MOSAIK: Melbourne Spring Fashion Week: Emerging Designer Runway 2

Emerging Designer Runway 2 showcased the astounding talents of 27 students from RMIT University. These students are the next forward thinkers the fashion industry craves and loves. They push the boundaries in new and innovative ways, taking fashion away from the trends and shopping centres, and into the realm of wearable art forms, with such uniqueness and meaning behind them.

All the collections were amazing, however there was a few highlights of the night that really stood out and caught my eye. Natalie Kieleithner’s collection was the opener, and it sure did set the standard. Her collection was bold, fierce, aggressive and passionate all in one; simply created through the use of only a fiery red as her colour palette, and strong, bold silhouettes of exaggerated shoulders and form fitting floor length garments.

Jessie Kiely had use a couch cover and a variety of home furnishing materials to create a collection of unorthodox floor length gowns. Similarly, Alexandra Hackett used materials associated with clothing in stores, such as a garment security tags and 25,000+ price tags to create two separate jackets within her collection.

Being a knitwear student, Grace Butterworth, Amanda Wong and Molly Dockra’s work definitely caught my eye. Grace’s 80’s and 90s inspired urban, sporty inspired jumpers were insane, with their fluorescent, dynamic colours and patterns. Jumpers created from tuck, bubbling fabrics and laddering created a unique texturized 3D look in Amanda’s collection, which was raw and organic . Molly’s uses of extremely thick yarns and oversized silhouettes alongside pastel hues created a surprisingly soft, beautiful collection with killer knitted shoes might I add.

Doan Nguyen's collection was the definition of contemporary sleek and sophistication. Her beautiful layering and draping of elegant silky fabrics have been combined with gorgeous neoprenes with detailed laser cuts and. It has created a unique juxtaposition between organic and geometric structures and forms.

While my own design aesthetics and practices are not quite like these, I could sit back and truly appreciate the garments that were on display before me. Understanding the ways in which garments are constructed is one thing but I was simply in awe of how these students used unconventional materials and distinctive silhouettes in all their garments. I always look forward to these shows, because unlike the traditional designers runways, these garments are one of works of art, that have hours of blood, sweat, love and tears just oozing from the attention to detail displayed in all. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a fashion show, I cannot highly recommended these shows enough.

-S.P.