Fashion can change the world. Yes, it is capable of disrupting nature, realigning elements… even envisioning a new pattern for the actual function of the real world. For a moment, it disrupts the ozone so stars can descend on to the catwalk. Other times it tickles tectonic plates, causing a ripple across the globe. And in other instances, it steals the very oxygen from your lips, causing you to gasp audibly.
Award winning designer Alvin Fernandez achieved all of this tonight with his standalone ae’lkemi show. The man has become a veritable legend after this parade, and with just cause – he is dressing three WAGs for the Brownlow’s after all, but more than that, his clothes smack of otherworldly elegance. He is something to aspire to.
But more on all that malarkey in a moment.
Earlier in the evening, a number of promising bright young things achieved similar earth-rattling effects during the WA Designer Collections. And there were some pleasant surprises from the Old Guard, making it a night all about shifts. Fabulous shifts. Shifts toward greatness rather than away from.
Take, for example, Garth Cook. This young designer is coming into his own now. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. Gone are the awkward attempts of conveying as many nuances as possible and in its place is an effortlessness, a strident confidence.
I am still a fan of his Wraith Fur from AW11, and will be until I finally own a piece, but what he delivered tonight I would want to dress all the beautiful women I know in. And that’s no easy feat – I know some very beautiful women who are as equally difficult (beauty and difficulty and exponentially linked it seems). But, I can guarantee, such women would gladly be garbed in Garth’s finery.
Cook’s SS12 range is divine. The prints are magic. The cuts eloquent. The details ravishing. The cut-aways economically used. The lines, as a result, have become more astute. I have heard other fashion editors rave over his work, and now I fully understand why: the man is on the brink of great things. And yes, we can claim him as ‘one of ours’, and most likely will when he returns from London – eventually – after a stint with Richard Nicoll, because the boy is all about knowledge – he teaches his craft, his influence evident in his students, yet he is a sponge for the articulation that mastery brings.
One of his students is Shelly Tindale, responsible for the covetable first collection that is Tindale, an architectural experiment in accentuation and feminine charm. Tindale will be big. There is no doubt about it. Already her structured ‘gape’ cape, reminiscent of the bones of a derelict building, is synonymous with her label, no easy feat for such a fresh brand. But Tindale is certain – she creates clothes women didn’t know they need. Her jackets, especially, are sublime. But for the everyday person, a Tindale scarf is a must.
Another girl who has her own look down pat is Daniella Caputi. With her intelligent shift from solidity to sheers, Caputi is certain that fashion is an experiment of form. Yet those forms don’t always take hold completely. They are there, yes, but a little more time is needed to witness her true might. And it is there – her construction and eye for ingenuity is flawless. One feels she just needs to be a little more audacious and take the leaps she feels in her fashion forward heart, because restraint can be good, but not always.
Megan Salmon has the ballet of hold-back and let-go down to a wonderful dance, as evident from tonight’s collection. I love Megan Salmon. She’s old school, in all the most delicious ways. But she’s not afraid to play. Her digital prints are positively spot on, silk daisy shifts a must this season. And then there is her wrought whimsy, which is the other end of the spectrum, a lightly laboured foray into something ‘mumsy’ that, elsewhere, wouldn’t work, but which Salmon makes youthful. The sheer black Kaftan with red appliqué was gorgeous, just like the overdone shoulders on a corn yellow blouse – simply magic.
Breathless seem to be pushing it forward too. Gone are the overwrought Rebecca Patterson references. In their place a fresh exciting restraint and dignity. That black sequinned pussy bow tulle hemmed dress was delightful. It’s a relief really – Robin Alexander is one of the most brilliant young designers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I used to covet her clothes when she was still a student at Central Tafe. It seems, now, she’s confidently emerging within Breathless’ vision. Personally, she should be allowed creative freedom to create as she pleases now – you can hear her invigorated excitement resonating in the cleaner lines of the evening coats and the peek-a-boo tulle trims.
Even Emprie Rose are pushing it forward. In fact, as far as trends go, they have the New Jazz Revival in the bag after atelier Aurelio Costarella, naturally. Sequins d’jour met tie-dye silks on baby doll shapes, a loose airy youthfulness abounding. The feather skirt? I died. Like Rachel Zoe. Except with less foundation.
Fenella Peacock has a beautiful synergy brewing. I wish she made menswear. I love the artistic drape of her silhouettes, and the leather breastplate was sheer perfection. It was only outdone by the full length white dress-shirt with ties, something I could easily envisage a young man wearing. Unfortunately one can only hope and pray….
Fashion that is accessible across every gender, from the transformative to the defined, is the realm of the accessory, known in its purest incarnation as jewellery. Which leads to one word: Totomoto. Yes, the label that graced the cover of our September issue with that beautiful gold floral neckpiece has an onslaught of fashion fabulousness in store for the coming season. Body armour? Tick. Huge gold neck collars? Tick. Cuffs that stretch from the wrist to just nipping the elbow? Triple tick. Totomoto had jaws dropping and people writing up shopping lists in their head. I’ve already placed my order. Or at least inquired. I encourage you to do the same.
Yes, cusps are big this season: you need to find yourself on the brink of one. And most of these labels mentioned above are on the brink of theirs. They are headed for great things. Much like Alvin Fernandez’s ae’lkemi achieved tonight.
As one the three major standalone shows this PFF, ae’lkemi is the one everybody knew would be amazing. You see, the previous nights Story By Tang was a wildcard really – we weren’t sure how incredible it could be, but it clearly proved to be incredible. And the forthcoming S2 show is expected to be amazing, but nobody can articulate just exactly how amazing it will be, such is the anticipation. But with ae’lkemi, we knew we’d be transported. And we were.
Thirty looks, a mixture of resort and elegant nape-to-floor gowns, accentuated with Teagan Sewell skull accessories and her untouchable stylists touch, all actualised with David Brittain vision and Fernandez’s tireless pursuit of the elegant dream. Yes, this was a heady parade. It stole our breath’s away.
The black and white geometric print with blue dragon flourishes, done on body hugging dresses, was sublime. Outrageous, but sublime (the black and white print actually reminded me of a much loved shirt I had as a 14 year old). The sequin gowns, including the one which appears in our September Shadowplay fashion shoot, were all mesmerising. But the beauty was brought to the fore with the closing gown: a white bridal knee length structured dress, the hem carried through to the floor in floaty transparent fabric, the entire bodice covered in white feathers and sequins and heaven. The eloquent gaping back merely made it more majestic.
Fernandez has arrived. The rest of Australia, please meet one of our most celebrated labels, ae’lkemi. Alvin, meet the broad horizon of an exciting fashion future.
So you see, fashion can change the world. It might not do it with world peace or endless green fuel, but it changes it none the less. Sometimes it does so in the smallest ways, by bringing us into contact with a jacket or pair of shoes that become our best friends. Other times it achieves it with bigger sweeps, by changing the direction of the planet’s wardrobe entirely. And while earth-shattering is a term that gets thrown around often, let’s not use it here. Instead, let’s suggest that the sky is falling, because there are stars in our midst… and they are making us some incredibly beautiful clothes to wear.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
