Melbourne is an incredible city and by far my favourite I’ve visited in Australia, so when I had the opportunity to tag along on the boy’s business trip and do some shoppercise and culture touring of my own, I leaped at the chance. Here are some highlights of my Melbourne trip in the Spring of October 2014.
This is the first time I’ve ever stayed at the Hilton South Wharf and despite being in a more business-y area adjacent to the conference centre, it was actually a fantastic location as you are next to a designer outlet where I got amazingly cheap Nike, adidas and Puma sportswear, and on the banks of the Yarra River with scores of restaurants and across the river from the free City Circle tram. The room had quite a Japanese influence with sliding shoji screens and a bathroom bigger than some entire hotel rooms I’ve stayed in, and the foyer had these original Art Horses in various styles including an Elvis horse and a racehorse, for Spring Carnival, the upcoming racing festival.
This is a place I have been before, and there’s always a queue down the street and a hostess taking your names for tables, it’s so popular. It’s really worth it: Hardware Societe in Hardware Lane. This is the almond croissant ($4.50) and the baked eggs ($20) in a metal pot with potato, tomato and nuts – incredible. It was so busy the following day that we instead went to a cute looking cafe called Knock Knock but the food was sooo slow (40 mins for a basic egg on dry toast) and was pretty average. Go to Hardware Societe.
Gluten-free cakes at Hardware Societe.
Traveller cafe, in Crossley Street pictured below take coffee extremely seriously. They only take cash so go prepared.
Ever since living in London I’ve been wanting to shop the high street stores I loved, but I wasn’t sure if they were great at the time because I was young, or whether they’ve stood the test of time. In New Zealand the only store we have from there is Top Shop at The Department Store (a Topshop flagship store is opening later this year in Auckland) but there are lots in Aussie, including ZARA and, now, H&M. I went three days, and each time I did not leave empty-handed.
Next to H&M is the largest mall, Emporium, with 200 designer shops including Japanese fave, Uniqlo where I got a Mickey Mouse tee-shirt and the boy got lots of really nice and slightly preppy menswear. Pictured below, the wooden cafe in the middle of Superglue at Emporium.
I headed in to the Exhibition Centre in the world heritage site gardens to see the Motorclassica car show with the boy. I have to admit I don’t know much about cars, but do appreciate interesting and rare ones such as these, and there were some really great cars on display such as this De Tomasso Mangusta.
The main highlight however for me in Melbourne was to see The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, at NGV National Gallery of Victoria.
Thread was actually invited to the opening event of this last week and Melbourne-resident New Zealander Kelly Thompson attended for us and did fabulous photography to boot, on Thread here.
Below: my own snaps of the exhibition and retrospective of Gaultier’s famous pieces and clothing collections including his iconic film and music industry costumes. I particularly liked a conveyor belt catwalk where guests can sit in the front row and watch the show.
Some of the mannequins had the most creative thing I’ve ever seen at a fashion exhibition; talking audio visual faces projected on the faces from suspended cameras that spoke, winked, and smiled at you. One stripe top-wearing mannequin was Jean Paul Gaultier himself, speaking in French. Stunning.
The golden carousel at NGV.
Friday Nights at Jean Paul Gaultier at NGV is a weekly event where you can stay on and listen to live DJs, catch up with friends and buy drinks and food at the bar and even dance, as many people were doing. It was a really cool atmosphere and I’d recommend going on the Friday night; it’s only $8 more ($28 for Friday, $20 for regular entry to the exhibition at other times.)
Hyper Natural was a sensory experience of the invention of various fragrances through time set outside in the gallery gardens. Definitely one of the best gallery experiences I’ve had – combining smell, sight, and touch.
Express Yourself: Romance Was Born FOR KIDS at NGV was a hands-on multi media exhibition across three rooms combining gallery works, clothing, and fun activities for children around the designs of fashion brand, Romance Was Born.
Speaking of Gaultier I couldn’t help noticing the bottles of his perfume.
These were for sale at JR Dutyfree at the airport branch, but I have just discovered you can save time and buy before you fly and purchase online and then pick up at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch Airports.
Below: trying on Prada eyewear.
Dior on my wishlist.
Words and photos, Megan Robinson
26th October 2014
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