fall 2008

Named one of the ten most promising newcomers by style.com, designer Joanne Cordero Reyes amazed the fashion world with her fall/winter 2008/09 collection. Her clothing label Vicente Villarin, (named after her grandfather, a talented composer of the early 1900's), is only two season old and has already made its mark.

Kirrily Johnston is another remarkable Australian label that showed at the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2008 (2-9 March). Among its notorious fans the most recent one is top international supermodel Irina Lazareanu.

Kirrily Johnston at Melbourne Fashion Week

I was looking at some of the shows from L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2008 and I came across the wonderful collection of Megan Park. Every item, garment or accessory, is created by hand with beading and embroidery made by highly skilled artisans in India. Even the prints and dyes are produced using old handcraft techniques.

2008 L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, the largest fashion event in Australia, was held this month from to 2 to 9 March. Among its highlights, the LMFF Designer Award, presented by Woolmark on March 4th, announced AWI (Australian Wool Innovation) support for emerging Australian designers. This year's nominees were Antipodium, Carl, Friedrich Gray, Gail Sorronda, Manning Cartell, Therese Rawsthorne and Thurley.

2008 LMFF Design Award nominees

Left to right: Antipodium, Carl Kapp, Friedrich Gray (menswear and womenswear). Second row: Gail Sorronda, Manning Cartell, Therese Rawsthorne and Thurley.

Limi Yamamoto proudly follows her father's footsteps into the fashion world's recognition with her second Paris show. Nevertheless, her fall2008/winter2009 collection, presented under Limi Feu label at Paris Fashion Week, reflects a new Japanese aesthetics.

The young designer, who never dreamed of getting into fashion and wished she could play bass guitar in a rock band, makes a strong statement by showing her clothes on beautiful Japanese women, with more common body types, turning away from the standard model parade.

It was quite hard to choose between so many great collections shown in Paris but here they are, my favorite five Parisian fashion shows:

Albert Kriemler, the founder of Akris label, designed a smart-casual, impeccable cut collection with a minimalist appeal. The one-color or similar-shades outfits with accentuated waist generate a long, lean and elegant look. I love everything from double-faced cashmere suits, the slick suede tunics worn over thin turtlenecks and slim pants, tulle dresses adorned with suede rectangles, envelope pockets seen on cashmere skirts and jackets but also on a long evening dress.

Akris f'08/w'09

The Central Saint Martins MA class of 2008 presented their graduate collections on 15 February at London Fashion Week. CSM alumnis, industry professionals and buyers were gathered in the audience to scoop out fresh ideas and the next big name in fashion. The MA show included mostly wearable clothes in a subdued color palette (beige, iris-blue, black and white), a serious twist from previous years.

David Steinhorst is the next big fashion hope as he was granted with the Harrods Design Award. His collection was about draping, folding and metallic accents.