Carolyn, Boutique Owner

My blazer is vintage and my legging are from TV. I am wearing bangles from my store Glitzen by Elke Kramer and House of Baulch and a necklace by Lucy Folk. My shoes are by Preston Zly.

Anna, 26,Retail

My top is from Marc Jacobs and my skirt is from Topshop. My boots are from episode.

Georgia, 15, Student

I am wearing a Princess Highway jacket and a dress from Wheels and Dollbaby. My bag and hairclip are from Alannah Hill. I am not sure where I got my shoes.

With the return of nineties fashion, the iconic film clip of November Rain from Guns and Roses immediately springs to mind. According to Wikipedia the November Rain film clip, at a cost of $1.5 million, is the thirteeth most expensive video clip of all time. But I suppose this is hardly surprising considering they staged a full wedding, funeral and don’t forget aerial shots of guitarist Slash. Leather jackets - check, ripped jeans - check, heavy black boots - check and embellished military jackets- check. The moment I can’t forget however is Axl’s real life girlfriend at the time Stephanie Seymour’s entrance as she works that poofy/sexy wedding dress complete with garter belt on display. How about her sexy body consious dress post wedding?

If you are feeling nostalgic I attach a link to the film clip

Congrats to the following winners, you have won double passes to see The Ugly Truth!
Chevonne, Catherine P, Rebecca, Anne E, Brooke I. I will email you to get your details.

Eva, 22, Student

I am wearing a vintage sweater and a Country Road silk shirt underneath. My skirt is from American Apparel. My bag and shoes are vintage.

Megan, 23, Student

I am wearing a sequined jacket from Dangerfield, my top and skirt are vintage. My shoes are from the Shoe Shed and made my tights myself. My bag is from French Connection.  

Georgie, 24, Retail

 My jacket is vintage. My top and skirt are from Sass and Bide. My shoes are from the Camberwell Market and my gloves are from a cheap shop in the city.

A couple of days ago I dropped by Glitzern one of the most beautiful treasures in Melbourne.

Glitzern, which is German for glitter, is owned by Moi Rogers and one of the original founders of Alice Euphemia, Caroline Price. With backgrounds in jewellery, styling and retail it doesn’t surprise me that this gorgeous store was opened by two people so perfect for the job. Their love for accessories and love to shop is evident with all the delectable pieces.

The walls are as original and Caroline and Moi brought in ornate 1920s antique gold cabinets, lit up from above. The boxes are filled with numerous goodies ranging from vintage  jewellery from antique markets around the world to new gems from Australia and wherever they travel such as New York, Europe, Belin, LA, London and Hong Kong. Little hands emerge from the brick walls holding gold necklaces just begging you to adopt them and love them forever.

Moi told me their aim for the shop was to make it as approachable and organic as possible. Unlike many other jewellery stores where the experience can be quite impersonal with an all white layout and the jewellery hidden far away, pieces at Glitzern can be played with and touched, it is all about finding an amazing special costume piece to be the ultimate accessory for your outfit.

I am in love with at least ten pieces there - I plan to return ASAP with my savings!!

Glitzern have an online store coming soon on their site, but in the meantime you can check out their blog.

P.S. Glitzern also have some amazing plans for Melbourne Spring Fashion Week coming soon. I will post the details closer to the date!

Glitzern, 6-8 Crossley Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

How cute is this! As a Melbournian (obviously!) I can’t physically check out the mini runway installation in Scanlan and Theodore’s Paddington boutique but I can post some super cute photos.

To celebrate their new seasons delivery, Scanlan and Theodore have created a minature runway for Barbie’s 50th birthday (I know 50! and she hasn’t aged a day…) The launch will coincide with the new season launch on Tuesday, July 28^th.  Great care has been taken to meticulously recreate Scanlan & Theodore new season designs specifically for Barbie herself. 

Turned into mini supermodels, Barbie’s hair has been cut and styled by Sophie Roberts, inspired by models straight off the Paris runways. Faces have been stripped back and make up re-applied by Linda Jefferies. Don McQualter, who has designed the interiors for all Scanlan & Theodore boutiques, has designed the runway.

Oxford Street windows, Scanlan and Theodore for three weeks from 28th July 2009.

Last Friday, I went to the launch of Pocket Guide a window display presented by Milly Sleeping and Hua at Mr Tulk for the State of Design Festival.

