As a prelude to the Perth Fashion Festival, the masterminds behind Zekka, Dilettante and Head Studio presented Avant Garde last night, an amazing runway presentation at UWA’s Winthrop Hall. The event was easily the best fashion show I’ve ever been to; complete with a live organist, incredible hair and makeup and the most amazing garments. Congratulations to all the organisers for a job well done!

Installation by Leah Tarlo at Beyond Garment

The wait is over folks, I’ve finally drawn the winner of the 15 Minutes giveaway. I utilised the services of the ‘Truly Random Number Generator’ to choose a winner and it selected comment #24, which is Marc from A Gentleman’s Days & Adventures. Congrats Marc, you and a friend will be attending 15 Minutes!

Those of you who didn’t win needn’t sigh because I have another wonderful PFF related giveaway for your enjoyment! The ladies at On William have given me a $50 gift voucher for Popsicle to giveaway, which can be redeemed on items by a range of stellar designers, including jewellery by Leah Tarlo (pictured). Popsicle will set up shop in the Perth Cultural Centre on September 9, shutting up on September 15. To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post…

Wrap your peepers around these sneak peek glimpses into 15 Minutes (sans hair and makeup tweaking)…

For the last three days I’ve been go-go-go getting things ready for 15 Minutes, the Perth Fashion Festival event I’m styling.  I kicked things off on Thursday with a spot of garment sourcing, hitting up Billie & Rose, Planet, Pigeonhole, Merge and Zara Bryson. I collected an array of beautiful garments, paying particular attention to Karen Walker because she’s my favourite designer, and Ellery because the amazing Kym Ellery is going to be a special front row guest at 15 Minutes! Some of the other wonderful labels I pulled include Friend Of Mine, Maurie & Eve, Carly Hunter, Poppy Lissiman, Extinct, Minty Meets Munt, Zanthus, Generics, Secret Squirrel, Limedrop and Mini Market.

Today I had the overwhelming task of fitting 20 models (each with 3 outfit changes) for the show and now I’m bloody exhausted! I’d never done a parade fitting this big before so it took a bit of adjusting to but thanks to my amazing assistant, Jess from Harlequin’s Party, I somehow survived the experience.  Many thanks also to the PFF Style Envoy volunteers who lended a hand, and to the amazing models who took the chaos in their stride.

Prior to today Jess and I had organised all the outfits for the show but when models tried things on at the fitting we had quite a bit of switching and problem solving to do to make sure everyone looked their best. We managed to conquer the 60 looks and I’m really happy with the final results… Can’t wait for you to all see the show (and photos from it).

In competition news I’ll be drawing the winner of the double pass to 15 Minutes tomorrow annnnnnddd I’m also going to be giving away something else exciting… stay tuned.

Above: shoes that make up part of Jocelyn Tan’s installation for Beyond Garment

Jewellery by Leah Tarlo.

Beautiful bundles of fabric by Moira Doropoulos

I was lucky enough to be invited to a media preview of Beyond Garment at the WA Maritime Museum this morning. On display as part of PFF, Beyond Garment is an exploration into accessories and the roles they play in our wardrobes and lives. Curated by Anne Farren, the exhibition features work by a range of creative minds including Kathryn Bell, Antipodium, Alister Yiap, Sophie Kyron and Elizabeth Delfs.

Beyond Garment opens this Friday and is on display until November 28 at the Maritime Museum.

The face of PFF 2010, Sarah Pauley, doing a lion roar befitting of Alister Yiap’s amazing neckpiece

Millinery design by Kathryn Bell

An amazing creation by Elizabeth Delfs

Design by Sophie Kyron

Beyond Garment is presented by the Western Australian Museum & Perth Fashion Festival with support from the Department of Culture and the Arts

Lucy from Scene wears Zhouk dress from Method $195, SoBe Style necklace from sobestyle.com.au $59.95, Jinx heels from Betts $99.99. Ashleigh wears Nina Maya dress from Black Beret $638, Diamond Cage necklace from Pigeonhole $59, Temptation heels from Betts $99.99.

My oh my, how time flies! It feels like only yesterday that I was aboard the beautiful Leeuwin II shooting our Winter edition…

Next Thursday the Spring edition of X-Press Fashion hits the streets, featuring two shoots – Let Them Eat Cake and Skate And Destroy. Those who aren’t in Perth can view the full edition online here.

