Fashion Follies

New York Fashion Week has just concluded and TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has sent a reporter out to interview fashion punters attending. Just one hitch-every fashion 'name' and designer the reporter asks about is a phony.

Lindsay Hits Town

Fasten your seat belts : Mercedes Fashion Week has scored a major guest for their re-launched series of parades,  Lindsay Lohan.

The four day event in April moves from it's recent home at Circular Quay to Carriageworks in deepest Alexandria, a fact that already has noses out of joint but which is a sensible move- plenty of car parking and tons of room.
But it's the addition of Lohan that has tongues wagging : "what on earth has she got to with fashion?"harrumphed one major designer this week when told the news. Not much but the cameras will be tracking her every move. Brilliant !

Mercedes Fashion Week Update

Some of the top names who will appear in the Mercedes Fashion Week were announced today :

Lisa Ho

Jayson Brunsdon

Toni Maticevski.

Romance Was Born

Alex Perry

Camilla & Marc

Vale Anna Piaggi

Anna Piaggi, the Italian fashion writer and one of the most colourful characters of the fashion world has died in Italy at the age of 81.

Anna only visited Sydney once for the Mercedes Fashion Week in 2002 but what a joy she was. Unpretentious, exquisite,grand but friendly especially to new young designers offering them encouragement and advice.

Day 4 Fashion Week-Jenny Kee

Jenny Kee and pals

inspiration?

If one didn't know the London publicist Lyn Franks, one could be forgiven  for thinking that perhaps Australian/Chinese/Italian designer Jenny Kee was an inspiration for Edina Monsoon of Ab Fab fame. Perhaps Kee was also a fashion  influence for Dame Edna Everage.

In between reminding us in the pages of Woman's Day every five years or so that she once had an affair with John Lennon ("I turned him on to Asian girls") Kee has revived her original fashion label Flamingo Park which she started many moons ago in the Strand Arcade after returning from a few years in London. The high point at Flamingo Park was presenting a riot coloured jumper bearing an embroidered  Koala Bear to Princess Diana which Diana wore to the Windsor Polo when she was pregnant with Prince William.

watch out for spiders

The last time we encountered Jenny was at the launch of her book Jenny Kee-A Big Life at the Powerhouse Museum some years ago. The guests had to 'ommmm' for 2 minutes before speeches to raise the vibrations in the room.

The book is a pretty good read detailing Jenny's adventures over the years from an extremely beautiful teenage Kee hitching a ride with an amphetamine crazed trucker from Alice Springs to Darwin, her Oz Magazine days in London with Richard Neville and Martin Sharp, a snub from Lennon and Yoko Ono when they once came across Kee at her stall in the Chelsea Antique Market on Kings Road and an adventure involving the game-keeper's son at the grand Beaulieu estate in Hampshire where she glowered at her host Lord Montague who perceived Jenny had designs on the young chap.

This many colours combined gives the Shuttle a migraine-literally so are best viewed through sunnies but ordinary folk should be safe gazing on these kaleidoscope designs. Our favourite is the kaftan draped in gum leaves (above). The only thing missing from the outfit is one of those large Hunstman spiders that inhabit eucalyptus trees en masse. Dame Edna would have included one!.

Day 3: Mercedes Fashion Week

star models : the Stenmark twins

 left : street wear


right : Alice McCall

                                         
                                                                   

left/right : Bec & Ridge



















 

right & left : Ellery























left & right : Jayson Brundson
                                              

Colour & Movement from Camilla

Sydney's Mercedes Fashion Weak Week is upon us again. Never mind that the star designers have done a bunk, there's till a load of aspiring newbies willing to stump up 60 grand to show their wares.

 Here are a  few shots from today's parade with the ever so nice Camilla Franks (right) who whips up these wondrous floaty caftans. Zillionaire Gina Rinehart and Oprah Winfrey buy them by the dozen:

 Caftans for blokes (right)

(left) Cardboard cut-out hats-a must.




(right) Where to carry your boomerang-why didn't I think of that?







(below) Caftans For Kids

the Seal Of Approval from Oprah.