Fashion news

What's the latest fashion trend you ask? It's green! But before you trip it to town to secure a new collection of cardigans in every shade of grass imaginable, you should read on. For the fashion pack, going green is about adopting energy efficient practices industry-wide. Today's young designers are utilizing organic fabrics and natural dyes, encouraging sustainability, re-invigorating recycling and investing in green power production. Leading the eco-friendly way is Australian designer Lisa Gorman and this year we see the label's launch of the Gorman Ship Shop. In partnership with the Melbourne architects at NEST; an industrial shipping container, constructed entirely from recycled materials has been transformed into a portable Gorman store (change-room included!). There are no carry bags or cash register but consumers are able to touch, try and then buy the green goodies online at their own convenience. So if you happen to catch a glimpse of the Gorman ship shop make sure you stop!

Some girls have an obsession with shoes and some girls indulge in a fetish for bags. I am from both schools of thought, and the need for a high maintenance girl to combine these loves is tempting. Being high maintenance involves hording tonnes of items for those 'just in case moments'. This involves food, bottles of water, note pads, pens and sometimes a spare pair of shoes. Those innovate kids at Chip Chop have designed the tote of my dreams - a bag big enough to carry an infant. If their denim Love tote isn't the most lovely and versatile thing around, then I don't know what is. Check out the rest of their superbly simple wares.

Avalon based sustainable fashion boutique, LOVETHREADS, has today launched an online store - making it easier for everyone to dress stylishly and ethically. As everyone should know by now, the quality, style and trend- friendly design of sustainable fashion has advanced significantly and labels like Beau Soleil (by ex- Marc Jacobs designer, Anne Salvatore), Edun, Skin and Threads and the award winning Ciel are proof of this. LOVETHREADS not only stocks clothing from the aforementioned labels but accessories and children's-wear too!

It may be a name you haven't heard for a while, but Michelle Jank is back; and she's back in absolutely amazing style. Best known for her jewellery design, France-based Jank showcased her first fashion runway at this year's Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) in Sydney.
The designer created an artistic and theatrical tour de force for SS 08/09 that has outshined her fashion friends in all respects. Amidst the darkness of the International Terminal at Circular Quay, guests were greeted by a huge video screen of sun-drenched droplets, while the inimitable hum of splashing water vociferously sounded. And that was just the beginning.
Dryad models drifted down the glossy, black runway in mono-tonal hues of black, white and grey as Grecian draped layers of lissom fabric and painted doves fleeted against their golden skin. Frocks were flanked by bejeweled breast plates, embroidered birds and art noveaux necklaces in a distinct reverberation of Parisian romanticism. Ah, Sublime. And sure her show was one hour late, but worth the arduous wait by all accounts.

If Internet buzz is anything to go by, Frances Bean Cobain could be the next face of Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld reportedly has his eye on 15-year-old Frances Bean, the daughter of grunge god Kurt Cobain and the kinda scary Courtney Love. He would like to use her in future marketing campaigns for the Parisian fashion house. Apparently Courtney Love is “concerned about Frances pursuing a catwalk career” when she hasn’t even hit sweet sixteen yet. But if her mother’s behaviour is anything to go by, Love should just be happy her daughter isn’t snorting crack cocaine off toilet seats and is interested in something other than injecting truckloads of collagen into her own lips.

When you think ‘sustainability’ and all of the other catchy little greenie words you don’t exactly think fashion savant now do you? Well, Madame Blanchett and Natalie Portman are not the only ones that can bask in the karmic afterglow and glorious feel of sustainable fashion. While the London Estetica and NY Fashion Week had their very own ‘green’ shows, the mainstream Australian fashion industry has been slightly slower to take-up the baton. Lisa Gorman is one of the exceptions. Tomorrow at RAFW she will launch her Ship Shop – a revamped shipping container that will travel the country, revolutionising the way we shop. In addition to a whole host of creative sustainable tweaks, for the duration of Fashion Week the Ship Shop will run on renewable GreenPower energy supplied by Climate Friendly. Carving out a niche with creatives, Climate Friendly have been working with the likes of Dinosaur Design, Bholu, Bird Textile, Splendour in the Grass, and a host of others to approach sustainability in an innovative and progressive way. Keep an eye out for the Ship Shop coming your way. See Gorman and Climate Friendly for more.

Uber cult jewellery makers ALEX & CHLOE have teamed up with SUPERSWEET to sell you their unique accessories through their online shop. The L.A couple’s alchemy of acrylics, precious metals and originality rapidly secured them a dedicated global fashion following, but they keep it real with pieces as cool as ‘Ode to Helmut Lang’ and Kate Moss ‘The Only Moss In Our Woods’. Intelligent concepts, a sense of humour and interesting styles make for timeless, wearable accessories. You can buy them now from SUPERSWEET DIGITAL or visit their online shop at www.supersweet.org/shop