Monday night Perth Fashion Festival (PFF) took us into the dark heart of fashion. It’s here that we find ourselves seduced, or gasping with the audacity of it all. And then, sometimes, just sometimes, a designer like Chrissie Caitling from S2 will show us the beauty of this dark heart, and how hypnotically beautiful it can be.
Of course, fashion’s dark heart is fierce… and nobody has done fierce better than Zsadar this PFF. Boys boys boys piled down the catwalk in an audacious, theatrical show that was gunshot non-stop. He even managed to outrage and shock this fashion writer, and I’m pretty hard to shock. But for sheer showmanship alone, Zsadar’s Shane Newton is a genius. He has the tenacity and audacity to make it in this industry. Bag snatching, skateboards and bullwhips are always a big plus on the catwalk, Alister Yiap’s accessories adding to the drama (there was a metal crown that I simply have to have).
The clothes? Newton’s lines can be terribly clean. His AW12 collection possibly hints at more clean lines, and one wonders if he shouldn’t perhaps consider distressing it out a little, fraying it around. A balance between clean and messy always articulates well, and Zsadar has the potential to certainly start ‘making it’ in this town, on the sheer volume of press alone. So some dirty lines wouldn’t hurt. In the slightest.
One Fell Swoop know all about lines. Their lines a beautiful tapestry of wrought elegance that, when combined, loses itself to the flow of the fabric. They are a label that combines sex and class with the greatest majesty. And their vision is such that they seduce everybody with their intoxicating vision.
Zhivago’s vision is only just galvanising. Their strength lies in AW12 which, after a sneak peek during PFF, is something to behold as they bespoke a nostalgia to their fashion-forward clothes, a nostalgia that is needed in this world hurtling forward. Their SS range has a strength yes, but come AW and their buzz will be solidified. You heard it here first… and that’s where everyone else got it from folks.
Somebody whose buzz has grown after their standalone show is S2. Designer Chrissie Caitling is committed to her vision. She knows what she wants. And how. Even the touch of clearing the energy of the catwalk before and after with wafting incense was a masterful touch.
Her collection was a mix of archival and new. She has bold architectural shapes at times rendered into simple vectors. In other instances she layers lace and mesh to add a depth of texture that reveals itself on closer inspection. What appeared to be one-armed scarves were simply inspired. Even her use of red was deliberately considered. All up, Caitling’s vision is an intoxication of the beauty the dark heart beholds within itself.
Sop yes, fashion can take us into the darkest parts of the world. And it does so gladly. After all, it’s here that the true drama, the truest sense of the adventurous spirit, takes hold and takes flight. And we want to be moved, just like all of these designers did on Monday night.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
