MSFW to present Creative Collective
A home-grown hub.
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is all about showcasing the best our local designers have to offer.
At the heart of this year’s festival is Creative Collective, a week-long exhibition and marketplace which will act as a hub for all things home-grown design.
Not only will Creative Collective exhibit to the public, there will also be a series of workshops for emerging designers and retailers held by some of Melbourne’s industry leaders. Melbourne favourites Habbot, Pageant, Limedrop and AM.Xander will all be exhibiting, so we decided to pick their minds to get an insight into their upcoming showcases.
PAGEANT
Designers: Amanda Cumming and Kate Reynolds.
Name of your SS16 collection? Splash.
Sum up your collection three words: Fresh, playful, relaxed.
Inspiration behind your current collection? The bare female form with a fantasy vacation in mind.
The best thing about being in Melbourne? Coffee, food and the creative communities.
What’s unique about your label? Pageant is known for pushing the boundaries through our use of unusual fabrication, colour palette and broad popculture references.
Favourite place to shop? Mr Kitly, Monk House Design, World Food Books, Dot Comme and Shifting Worlds.
Is there anything unique to Melbourne culture that you channel into your designs? The musicand art scenes here are very influential to our design process. We always reference a mix of the ‘everyday’ and our collection encompasses a genuine expression of our interests and obsessions at the present moment.
Who is your style icon? Banoffee (aka Martha Brown). We are currently working on our next capsule collection collab with her.
LIMEDROP
Designer: Clea Garrick.
Name of your SS16 collection? It is simply SS16. I stopped naming my collections a little while ago. I like to let the audience make up their own mind about my collections.
Sum up your collection three words: Light, flowing, fun.
Inspiration behind your current collection? We have taken a modern look at ’70s free flowing silhouettes and made lots of mix-and-match pieces that can fit into any wardrobe.
The best thing about being a designer in Melbourne? I love the abundance of good coffee and cool weather to wear lots of clothes.
What’s unique about your label? Limedrop is all about FUN and believing anything is possible. We take an upbeat approach to design while focusing on precision in all the details.
Favourite Melbourne retailer or place to shop? I am a fan of A-Esque leather bags and accessories. Amanda Briskin designs fun pieces that are handcrafted in their Melbourne workshop. I respect the mix of playfulness and amazing quality.
Favourite thing about Melbourne culture? The idea that Melburnians embrace their own style. The confidence to wear what looks good and style it into your own wardrobe.
Your favourite hangouts in Melbourne? Melbourne’s open parks. It is lovely to observe the changing seasons in the Fitzroy Gardens and to see the ducks in the lake at the Carlton Gardens.
HABBOT
Designer: Annie Abbott.
Name of your SS16 collection? Suitcase.
Sum up your collection three words: Take a trip.
Describe your current collection: It’s about taking a step away from the everyday and into a more colourful, fun and free space. The styles are classic yet the materials unexpected which is typical of Habbot. It also reminds us that the most unexpected experiences often bring the greatest pleasure.
What’s unique about your label? The materials I make my shoes from are generally reserved for small borders or trims on shoes, but I love going all out and using them as the main event.
Favourite place to shop? At the moment I am finding myself in Bassike, Cos and Limedrop (for crazy socks), all pointing down to a big, bold, happy shoe ending!
Is there anything unique to Melbourne culture that you channel into your designs? I think Melburnians generally love good tailoring, so I pay a lot of attention to the small details when designing my shoes. Even though I love to make unexpected material choices, the shoes need to be finished really well.
Who is your style icon? Jenna Lyons.
AM.XANDER
Designer: Jason Pang.
Name of your SS16 Collection? Gears.
Sum up your collection in three words: Texture, rebellious, embroidery.
Inspiration behind your current collection? Defying classic sartorial styles and rebellious shifts in menswear of the ’60s, the counterculture era otherwise known as the Peacock Revolution.
The best thing about being a designer in Melbourne? Being able to work and exchange experiences with people from all over the world.
What is unique about your label? Being a contemporary menswear label here in Melbourne. There are not many local labels that do what we do. We are a breath of fresh air, especially in the menswear field.
Is there anything unique to Melbourne culture that you channel into your designs? Melbourne exhibits strong Scandinavian sensibilities in its style DNA. It’s hard not to integrate this into what I do as I have a strong love for our multicultural city. Some people have said that my work looks like ‘clean’ streetwear and I can see how this is influenced by my direct surroundings.
Who is your style icon? There are a range of people I look up to when it comes to style, including male model Park Sung Jin and music producer turned style icon Pharrell Williams.
Creative Collective
Opens Friday August 28 at 10AM
1000 Pound Bend, Melbourne
www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/msfw
Creative Collective is presented by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. It is part of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week which is owned and delivered by the City of Melbourne.
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