I could have danced all night last night to the familiar songs of the musical and classic movie, My Fair Lady, at the Theatre Royale. Sometimes I forget how magic a theatre experience can be, it can not be compared to film, as it is just so different and unique, it truly has a place of it’s own in the world of arts. The classic My Fair Lady was re-translated onto stage perfectly combining versatile sets and lavish costumes with a stellar cast that included Australian classics John Wood and Nancy Hayes. We all know in the movie there are two scenes that take our breath away, aesthetically speaking ,the Ascott race scene and the The Grande Ball, and let me tell you I was just thrilled with the real life scene taking place in front of me. Opera Australia should be commended for the costumes which captured the elegance that surrounded the era, in every inch of silk and every feathered hat, it makes one nostalgic for the days of women truly dressing as opposed to merely clothing oneself. The songs were ringing in my head as I walked out and I felt like Eliza Dolittle walking on air that is the feeling that only theatre can inspire. There is something truly enchanting about watching a story take place in front of you knowing that while you are sitting in that auditorium you are living the story with the actors in every energised and inspired moment, not after hours of editing and special effects, it is a shared experience between an artist and audience and it is beautiful. The play even had that ever important aspect of the arts, it made me think...What makes a lady today? That was the question on my mind when I walked out. I concluded in most ways it’s still the same, we are still judged on how we look, speak and perform in public but these days a lady has to have something more, a true lady it seems in modern day, has to have an element of independence, but ever important is the way in which a lady carries herself, today it must be with an air of confidence and Eliza Dolittle is one lovable fair lady even today. It’s a beautiful evening and worth every penny to go see My Fair Lady, running until December 7^th, so treat yourself to something truly quintessential, the only thing missing is Audrey Hepburn...

http://www.myfairlady.org.au/index.html

Elsom is the latest Australian fashion label to embrace the organic movement. Using organic and sustainable fabrics to construct garments that are rich in quality and form. The man behind the label Sam Elsom is passionate about sourcing his fabrics and is set to change the way people view organic textiles through a textile revolution born from the endless global search for new innovative textiles. Elsom returns to the routes of fashion allowing the form of the garment to flow from the material being used and in turn creating garments that are functional and luxurious. The most remembered, sought after and enduring garments throughout the history of fashion have always been comprised of textiles that speak volumes in inimitability, something that Elsom has achieved in each and every metre of fabric, however this label is not only speaking volumes in terms of timelessness but integrity. Elsom have put in the hard yards developing relationships with top European Mills and organic farmers all over the world. It is a label born from the most important ingredient passion, for clothing, style and sustainability and it is a passion that is contagious. Being draped in the silks of Elsom, which are sourced from Italy and Hangzhou in China, the province with the last natural silk worms in the world, is an experience that redefines luxury, swathing us in the magnificence and versatility of the nature that surrounds us. Elsom are a label to watch out for, in a world that is becoming increasingly aware, Elsom is providing us with a wakeup call that lolls us back into a sleep of ever stylish dreams where the beauty of nature, which has inspired fashion since the beginning of time, is given a structure that lives and breathes appreciation. When I said textile revolution I wasn’t joking, Sam informs me the label is working with the development of a truly innovative cloth, one compromised entirely of milk. The catwalks are alive with whispers of change and the loudest voice is Elsom.

http://www.elsom.com.au/index2.html

That is the title of Australian designer Gail Sorronda’s SS0809 line and the clothes are as romantic and unique as the name. This time of year, Spring Racing Carnival, throws the words “style” up in the air for debate. What makes it and who has it? I’ve found it in Brisbane Designer Gail Sorronda who is taking the European market by storm with the fluidity and seamless translation of style that exudes her label. The woman wearing Gail Sorronda epitomises the true sense of style with an everlasting softness and romance that entices, and then envelops those surrounding her entirely in her mysterious magnificence. The line Seventeen Crushes Crushed into One is softer than the designer Gail’s previous line White Knight, embracing black flowers which bloom and drip with dark allusions of romance and femininity. Gail Sorronda’s garments ooze a sophistication that Australian Fashion has never witnessed before her clothes embellish every inch of the female form using transparency, draping, pleats, tassels, ruffles and gathers to create an intrigue that insinuates that in awe infatuation of a crush. Her simple palette of black and white is seemingly timeless and seeps into our memories like the ink images ingrained in our minds of what true style looks like in all its mystery. Like the title of the collection which alludes to that magical feeling of a crush, each design in Seventeen Crushes Crushed into One moves beyond the first awe-struck moment of encounter and renders itself permanently still in a space of mystifying reoccurrence and familiar feelings that frame those moments in which we know we are held in the presence of true beauty.

