"Just say No to Knitwear "

Pop critic for the UK Telegraph Neil McCormick got stuck into the British music bible NME's 2010 Cool List and exhorted readers to 'just say no to knitwear' , a reference to his horror that a 1980's jumper revival may be ready for a comeback. Feature writer Hannah Betts of The Guardian agreed calling these colourful creations from our own beloved fashion ikon Jenny Kee : nasty knitwear-more chunky than funky !. Betts was referring to Kee's famous Koala jumper as worn by the late Princess Diana in the 80s. Have they no shame?                                    
Our Jenny was inducted last night as the 6th Annual Australian Fashion Laureate as shown by our snap above where Jenny is pictured with Heidi Middleton of sass & bide, Nicholas Huxley head of the fashion design school TAFE NSW and Vogue heavyweight Nancy Pilcher.
Before you gaze upon the our snap below it's recommended sun glasses be donned : here's Jenny and a group of pals in 2012.

A Swell Street Party

Who needs a venue when you can just use the footpath and roadway for a party which is what Theo Onisforou did when he hosted a party to launch the Australian Fashion Walk Of Style in Oxford Street, Paddington.

Simon Lock,Sarah Jane Clark,Theo Onisforou

Dree Hemingway

Just a week ago Nicholas Huxley who has taught many of Australia's top fashion discoveries at the East Sydney TAFE wrote on Facebook that he had counted 27 empty shops in the Oxford Street fashion strip between the Paddington Town Hall and Centennial Park.

 Further down on the gay strip at lower Oxford Street -the 'golden mile' -shops and boutiques are vanishing as are many restaurants which are being replaced by fast food outlets and $2 shops.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has embarked upon an ambitious scheme to let out many of the empty properties owned by Sydney Council in the Darlinghurst end of the street to artists and students at minimal rents in the hope of reviving the area which at present survives on a dozen or so gay nightclubs and bars.

Tom Williams & Rachel Gilbert

Onisforou who owns the Diesel label and a number of the boutiques in Paddington has been a tireless supporter of local fashion and when Simon Lock who was the mastermind behind the Sydney and Melbourne Fashion Weeks came up with the idea of the Fashion Walk of Style, Theo jumped at the concept and soon convinced Woolahra Council of it's promotional value.

On Tuesday he laid red carpet along the front of a half dozen stores and unveiled the first six brass plaques dedicated to Sarah Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton of Sass & Bide, Akira Isogawa, R.M Williams, Collette Dinigan and the late and much loved Mark Keighery of Marc fame.

Jonathan Ward

Simon Lock jetted in from Dubai where he has just set up another Mercedes Fashion Week to present the awards and the afternoon bash in glorious sunshine fueled by plenty of French champagne relegated the event to the best party of the year, so far. Amongst the guests: model and actress Dree Hemingway (daughter of Margaux Hemingway), R.M William's designer Jonathan Ward, Sarah Jane Clark, John Hemmes of Merivale and fashion commentator Melissa Hoyer.

We look forward to the unveiling of more plaques which can be viewed from the beginning of the Glenmore Road and Oxford Street junction.

more guests arrive..more street is needed...

Sass & Bide Wow London

Sass & Bide showed off their Spring/Summer 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London on Friday.

front row-actress Bonnie Wright

Paloma Faith's a fan

Designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton mixed patterns with textures and coloured prints including batik, polka dots, neon, sequins and metallic leather work in crisp  clean, modern shapes and cut. The mix of long body-skimming silhouettes, dresses,tube tops and skirts, draped dresses and jackets drew hearty applause.

Paddington hairdresser Renya Xydis flew into London to do the hair. Lucky girl-with 2 top clients in Sass & Bide and Collette Dinnigan she spends much of the year jetting to Paris, London and New York but as they say, someone has to do it.

Here's Sydney fashion identity Paula Joye's video of the parade and backstage:

They're Young And Rich

Blue Hotel

BRW magazine threw a bash last night to introduce the 2011 Young Rich (those under 40 years old).

The well padded Nathan Tinkler 35 comes in tops at $1.13B mainly built from coal deposits. Tinkler is moving into the must haves for the young rich- a stable of horses with his $300M Patinack Farm.

BRW editor Kate Mills introduces the Young Rich 100

Sporting stars packing away the dollars in the bank : tennis ace Leyton Hewitt with $35M, soccer's Harry Kewell with $55M, Formula One driver Mark Webber with $37M while Pat Rafter struggles by on just $26M.

Annie & Mike Cannon Brookes

Sass & Bide's Heidi Middleton and Sarah Jane-Clarke who are showing their fashions this week in London at the Royal Opera House are hoping to add to their wealth of $26M while cosmetics queen Natalie Bloom's empire has built her a fortune estimated at $36M.

