas shopping – Limedrop is temporarily coming to the rescue with a pop-up store in the GPO that’ll be there from November to the end of January.
Karen Webster, LMFF Director and Geraldine Frater, LMFF Project Manager
Limedrop Designers, Clea Carrick and Nathan Price.
What: RMIT Fashion Graduate Exhibition
Where: The Carlton Club Hotel, 193 Bourke Street, CITY
When: Nov 20
The Wrap:
An astonishing and encouraging amount of fashion design talent has just graduated from RMIT and before being unleashed upon the world they set up their wares, installation style, in a series of rooms I never knew existed half way up the stairs between The Carlton main and rooftop bars. It was a 2 day only affair and exceptionally well done.
(And if you haven’t been to the new Carlton rooftop which is now 2 levels, summer beverage yourself the next time the clouds lift!)
