L’Oreal Paris Runway Number 1

Sass and Bide opened the L’Oreal Paris Runway Number 1 show with dazzling pieces on black in a range of short skirts and, my personal favourite, pants in gold and black that echo the cowboy-western chap pants. Raunchy, risque and very chic…

Lucy Telford is reporting for Thread.co.nz from Melbourne fashion week. First up: the L’Oreal Paris Runway Number 1 show…

Sass and Bide opened the show with dazzling metallic beaded pieces on black in a range of short skirts, shoulder embellishments and, my personal favourite, pants in gold and black that echo the cowboy-western chap pants. Raunchy, risque and very chic.

Camilla and Marc were a big part of the sequins that were in almost every collection but theirs were all in an electric blue, which was a refreshing change from all the gold and black.

Fleur Wood’s collection was a mix of gothic and baby doll with a lot of black lace, pink tutus and the occasional metallic splash on the little black dress. I was most impressed with the spiderweb stockings that were delicate and creepy both at the same time.

Collette Dinnigan struck an impressive chord with gloves so chic and so well fitted, they looked like the hands had been partially dipped in black paint. They only went up half the hand, leaving the wrist free which was so elegant they were very distracting from the rest of the collection. She also seemed to be on the shoulder stint with Cruella DeVil shoulders and lace that looks like leopard print, but on closer inspection is built up by flowers – very tricky.

In war time, the clothing ration meant that people started making coats from whatever was available. This was usually furnishing fabric in tea colours and floral patterns which was the style at the time. Alice McCall’s collection had touches of that here and there, in amongst the large volumes of black. Following the trends in Europe, there was also a sneaky cape thrown into the mix. There were also sequins, which were in almost all the collections, but these ones were large, like little black moons hanging in m-shaped arcs.

By Lucy Telford, 17 March, 2010