The TAFE-graduate recently showed as part of the Innovators show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia as the only menswear designer of the group, and put forward a collection which took on the athletic trend of the season with a simplistic approach. The real beauty of the garments was in the various fabrics — leather, mesh and bonded textiles — and the construction of the pieces. A simple bomber jacket in black, made of a bonded material with the appearance of neoprene, with almost all detailing concealed; a leather t-shirt, a lab-coat/hoodie hybrid — all fairly basic pieces, allowing for maximal layering and playing around with things.

Images provided by Yuliy Gershinsky.

It’s been over a year since I began blogging seriously, and coincidentally almost a year ago I was acquainted with Sydney-based label Zipporra and designer Karen Fulton. What really struck me about the label was that everything is made-to-measure by Karen herself, who has also interned at Ellery and Kirrily Johnston. Every aspect of design and production is completed at Karen’s home, right down to the dying of the fabrics for her SS11 collection.

The designer, Karen, is overflowing with ideas; to say she’s inspiring would be a serious understatement. Only a few months ago Karen told me she wanted to do “more for the world, something for charity,” and less than six months later she unveiled her latest ‘Poison Arrow’ collection, brimming with digital prints (hand-painted by Karen, then scanned and printed onto fabrics), at a World’s Greatest Morning Tea event which, unusually, took place at night. Guests were encouraged to make donations, all of which would go to the Cancer Council, to help fund research into curing cancer. What makes Karen so different to others is she commits to an idea and will always come through — and spectacularly, I might add.

The actual presentation of the collection was to an intimate group of Karen’s close friends and industry insiders, and included a show in which the latest collection was paraded by (mostly) the same girls Karen used at her last launch, and in her campaign. The event organiser was also a good friend of Karen’s, Christopher McLaren of A Series of Fortunate Events. Seeing an event, which was not unlike a gathering of friends for a party with a bit of fashion thrown in, was a well-appreciated break from the usual seriousness of the industry (MBFWA, I’m talking typing to you).

The collection itself sticks to Karen’s signature aesthetic: very wearable, feminine pieces with an edge. Silk returns as the tissu préféré and has been digitally printed with prints Karen painted herself (she seemed very pleased that night, that “you can see the brushstrokes!”) on mostly blazers, dresses and skirts in similar shapes to her last collection. The ‘Poison Arrow’ collection saw the Zipporra girl find her signature look, and continue to develop it through the introduction of new colours and prints into the collection — nothing over-the-top, but just enough to get you (read: me) excited.

I’ve told Karen (repeatedly, I might add) that, “As soon as I have more than $10, I’m getting you to make me an entire outfit!” While I can’t afford some Zipporra goodies (or anything more than a meal at McDonald’s, for that matter), it doesn’t mean you have to miss out. You’ll be able to shop the collection very soon here where the SS11 collection is currently being sold, or at Estate of Mind in Surry Hills.

Images provided by Zipporra.

Toni Maticevski is an artist, there’s no other way to put it. He’s skilled in his craft; his ability to design as well as turn a concept into a wearable — albeit slightly out there — garment is something many others in his field are unable to match, and his latest collection is proof of that. Toni has taken traditional construction techniques and fabrics, then combined them with more unconventional techniques and fabrics, to create a ten-look collection overflowing with “pure aesthetic.”

A concept of beauty in decay is evident, with textiles being torn apart then stitched together again to emphasise the deconstruction of the dresses, and this concept is pushed on by the designer’s “virtuosity with drape and fabric, silhouette and stitch.” Proportion and shape are played with, dirty browns are contrasted by refreshing whites and the covetable dresses whisper, not scream, gothic innocence.

Image courtesy of Toni Maticevski