When I was over in Sydney at Rosemount Australia Fashion Week in May I noticed that most designers had created predominantely pastel collections, so I knew I had to come up with a concept that would complement all the pastel womenswear in our Spring photoshoot. After brainstorming with the marvelous Otilee, we decided to approach Queen Of Theme, an amazing showroom in North Perth. Owned by Jane Fordham, Queen Of Theme is a wedding showroom packed full of 18th century style furniture, perfect for a pastel shoot. We took lots of inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, which is one of my all time favourite films.

Lucy wears Hotel Bondi Swim bikini from Daneechi $208, Shayla heels from Betts $99.99. Ashleigh wears Karen Nielsen bikini from Daneechi $145, vintage necklace and bracelet from Method Clothing $355, Jeannie flats from Betts $69.99.

Many thanks to Rachel and Lacey at Head Studio for doing the hair, MUA Samantha Enticknap, my assistant Autilia (who has a nifty personal style blog), and of course, to Otilee!

Lucy wears Karla Spetic dress from Black Beret $615, Lola & Bailey necklace from Pigeonhole $88, Temptation heels from Betts $99.99. Cupcakes by My Yummy Vice – www.myyummyvice.com.

For the menswear shoot I collaborated with Luke Thompson, a very dapper photographer who I met at Perth Fashion Festival a few years ago. Luke is an accomplished skate photographer so I decided to use his skills and create a skate inspired shoot. Luke enlisted his buddy Luke Tomlinson (who is a professional skateboarder) and Ben Wood, a model/skater signed with Chadwick’s.

Ben wears Nana Judy singlet $59.95, Nana Judy throwover $59.95, ML Denim shorts from Method $120, Pyramid necklace from Pigeonhole $50. Dylan wears Extinct tee from Pigeonhole $ 88, Insight boardies from Cite $79.95.

We started the shoot in Luke’s backyard (where he has a skate ramp set up), then moved around Inglewood/North Perth to various skating hotspots. I am really thrilled with the pics and hope that the Australian menswear labels we featured – Nana Judy, Faux Pas, ML Denim – really like the shoot too.

I got the name for the ‘Skate And Destroy’ shoot from this tattoo on Dylan’s arm…

Ben wears Stussy hoodie from Lick Clothing $99.99, Deacon tee from Pulse Modern Urban $49.95, ML Denim shorts from Lick $140.

Thanks again to Luke Thompson, the team from Head Studio for their hair styling skills, MUA Constance Bowles, Luke’s assistant Joel, and Madalin who acted as my assistant for the day.

Photographer Pit @ RAFW

The Perth Fashion Festival’s inaugural 15 Minutes event is set to go down on Tuesday, September 14, and tickets are selling like hotcakes! Styled by yours truly, 15 Minutes will feature 20 models, 60 outfits, and five fabulous boutiques, including Billie & Rose, Merge, Planet, Pigeonhole and Zara Bryson.  The event will celebrate the rise of the fashion blog, showcasing the work of Perth bloggers such as Style Discovery, The Velvet Bow, Harlequin’s Party, Mylie Stylin’ and heaps more.  As if that wasn’t already enough, 15 Minutes will also feature a catwalk show by New Zealand designer Roxanna Zamani. If you would like to come along to 15 Minutes you’re in luck, because I have two tickets to give away! Simply comment on this post to go into the draw.

2008 Central Institute graduate Kiel Rogers presented an avant-garde capsule collection to friends and family this evening in Perth’s CBD. Due to an over zealous smoke machine operator a smoke alarm went off before the show even started and beeped all the way through – it was pretty hilarious.  As always, Kiel challenged the boundaries of fashion with his designs and received raptuous applause for his efforts.

ANTM star Jessi Moloney leading Student Runway at Perth Fashion Festival 2009

It’s no secret how much I love the Perth Fashion Festival – I always try to attend as many events as possible and relish the opportunity to view the collections of the many talented designers who call West Australia home. Ahead of the festival, which kicks off on Thursday, September 9, and runs ’til Wednesday, September 15, I’ve thumbed my way through the program to share my favourite events with anyone who cares to read on…

Top of my list, as always, is Student Runway, which is set to go down on Monday, September 13, at Fashion Paramount (the old Gasworks building on Wellington Street). Along with Claire Davies from STM and Johann from Pigeonhole, I’m judging this year’s Student Runway event and had the pleasure of being able to help choose which students will send their garments down the runway. I can assure you all that the students participating in the event are incredible – so I’m expecting big things from this show!

