Ó Magazine - L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Autumn/Winter 2012

It is a unique occurrence in Melbourne when the colder weather approaches. The leaves start turning a tarnished orange and rain down on the pavements, and suddenly the streets are awash with people clad in black; the atypical local ‘uniform'. After witnessing Australia’s finest design talent showcasing their latest collections for Autumn/Winter 2012 at the recent L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, it looks like this year anything goes. Tailoring remains strong, but what was once the muted, earthy tones commonly associated with Autumn/Winter is set to change, with designers playing with vibrant colour, prints and interesting cuts.

Kiwi designer Karen Walker, who has garnered a cult-like following with Melbourne fashionistas, set the scene with a polished, ladylike aesthetic reminiscent of the 1940s, with graphic floral prints against a background of powder pink fitted dresses, and fitted swing coats in turquoise green. Not one to be just an English rose, there was also a masculine modern-day dandy lilt, featuring tailored peg leg trousers in mustard yellow and navy blown up printed checks but smartened up with an oversized blazer.

Dion Lee continued the tailored trend with a burst of bold colours and prints across his sculptural dresses, transparent blouses, fitted skirts and traditional suiting. Billowy blouses in geometric prints were worn untucked and effortlessly paired with electric blue ankle biter trousers or clashed with printed pencil skirts.

Josh Goot, having spoken to Australian Harper’s Bazaar about the limited options for the corporate woman, seems to have found a solution, with his own take on the YSL Le Smoking tuxedo, crisp white shirting, quilted separates embossed with roses, and dresses with exaggerated hips and shoulders to highlight a womanly waspy waist. The finale culminated with Toni Maticevski’s collection, starting off with models stomping down the runway in an almost warrior-like fashion in dark, muted tones of black and silver cut out dresses, which later gave way to nude and white fabrics manipulated into ruffles, a cascade of floral appliques and layered over sheer fabrics to create voluminous, ethereal gown that looked almost weightless from the models’ willowy frames.

With the unexpected resurgence of colour, head to toe black will be a thing of the past, at east for this Winter.