The light shined on Australia's brightest new designer Dion Lee, literally! What started as an exquisite location blossomed to an unforgettable showcase. Day four of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week started nice and early at 6:30am. With only a few hours sleep and still hyped from the Romance was Born show, I was still ready for the day ahead! What seemed to be the coldest morning, I arrived at the Opera House to the most gorgeous location, the Northern Foyer Concert Hall. The morning sun was shining bright through the glass surroundings, overlooking the Sydney Harbour. Was truly a fairytale!
The morning started prepping goodie bags again...this time guests received Napoleon Perdis products, GHD hair products, undergarments, nail polish, more samples and Schweppes Agrum Collection drinks. Once the goodie bags were prepped it was time to place the guest's seating cards on their chairs. By this stage I began to freak as I saw the guest list. It included the team from Vogue (including Kirstie Clements with Tim Blanks from Style.com again!), the team from Marie Claire (including Jackie Frank again!), the team from Harper's Bazaar (including Claudia Navone and Lara Bingle), Kate Waterhouse, Napoleon Perdis, Susie from Style Bubble, Bloggers from Jak and Jil, designers Camilla and Marc, the Zimmermann sisters, Alex Perry and the list continued! I was in fashion heaven!
As 9:00am drew nearer the preparation backstage hypened! Napoleon Perdis and his crew were prepping the make-up, whilst GHD were prepping the hair. Slowly the show was coming to light! I glanced a glimpse of Dion's collection and straight from then knew the show would have a lasting impression! And so the rehearsals began. Models had to walk down the velvet purple carpet (where one lot of guests were seated), up the velvet stairs, down the runway overlooking the water (where the other guests were seated) and then back down the velvet purple stairs. I know complicated, poor models!
Just when I thought my day couldn't get much better...well let's just say luck was on my side! Myself and another girl were chosen to head to the front and greet the guest whilst handing out drinks. Greet the guests you ask?!! Yes, I was greeting fashion's elite, holding back the excitement was a mission in itself! And who was I fortunate to greet? Alex Perry all tanned and suited up (including his famous sunnies), Jackie Frank and her bubbly team from Marie Claire, Kate Waterhouse, Camilla (from Camilla and Marc - And she is so cool!) Susie from Style Bubble and the list continues. I was also fortunate to see Lara Bingle and also Kirstie Clements again! Therefore I saw Kirstie Clements three times in two days - wow! Could it honestly get better than this?! Of course anything's possible at RAFW!
Finally it was time for the show..Dion Lee's collection was remarkable! His gorgeous silhouettes were stand out and left everyone breath taken. His signature architectural and tailoring pieces were evident in this collection but softened and more delicate. Whilst his cohesive and gorgeous colour pallet stunned audiences, with beautiful pastels and prints. I love the construction of his dresses, that is they are pleated and then twisted, tied, interlocked and somehow, elegantly cover all the right places! And have you seen the heels? The heel itself is made out of 100% home grown crystals.. truly amazing! I absolutely love the jewellery worn, it compliments the collection and it is gorgeous! The stand outs are the massive crystal rings by Manik Mercian. Whilst Dion's collection is innovative and unique it has that total wearable element!
Dion is an amazing designer, achieved so much and come so far at such a young age, no wonder he was so emotional when he walked out at the end!
What did Dion say about his collection? "The idea was to mix the soft elements in with the tailoring, It was kind of this attraction to something softer and more unexpected." According to Marie Claire (Jackie Frank and Dion Lee interview)
(Photo from Jak and Jil Blog)
(Photo from Jak and Jil Blog)
The shoes and the rings! (Photo Jak and Jil Blog)
The exquisite detailing (Photo Jak and Jil Blog)
The hype backstage after the show was unexplainable! Editors and bloggers frantically trying to interview Dion Lee, models posing for shots and the place up side down... When I said anything's possible at RAFW, I meant it! When I thought things couldn't get much better, well Jackie Frank walks backstage to interview Dion.. this all took place in front of me! And just at that moment, I sat back, watched and absorbed because I just realised I was at RAFW and backstage for that matter... And I was living a dream! When I look back at my first experience of RAFW, nothing could ever replace it! It made me realise how truly lucky I was..
I want to give a special thanks to Jackie, Rachel and the rest of the team from Pronto Production for enhancing our experience at RAFW (and for the goodies from the Dion show they gave us). They truly do an amazing job!
Stay tuned for my recap of the final day at RAFW.. and a recap of the after parties.. and most importantly a trend report from RAFW! Also to come my recap of Fashion Forward Weekend..