The window display is presented by Milly Sleeping a Melbourne boutique on Elgin Street in Carlton. Co-owner of Milly Sleeping, Lee Muddle’s obsession with the pocket has manifest itself in this interesting mini exhibition.

Collaborating together with Melbourne designer Tam Hua, the designer of HUA, Lee looked into the modest pocket and its varying form and potential evolution. “To me, pockets are symbolic of ‘freedom from baggage’. I feel strangely liberated when I can leave the house without having to drag around a bag full of stuff.’ She told The Age . After having some beautiful coats in 2008 she noticed a clear preference for pockets by customers. With this new knowledge her Winter 2009 coats have almost sold out.

The exhibition includes two pieces specifically created for the display by Tam Hua, the ‘Artful Dodger’ jacket and the ‘Bits by the Body’ dress. The ‘Artful Dodger’ jacket above is a jacket with eight pockets. The ‘Bits by the Body’ dress has six pockets (see below), both amazing pieces of clothing and eminently practical as well. In HUA’s drapy sculptural pieces you can see how the pockets are not conventional pockets as we know them, but still act as a carrier and simultaneously give the garment its shape and silhouette.

 Also part of the display is a series of other ‘pockets’, including leather pouches, wool and fabric pockets of various shapes and sizes (see below).

 

Check out the display over breakfast, lunch, dinner or during drinks at Mr Tulk.

Pocket Guide, July 15- August 15, open Monday to Thursday 7am-8.30pm, Friday 7am-9pm, Saturday 9am-4pm,  Mr Tulk cafe at the State Libary of Victoria, 328, Swanston Street, Melbourne.

Milly Sleeping, 157 Elgin Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053 Australia +61 3 9347 1333

Below are some shots from HUA’s Summer/Spring collection Three Left Turns. Her stockists include Milly Sleeping of course! For other stockists you can see HUA’s site.

 

MATERIALBYPRODUCT is a Melbourne based global fashion label created by fashion designers Susan Dimasi and Chantal Kirby. Over the past five years Dimasi and Kirby have been quietly meeting and impressing Europe’s best retailers and designers. A global label with innovative methods and techniques involving cutting, marking and joining, this label is definitely on the cutting edge of design.

A couple of days ago Susan from MATERIALBYPRODUCT very kindly let me visit their studio and ask her a few questions of about their T-shirt Makeover project, a project which they are promoting during the State of Design Festival. The project continues informally all year round so don’t stress if you don’t get to their Fitzroy studio by Friday this week you can still call and make an appointment.

photo of MATERIALBYPRODUCT workroom

With scissors, chalk and thread, MATERIALBYPRODUCT can transform an old favourite, discarded and even ugly t-shirt into a desirable newly updated fashion piece.

When I spoke to Susan she told me ‘We like to promote the continuing project through the State of Design festival as it is a different take on how to do fashion. Design people are not necessarily into fashion, as fashion can sometimes be used as a bit of a scapegoat for consumerism. However the t-shirt makeover really appeals to designers  as only a tiny tiny percentage of the garment involves new materials. We work with the existing t-shirt and use our MATERIALBYPRODUCT signature branding - a silk ribbon on the sleeve. It is a technique involving joining which is our own innovation.’

I was so enthused, I think Susan might have thought I was a bit of a nuffy as I kept muttering ‘how amazing’. I love their idea of reworking each garment on a individual basis depending on its needs. All you need to do is drop off your t-shirt and MATERIALBYPRODUCT will do the rest.

photo of finished t-shirts which have undergone the makeover

Each t-shirt is different, for example Susan showed me a KISS t-shirt which she had added a ribbon in the back of the garment to change the silhouette. Another t-shirt had undergone a sleeve change to a more feminine shape, and another had been repaired with the MATERIALBYPRODUCT branding ribbon. All completely different and individual, but updated with current fashion and consistent with the MATERIALBYPRODUCT signature branding.

‘The Ramones t-shirt is from a really sophisticated woman in her 20s and she didn’t want to part with the t-shirt as it was a part of her history. However it was not really her style now. The makeover concept is the idea you can keep the history and memories attached to the garment but update and transform it into a new piece’ Susan tells me.

