Geelong Independent

I had my moment in the spotlight on Friday July 27- a page in the Geelong Independent newspaper speaking about my experience at the Academy.

Special thanks to Samantha Ee for her photo!

Neither Here Nor There

My dear, ridiculously talented friend Siera kindly volunteered to model one of my Stardust garments. Based on Lady Una and the Romani from Assassin's Creed, The Gypsy is carefree and passionate, with a bit of sass.

'Fashion Capitals of the World' Runway

Last Friday it finally happened- the Fashion Capitals of the World runway, held at Melbourne Central. This project started last year and it was a great relief to see all our hard work in motion!

Before the garments even reached the runway, there was the hard task of transforming 2D sketches and patterns to 3D mockups.

Not everything works out the way you planned first time around!

 As you can see, the back was too small and the shoulders didn't sit properly- also the cuffs were too wide. Luckily the skirt part of the dress was perfect!
None of the fabric stores carried coloured frog closures, so being the resourceful cosplayer I am, I mixed art inks and gold fabric paint to custom dye them.

Second time around, everything worked perfectly!

Before I show the finished garment, have a few more 'behind-the-scenes' images!

My beloved spine heels arrived on the morning of the runway.

Hair by SuJin @ Just Cuts and makeup by Sara @ Napoleon Perdis

Backstage, a couple of hours before the big show

Aaannddd-

Here it is! Ana K wearing my Eastern Opera gown.

It was a wonderful runway and seeing work from the European design schools really humbled me. To have been a part of such a project well and truly hit home when my work was displayed alongside Parisian couturiers studying under Madeleine Vionnet's teachings and a graduate student's Master's collection from Milan.

It was an unforgettable night and one I'm so very proud of, not only of my work but also the work of my fellow Academy students too!

Fabric Therapy

A quick post just to show off the lovely fabrics I've purchased for my Eastern Opera project!

Beautiful Japanese silk from a handsewn koto cover!

(the shopowners were so distressed when I mentioned I was cutting it up T___T I’m so sorry)

 The silk chiffon I found at Tessuti, and it is the loveliest, softest whisp-of-a-fabric I have ever held. Turns out it’s from Dolce & Gabbana and that would explain the ridiculous price I paid for it per metre!

An Eastern Opera

As per my last post, I've continued to use Dame Nellie Melba for as inspiration for my Fashion Capitals of the World entry. However, I decided to incorporate another culture that has quite a long history of opera too- the Chinese.

The Chinese are intricately woven into Melbourne's history beginning from the gold rush and continuing today. With that in mind, I've designed an Eastern-Edwardian evening gown using the distinct 1900s silhouette highlighted with Chinese silks.