Ae’lkemi at Rosemount Australia Fashion Week

Next on my list are the WA Designer Collections which are split into two groups. Collection 1 will feature garments from Ae’lkemi, Antipodium, Breathless, Empire Rose, Fenella Peacock, Flannel, Liz Davenport, Megan Salmon, Of Cabbages And Kings, Stand International, Story By Tang, S2 and United Constructions. Collection 2, which is actually on a couple of hours before Collection 1, will showcase the work of emerging designers such as Arj Selvam, Daniella Caputi, Elementree, Garth Cook, Leah Tarlo, Leanne Lim, Lonely As A Cloud, Lonely 8-Bit Heroes, One Fell Swoop, On Tour, Pinch And Spoon , Poppy Lissiman and The Butcher And The Crow.

The face of PFF 2010, Sarah Pauley, shot by Thom Kerr

For any fashion blog lover, going to the 15 Minutes event is a must! Styled by yours truly, 15 Minutes will pay tribute to fashion blogs from home and afar, featuring street style looks assembled with garments from Zara Bryson, Merge, Planet, Pigeonhole and Billie & Rose. 15 Minutes is set to go down at Fashion Paramount on Tuesday, September 14, prior to the finale show. I promise this show is going to be lots of fun, so if you’re in Perth, be sure to get yourself a ticket!

Up! The Finale is set to be amazing, promising runway presentations from the queen of colour Jaime Lee Major, the always beautiful Paper Skye and established label Joveeba.

Sarah Pauley wearing Jaime Lee Major and Raspberry & Pop (Photo: Thom Kerr)

Op Shoppers should definitely head along to Re Style which is a free event taking place at Fashion Central in Forrest Chase on Thursday, September 9. Partially styled by me, Re Style aims to teach fashion fans that you can get a great outfit, head to toe, at your local op shop. We’re not talking a traditional vintage look either – I’ll be assembling contemporary looks from second hand garments.

Over the course of the festival, be sure to pop down to the Cultural Centre in Northbridge for Popsicle, the William Street Collective’s annual event. From 10am ’til 5pm daily, you can head along to Popsicle to view the creations of Kiss Me Quick, Lonely 8-Bit Heroes, Little Gracie, PeppermintMILK, Heart City Design, Bad Hair Mountain, White Square, Lovers & Dreamers, Bo Ra, Leah Tarlo, Prufrock, Love Is My Velocity, Ping Pong Diplomacy, Kingbrown Magazine and Hit & Miss Magazine.

Sleeping With The Band by Love Is My Velocity

Grab yourself tickets for any PFF event here.

With every week the Perth Fashion Festival creeps closer and closer and I for one am super excited about this year’s festivities! In addition to styling two runway shows, I’ve been honoured with a nomination for the Creative Edge prize at the West Australian Fashion Awards, which take place on Wednesday, September 15.

I’ve been nominated alongside my good friends Teagan Sewell and Romain Duquesne, who are both incredibly talented, and I am stoked just to be in the same category as them!

There are 13 award categories all up, including Most Outstanding WA Collection for 2010, Designer for Tomorrow, Fine Details, Best Dressed Boutique, and for our state’s many beautiful models, there are categories such as Runway Model Of The Year, Photographic Talent Of The Year and Hot New Talent.

The categories I’m most excited about are Designer For Tomorrow – the nominees include Jaime Lee, Little Gracie and Of Cabbages And Kings – plus Photographic Model Of The Year and Hot New Talent. The nominees for Photographic Model of the Year include Tom Bull, Zoe Peet, Millicent Lambert, Tammy Stone, Fabienne Vanderhaeghen and Nicole Harrison, with Elle Gray, Melissa Melbourne, Sarah Pauley, Dempsey, Fiona Thomas and Alice Laas all nominated for the Hot New Talent award.

Winners will be determined by Style Circle – a group of men and women from WA’s fashion industry, who will be asked to lodge their votes online. Good luck to everyone in the running – I’m sure this year’s WAFAs are going to go off with a bang!

If you’re a member of the WA fashion industry and would like to join Style Circle, head on over to StyleCircle.com.au to register your interest.

Stay tuned to Dropstitch later this week for more info on what promises to be a fantastic 2010 Perth Fashion Festival.

Emma x

Today the Pigeonhole empire grew in size yet again with the launch of Pigeonhole Vintage, a lovely second hand store in the Bon Marche Arcade. Stocking frocks, skirts, cardigans, shirts and trousers, Pigeonhole Vintage is a haven for fashion from eras past.