Also in London, good looking hedge fund wunderkid Greg Coffey is rated as the third richest Aussie in Britain with his whopping $743M fortune while Steven Kalmin of Glencoe International, now Zurich based has $458M.

Dot com whiz kids and software kings are well represented but the top two must be Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquar with their $360M. And they say they aren't in it for the money!.

Lydia & Eugeni Tsvetnenko- Sydney needs you!

But how do we entice our very own budding Russian born oligarch Eugeni Tsvetnenko and his $115M to move from Perth to Sydney?. Eugeni who has made his money from a host of enterprises that include mobile phone texting services and an artificial grass distribution service says he loves nightlife and would party on even if he was broke. We insist he grabs his glamorous socialite wife Lydia, clambers on board that luxurious Lear jet of theirs and immediately move to the East Coast. Sydney needs you. Urgently.

Alika & David Brown-$38M

Young, rich. Sass & Bide

The party was held at one of the best locations, the sensational Blue Hotel in Woolloomooloo that has it's very own rich list of inhabitants including radio king John Laws and movie star Russell Crowe who occupy the twin duplex penthouses at the end of the pier. But they of course, are over 40 and considered oldies.

Harry Kewell : $55M

Nathan Tinkler : $1.13B

Sass & Bide Sunnies

The ever expanding Sass & Bide empire now incorporates some great sunglasses and they threw a small party at their elegant Paddinghurst boutique (..that's half way between Darlinghurst and Paddington on Oxford Street) to celebrate. The collection that costs from $260 to about $380 a pair include retro style sunglasses, big lense sunglasses as well as modern cool sunglasses which are all made in Italy with love!

 The designing duo Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton arrived fashionably late for their party.

Sass & Bide's Sarah-Jane and Heidi

a hug from Daimon Downey

Sneaky Sound System's :          Miss Connie Mitchell & Black Angus

To view the range go to the Eye Wear Boutique or Sass & Bide.

Summer Fashion From Myer

As day follows night, the Myer fashion parade occurs a week after the David Jones parade.

To the Carriageworks in downtown Waterloo as Jennifer Hawkins and British import  Kris Smith ( Mr Danni Minogue ) launched the Myer Spring Summer 2011/2012 Collections last night with lots of  fresh, bright and bold colours

Brands new to Myer, Jayson Brunsdon, Fleur Wood and sass & bide (lured away from DJs with a multi-million dollar payout) plus new season collections by Myer’s leading stable of Australian designers and our favourite US import, Charlie Brown.

This summer campaign has drawn inspiration from the Australian landscape, with the show’s set design embracing the expansive and dramatic Pinnacles Desert in Western Australia. Models made their way down a 30-metre catwalk created to form a spectacular panoramic desert scene. 

Check out our exclusive back stage video below                                                              

Jennifer Hawkins

dapper Kris Smith

                                                             

Style pixie for fashion week ?

Tavi

There was much talk at Thursday night's bash for Marie Claire hosted by editor Jackie Frank and heralding Australian Fashion Week which begins this Monday.

Will the 14 year old US fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson be in town?. She's been invited, as have several fashion bloggers, with airfares thrown in.

Tavi has become a teen sensation with her Style Rookie blog. She's been interviewed by Interview and Grazia, attended White House parties, profiled in the New York Times and been guest editor for Fashion Television at the New York Fashion Week.

Some at the party were bitching about whether Tavi is really capable of writing the blog herself at such a tender age and if she really could understand the nuances and vagaries of fashion. She does make references to past fashion eras that were well before her time. Which could mean she does her research. Probably at school at the back of the class.

Tavi is one of our heroines. She's demonstrating the power of the blog and why by 2025 there will be no printed  newspapers or magazines. She's at the vanguard of a generation that is leading the charge of citizen journalism and anarchy media.

designer Jayson Brunsdon & Simon Lock

 The other talk at Marie Claire was just what is the rift between Australian Fashion Week creator Simon Lock and the current owners of the event. Lock's been frozen out and although he sold his share of the Week 5 years ago he did have a 10 year consultancy contract. Simon was at the party but staying silent on the subject.

Don Spencer & Marie Claire's Jackie Frank

 why we love Marie Claire parties

Marie Claire's bash was to show off the art works created by a dozen fashion designers like Marnie Skillings and Sass & Bide . The works will be auctioned over the coming weeks at the Marie Claire website and the funds raised will go to aid the Australian Children’s Music Foundation. 

The foundation was started by TV presenter Don Spencer. Don has a famous daughter Danielle who is married to Russell Crowe. They usually come to aid Don's charity but he said they couldn't make it that night as Russell was off somewhere promoting his Robin Hood movie.

Tavi at the New York Fashion Week