http://www.gailsorronda.com/17crushes1.html

So it’s late last night when I was reviewing my Sex and The City box set I began to wonder what was it about these women that enchanted women of all ages? Was it the sex? Was it the relationships? Was it their girl power and independence? Was it the fashion? I came to the conclusion it was all of the above but for me a huge bit was the fashion. So I started to Google some photos and then something magic happened I found http://www.hbo.com/city/look/carrie_6.shtml. Sex and the City revived. Withdrawals over. This site is complete with everything from Character profiles to apartment profiles and best of all Wardrobe profiles of all four of these modern female heroines. You can flick through photos from series one-six and re-live of all your favourite characters worst and best dressed moments complete with tags so you know what to look for when re-creating the look. A few of my favourites include “Carrie is cocktail party ready in a Rebecca Taylor rainbow silk dress layered over Zara cargo pants and Christian Louboutin satin bow shoes,” and “A navy vintage nurse's cape inspires Carrie's New York It Girl-cum-Florence Nightingale look. Underneath is a crisp white shirt by Moschino over a velvet bustier by Chloe.” This is site is literally better than any other wardrobe inspiration site I have found because all four characters have such different styles you can find inspiration for any occasion. Patricia Field is literally a styling genius, her combinations are so well thought out that even if you hate part of the outfit there is always another part you will like and somehow even the most random combinations pull together to be completely runway worthy looks. The 1930’s was the decade of Paris versus Hollywood. Film started to define the way women were dressing and designers started to design for film not just runway, in a lot of ways film was the new runway and today it still is. We are addicted to what Hollywood is wearing on and off the screen. Patricia Field has defined decades of fashion on the screen, her four brave independent women were models with lives and voices, they were moving a fashion editiroial that inspired and captured us all. So jump online and check this out next time your struggling for an outfit or want to try something different it’s also great for finding inspiration to revamp or restyle all those random things in the back of your closet you just never where or how to wear. Re-enter the girls of Manhattans world and get ‘carrie’d away’ all over again.

The greatest masters of fashion, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Mademoiselle Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can create beauty and style out of any material, such is their vision. This is the vision that the student category of the Queensland Bridal Awards, Calico Bride, aims to explore, nurture and put on show. Students from Australia’s top design colleges are given 7 metres of Calico, the simplest fabric and allowed to go wild shredding, pleating, dying, plaiting and layering to create a Bridal gown that is unique and stylish. The only criteria is other than the rare trimming it must be all calico and every year the designs are of high such a high calibre you can believe they are. This year is set to see 30 talented students parade their designs and unveil a designer vision, with gowns inspired by Art deco architecture and 1930’s and 1920’s classic polished looks. The designs are paraded alongside 47 stunning gowns from 13 of the top bridal designers in the country at the annual Queensland Bridal awards which are taking place this Monday the 27^th of October at the Sebel and Citigate. These accomplished Bridal designers compete in four traditional bridal competition categories Classique, Bride Nouveau, Couture and Avante Garde. It is a truly breathtaking event to witness and Calico Bride is a very special part of that. Every bride wants to feel special on her special day and only the most vivid and inspired of designs can capture this-that is the challenge of every designer, to capture and to transport, it is challenge well and truly embraced by Calico Bride and it’s entrants- plain calico becomes princess material.

When- Monday 27^th October 2008 6pm
Where – The Presidential Ballroom, Sebel and Citigate, King George Square, Brisbane City
Tickets are $12 and include a drink and lucky door prizes!

Jessie Hill’s dark and romantic designs are a breathtaking combination of Edwardian and Georgette inspired shapes and fabrics embellished with new innovative technology of print. Her Spring Summer line “Artificial V’s Real ” which was presented to an awe-struck crowd at this years Rosemount Australian Fashion week is the epitome of power in opulence. It conjures images of the extravagance of middle age fashion revolutionaries including everybody’s current favorite Georgia the Duchess of Devonshire, who was famous for her haphazard combinations and wearing lace on the outside. After reading up about this revived style icon I began to wonder where she fits in modern style and I found some of her strongest attributes in the Jessie Hill look. Jessie creates a strong feminine look with the perfect balance of romanticism and realism. The garments use a strong colour palette of black and white which are complimented perfectly by hints of hues in powder blue, lemon yellow, and eggshell peeping out from amonsgt the layers. The woman dressed in Jessie Hill is strong and defined, empowered by layers of silk that speak in volumes both literally in shape and figuratively in construction and print. The best bit though is that the clothes are complimented by an equally strong and detailed line of accessories that stand alone as much as each bustle and layer of silk. The Jessie woman is the complete woman, one of inner power, stance and confidence three of the key ingredients to style. http://www.jessiehill.net/

I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Art Exposing Eating Disorders exhibition at the Mori Gallery in July/August this year. I am pleased to report that the final figures are in and the exhibition raised twelve hundred dollars for the Butterfly Foundation National Research Fund. There was some amazing talent and beautiful honest expressions on those walls and any that were not sold have been donated to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in NSW. Keep your eyes peeled for news of next year’s Art Exposing Eating disorders event because it’s going to be bigger and better! Start getting your artistic ideas together now. Looking forward to it and thanks again to everyone who supported it.