rafw: marnie skillings
(images via fashionising)
the vine takes the scenic route to describe the girl they see in marnie skillings’ s/s 2011 collection, presented at rosemount australian fashion week in sydney. on the one hand, i appreciate parts of it, but on the other, i’m not so sure: “think of the eccentric aunt that’s always intrigued you, despite your mother’s disapproval. The one that had a successful career as a fashion stylist before packing it in to open a flower shop in Paris, the kind of woman that rubs shoulders with destitute poets, millionaire playboys, airheaded champaign bubble types and acute academics. She’s had seven fiances but has never been married, has gone out for a night in Berlin and woken up in Prague and found enlightenment in Ashrams, Kabutzim, Monasteries and nightclubs.”
frankly, i see her as a girl with a little more dirt under her fingernails, one who regularly employs the cast-off clothes of others, from a finer life, incorporating them into her days where she is quite the finefine lady and never without an invitation to tea (even if it is with her doll collection). but alas, she may have to make do rather frequently with just cereal when she’s running low on food (and cash), and has more than a little esteem for the seventies (as with all who have picked a favourite decade to revere from the bunch).
whatever the exact source of the designer’s inspiration, this was as feminine, flirty, and charming as it was eclectic and vintage, and frequently on-trend with many of the points we’ve been seeing spew forth from rafw like so much polyester at a thrift store. using a vivacious palette of aqua, burnt orange, cream, rust, pink, and purple, ms. skillings liberally tossed in the prints: leopards, florals, and plaids, as well as embellishments like ruffles, lace, and faux fur and accessories galore: bangles, cuffs, broad-brimmed hats, pendents, and ankle socks worn with kitten heels, making for what happens on the best of the forever 21 mannequins (and i mean this in the kindest possible sense).
fab sugar, as always, pulled apart some of the important runway trends for us, including jumpsuits, “tiered tea dresses”, halternecked dresses, a “lent an throw-it-all-on-together vibe”, crochet, vintage graphic prints, and “shirt dresses worn as coats over pants and dresses”, while the site breakfast with audrey also calls out the “feathered cardigans”—indeed, a particular runway standout.
meanwhile, the beauty looks were some of the most interesting this season, and though the soft, radiant skin, yellow highlights on cheekbones, and nude, shining eyes makeup director napoleon perdis created was lovely, the real scene-stealers were the hands. as sassy bella reports, “To tie-in with the well travelled, eclectic style of the show, Napoleon Perdis was also recruited to create intricate henna-style hand art on every model. Plain decals were used as a base on which makeup artists used liquid liners to create the designs and then adorned them with jewels and studs.”
(watch the finale video here)
