Designer wrap up

Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival 14-22 March

The Melbourne Fashion Festival is where many of Australia’s renowned designers showcase their Autumn Winter 2015 ready to wear collections.  Many of the items shown are already available to purchase online directly from the designer and at leading department stores such as David Jones & Myer. 

On the opening night the queen of kaftans, Camilla showed her ‘Road To The Blue House’ collection of flowing silk playsuits, pants, maxi dresses and kaftans featuring an autumn favourite; leopard print along with striking multi-coloured prints, which created a festival vibe. Manning Cartell’s range featured a boxy tee, sheath dress and pencil skirt in high contrast geometric prints in a mixture of orange, red, blue and black. Nicola Finetti’s, had crossover asymmetric style pieces; her stand out was a bright red figure hugging dress. 

Romance Was Born, featured tops, dresses and pants in Australian bushland prints, if you look closely you might spot the gumnut babies Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The Ginger & Smart collection had slimline dresses, high waisted skirts with tops tucked. The most vibrant among them was a turquoise dress in a contemporary abstract floral print bonded onto grey marle. 

Josh Goot featured crisp white tailoring with exposed metal zips at the front, bright blue and white floral print jackets, skirts and dresses. All outfits were worn with a midcalf black boot.  Alex Perry’s pieces showed his signature figure-flattering silhouette. Using delicate lace in white, silver and soft pink to create a feminine look. Carla Zampatti displayed her classic timeless designs. The black and white ensembles would be perfect for a day in the office. She also featured a blue dress in metallic fabric perfect for eveningwear. 

Key Trends:

Luxe leisure
Perfect for a busy lifestyle it’s a mix between smart casual and sportswear. This look can be achieved by wearing a dress or skirt with a pair of converse or hybrid sneaker.

Relaxed fits 
Many designers displayed tops, dresses and trousers in wide and boxy styles. You can also see this trend filtering through with men’s tailoring for women’s suiting. This look is created with a longer length loose fitting jacket and straight to flared trousers.  

Autumn/Winter colours
Pastels: Soft pink, mint and light blue.  
Neutrals: Dove grey, nude, black and white. 
Bolds: Bright blue, rich reds, and teals.