Susan also spoke to my briefly about the MATERIALBYPRODUCT range and what inspires the brand. ‘Our main concept is we have created our own fashion language through cut, mark and joining of cloth. We also gain technical inspiration through research and development. Both Chantel and I both get engaged in the process and work with materials. I am also inspired by external factors and the environment. For example an old lace curtain which you could get in any domestic home we recreated into inspiration for a print. Or a dress which was inspired by wood grain and has wooden beading on the sleeves. Mens tailoring also really inspires us, making it and wearing it. The fusion of draping and tailoring. We often work with opposites such as the luxury and mundane, and draping and tailoring.’

MATERIALBYPRODUCT work tirelessly to continue to develop new techniques with a constant eye on sustainability. By using innovative techniques, draping and joining, they minimise the wastage from fabric without sacrificing luxury and fashion. Susan and Chantal are constantly working on separate new projects from commissed pieces for musician Bjork, to window installations in London and Paris and the T-shirt Makover ofcourse. Like other famous fashion brands around the world MATERIALBYPRODUCT has created a brand which is no one elses but their own.

MATERIALBYPRODUCT also take private clients, so you can make an appointment and get a chance to have your essential summer piece before Europe early next year.

Cost $45-$70. MATERIALBYPRODUCT, 337 Gore Street, Fitzroy +61 3 9077 4796

I am sorry but this is strictly not about fashion, but I couldn’t help myself. Today I visited Lightly’s Pop up Gallery and Shop, which is part of the State of Design Festival. Called ‘Tomorrows Heirlooms‘ the pop-up shop was just too too sweet not to mention!

picture of Lightly’s china swallow which is part of the Chrysalis collection

Cindy-Lee Davies is the designer behind Melbourne-based design house ‘Lightly‘. Telling ‘tales of days gone by’ and drawing her inspiration from nostalgia and domesticity the Lightly range had me ooh-ing and aah-ing this afternoon. Featuring exquisite and delicate homewares and ornaments Davies’ collections include lace patterns, butterflies, clouds, clocks and mirrors.

‘When a caterpillar reaches its full size, it prepares to turn into a chrysalis or cocoon. Some caterpillars attach themselves to leaves or walls and form the Chrysalis and certain species spin a cocoon around the Chrysalis. The caterpillar then metamorphasis into a butterfly.‘ (quote taken from Lightly’s gallery wall).

Chrysalis by Lightly is inspired by the life cycle of a butterfly. Davies chose a saucer, with its natural curves, so that the wings creates shadows as if in flight.  Since launching the design project Lightly has recycled 4,200 saucers, which have been abandoned - no tea sets were harmed in the process! One section of a wall was covered with a swarm of the most beautiful china butterflies. Each butterfly has a little hook attached to the back of the saucer so that it can be mounted to the wall.

China Butterflies - $45-$65
China Swallows - $75
Blue Swallows - $80
Large White Swallows - $68

Lightly also has an online store, definetely worth checking  out. But better yet go to the Pop up Gallery and Shop yourself, my photos do not do the beautiful butterflies justice.

Lightly present ‘Tommorrows Heirlooms’, Pop up Gallery and Shop, 15th July - 8th August 2009, Monday-Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday - Saturday 11am - 7pm, 24 Crossley Street, Melbourne CBD.

Eduardo Calucag

Melbourne based designer Eduardo Calucag launched his spring/summer show 09/10 at RAFW to a great response. You can check out his recently uploaded sophisticated and elegant summer collection online at his site which will be in stores early September. I am particularly fond of the strapless silver jumpsuit and pretty polka dot dress. Stockists can be found on his site.

Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller spotted on the weekend in Sydney at Bondi Icebergs in a Scanlan & Theodore jacket‏. In the words of Black Eyed Peas - ‘gotta get-get‘ . She is in town promoting her new film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra.

The September Issue

Tickets to the Melbourne International Film Festival screening of The September Issue on 7pm, Saturday, August 1, Greater Union Theatre have sold out.  To watch the trailor click here.  Don’t stress the film will be released on 20 August 2009 in cinemas, Palace Como, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace George, Nova and Kino. A documentary which follows the most powerful woman in fashion in the lead up to the most important issue, the September issue apparently makes for compelling viewing.

p.s. I might have a little treat in the works for this one - stayed tuned.