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Lucire spring-summer 2004

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Initial capELL ALL BE WEARING miniskirts, leggings, parachute pants and mesh singlets come summer 2003–4 if Australasia’s fashion designers have their way.
   A veritable tour de force of all things sporty, sexy and seriously skimpy made their way down the catwalks of Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in Sydney last month as designers took a stroll down memory lane and revisited some of the best and worst trends of the ’80s.
   Model after model turned out in satin parachute pants and knicker­bockers, Lycra leggings à la the Nolan Sisters, micro-minis that looked more like oversized belts than whole garments and billowing blouson tops. Think of the New Romantics and add a dash of Dynasty, Falcon’s Crest and Madonna in her Desperately Seeking Susan days and you’ll get the picture.
   All of this bodes well for me (all except the micro minis), as during the ’80s, I gave glamour and flamboyance the flick, choosing instead to adopt the neo-punk, gothic and mod looks that the alternative (read weird) kids wore during that time. This is my chance to make up for it, although before I do, I must see if there is any way I can transform my body back to the condition it was in during the 1980s when I was still a svelte and supple teenager.

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RIGHT: Sass & Bide: sexy and sparkling—or sexy and tight.

 

Think of the New Romantics and add a dash of Dynasty, Falcon’s Crest and Madonna in her Desperately Seeking Susan days

Sass & Bide spring-summer 2003-4


Cheat-sheet for spring–summer 2003–4: trends at Sydney

Micro-miniskirts, floaty blouson tops, 1950s style print sundresses, parachute pants and knicker­bockers, sparkles (sequins and gems studded many of the garments seen during the week), singlets of the mesh and racer-backed variety, leggings worn under mini-dresses or oversized tops, metallic fabrics, polka dots, stilettos, sun visors and sweatbands.

Colours
Pink from baby to fuschia, royal purple, mauve, beige, teal, lemon yellow, tangerine, aqua, cobalt blue, emerald green, ruby red, white, russet, khaki, lettuce green and, of course, metallic silver and gold.

Most fabulous show
Shoe designer Terry Biviano’s Cirque de Soleilesque extravaganza featuring Lady Godiva-like models on horseback wearing nothing but heels, a trapeze artist, whirling dervish like dancers, Las Vegas-style showgirls and some of the most beautiful pairs of shoes ever seen.

Best show music
I know this gives my age away but I loved the INXS at Peter Morrissey’s: it made me feel 16 all over again.

Best first-timers
A tie between Tim O’Connor and Gabriel Scarvelli.

Best place to be seen at
The Vogue VIP Pink Room. You needed a special pass to get in here and once you got past the burly security guards and the icy stares of the Aussie Vogue crew, it proved to be a lot of fun, mostly for the people-watching—but also for the glasses of Moët and the size six canapés.

Most glamorous event
If people think that fashion weeks are all about champagne, pretension and small talk then the opening event at Sydney’s beautiful Opera House did little to dispel the myth. Utterly fabulous, this event was worth the trip alone.

Best venue
A far cry from the excesses of many of the shows, Paablo Nevada decided to go for heritage and culture and showcased its summer 2003–4 collection at the Mitchell Library Reading Room. Filled to the brim with beautifully bound books and decorated with breathtaking stained-glass windows, it was the perfect space to display a range which was quietly elegant and softly serene.

Best goodie-bag finds
Forget the clothes, the goodie bags are what the fashion press are really after. Some of the best included Aveda hair products and make-up, Husk herbal tea, a coffee maker, mini-bottles of Fra Angelico, singlet tops, MAC lipsticks, chocolates and perfume.

Best beverage
The San Pellegrino, of course. This is mainly because it was delivered on silver trays by some very hunky male specimens who would not have been out of place on the catwalks.

Show best avoided
Tsubi. Clutching our Tsubi invites in our hands, fellow Lucire correspondent Carolyn Enting and I decided to shun this show, staged aboard a glass-bottomed boat, after witnessing many hapless fashionistas holding on for dear life as it rocked wildly from side to side and looked in danger of sinking. In the end, it turned out to be a wise decision. From all accounts the show was a total flop and consisted mainly of a gaggle of scantily clad models racing from one end of the boat to the other before hurling themselves over­board. We had much more fun drinking champagne and watching the world go by at the Posh bar.—NC-B
 

 

 

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