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Fashion week explained, and off to Sydney for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012

Jess Pang

Mon Apr 16 2012

We Are Handsome Shoot MBFW 2012

AFTER making stops in London, Paris, New York and Milan, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is heading to the beautiful Darling Harbour in Sydney from from April 30 to May 4 – and we are going!

Iggy Azalea in Ksubi 'Alulla'

Iggy Azalea in Ksubi 'Alulla'. Photo: MBFW Facebook

Why are we so excited?

For those whose curiosity about fashion has been piqued by the glossies and shows like Project Runway, the Rachel Zoe Project, the Next Top Model franchise, fashion week is big deal because it’s the platform whereby fashion designers, brands or “houses” communicate their artistic ideas through their latest clothing collections to the media, retail buyers, and others with influence in the fashion world. Simply put, it’s where you find out what’s “in” and what’s “out” for the season.

Usually held twice a year – fashion week sets the tone for the two major seasons – autumn/winter and spring/summer – and is held several months ahead of each season to allow time for the trends to trickle down to the press (like us), retailers to purchase or incorporate the designers into their retail marketing… you get the idea.

And for us, we review the collections (much like how tech gurus review the latest gadgets out on the market) and decide what we want to photograph and tell you about what’s on trend, and how and where you can achieve the look (like this story about the top five trends from the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival).

With the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA), the annual fashion convention will be a week-long stylish visual feast featuring emerging and some of Australia’s most established designers including Toni Maticevski, Dion Lee, Zimmermann, Carl Kapp, Jayson Brundson and Kirrily Johnston.

Toni Maticevski, Dion Lee, Zimmermann, Carl Kapp, Jayson Brundson, Kirrily Johnston, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, MBFW 2012

Top from left: Toni Maticevski, Dion Lee, Zimmermann. Bottom from left: Carl Kapp, Jayson Brundson and Kirrily Johnston. Photo: MBFW Official Site

Befittingly, MBFWA will kick off the week with Romance was Born, a label started six years ago by Australian design duo Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales. Regulars Camilla, Alice McCall, Bec & Bridge, Lisa Ho, Manning Cartell will exhibit their trans-seasonal collections at The Tent.

Popular Australian label Ginger & Smart will celebrate their 10 year anniversary, while Bless’ed are the Meek, Roopa Pemmaraju, An Ode to No One, Watson X Watson, Flowers for a Vagabond, Toi et Moi Sydney, Dylan Cooper, By Johnny, Aje, and nANA jUDY will be making their debut at fashion week this year.

Look out for flashes of brilliance from emerging designers at the New Generation Show and new talent from the Innovators Show.

We Are Handsome, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, MBFW 2012

We Are Handsome campaign shoot : behind the scenes. Photo: MBFW Facebook

We are also excited to see the work of designers from Asia Pacific, as the Raffles International Designer Showcase will feature collections from designers such as Winson Tan (Malaysia), Crystal Tsoi (Hong Kong), Akaya Ichikawa (Japan) and Gabriel Lee (Korea).

For those who are taking notes, you may be interested to know that style icon and Marie Claire US Accessories Director Taylor Tomasi Hill will be styling the Oroton show; and TV personality Whitney Port will be in attendance to introduce her eclectic collection Whitney Eve and WE at the new venue space, The Box.

To close Fashion Week, Frenando Frisoni will present his collection at a mystifying masquerade party in Double Bay’s abandoned Starnford Plaza Hotel with glow-in-the-dark furniture, DJs and live music.

There’s a lot to look forward to at MBFWA, so stay tuned!

*An update: Unfortunately two of the most anticipated designers, Dion Lee and Josh Goot have decided to withdraw from Fashion Week. We are disappointed, but the line up is still a killer!

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