Australian fashion is all about summer and on Wednesday night David Jones officially kicked off the new season with a runway show that showcased monochrome and digital prints – not to mention the store's new face Jessica Gomes.
White rattan chairs entwined with fresh roses, and sunny yellow and white striped cushions created a summery vibe on the seventh floor of Sydney's Elizabeth Street store, where Lara Bingle, Miranda Otto and Gai Waterhouse sipped cocktails and took their front row seats.
Aussie style is also usually all about colour, but a monochrome mood prevailed as Collette Dinnigan, Willow, Alex Perry, Josh Goot, Dion Lee and Bassike all turned to a predominantly black and white palette.
All black, all white, and bold prints, stripes and oversized checks came down the runway with a dressed-up sixties feel to the collections: swingy pea-coats, A-line mini dresses, mid-length full skirts and capri pants, accessorised with Mad Men beehives. The little white dress and a sheer white shirt are this summer's must-buys.
Jessica Gomes in Ginger & Smart: designers showed pink, yellow, green cobalt in summer suiting. Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP This was the first catwalk launch for David Jones without A-list face Miranda Kerr, who parted ways with the department store in March, after five years as brand ambassador.
She has been replaced by Gomes, the Perth-born former Sports Illustrated model of Chinese and Portuguese decent – a woman who “represents the every woman,” according to the store's group executive for merchandise, Donna Player.
Gomes opened the show in a white bustier by Willow, along with Camilla and Marc, celebrating 10 years in the Australian fashion business – no mean feat considering the current tough retail environment, ongoing threat from online shopping, and onslaught of international luxury and high street brands to Australian shores. Designers Lisa Ho and Kirrily Johnston – recently forced to close their labels – were notably absent from this years' proceedings. "It's not the same retail environment that it was even 12 months ago,” said Player.
Gary Bigeni: bold pops of colour enlivened the monochrome Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP As for the other key trends to emerge? The heavy presence of black and white was juxtaposed against a backdrop of lively digital prints on bodycon dresses, lots of lace (tops and mini-dresses), sexy cut-out pieces including strapless bodice tops and the odd bold pop of colour, notably pink, yellow, green cobalt in summer suiting, blazers and maxi dresses.
No Australian fashion show is complete without an arsenal of sexy swimwear: sculpted for Jets, a bit boho rock festival for Tigerlily, bright and sexy for Isola and packed with pretty seventies style florals and thrills for Zimmermann swim.?
And no David Jones runway show is complete without a grand finale, which came in the form of a riotous explosion of colour and print by Camilla Franks, aka queen of the kaftan. Led by Gomes, the Aztec inspired collection provided the all-important zing against that never-ending sea of black and white.?
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