Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2020 i Vogue Australia

Julia Baird is one of the most eloquent voices of her generation and we were privileged to have her in this month’s issue. Having overcome her own serious health challenges, she wants us to think about awe – what it means, why we need it and how we can find it. Her new book, Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark, which features on page 120, could not be more poignant or timely. As this issue came together, common themes of overcoming adversity and resilience emerged, which I suppose is hardly surprising given the challenges we are facing. I hope reading this month’s edition will offer you some escapism and remind you how wondrous, clever and creative humans are, starting with our cover…

DRESS CIRCLE The shape is familiar, but the overt 80s glamour the brassy buttons on Versace’s mini-dress exude smarten up what could be a day dress for sundowners and beyond. GOOD JEANS In the safe hands of Virginie Viard, the house of Chanel is continuing to produce the kind of polished elegance that forms the backbone of its DNA. This denim-on-denim look is no exception, with Viard accentuating youthful shapes and feminine frills to give the workaday fabric a haute rework. BLUE COLL AR A simple styling switch-up to try now? Sub in a denim shirt like Calvin Klein’s for the usual business button-down and a working wardrobe is instantly revitalised. MAKE A SPLASH Man-style wide-leg jeans can lean a little clunky if not done right. Select a tie-dyed wash…

AFTER A CERTAIN time, show-goers and followers come to lean on a designer for certain things: a spruced-up version of the rebel’s essential – a leather jacket, the urban wanderer’s wispy prairie dress, chunky shearling. These were the preserve of Coach’s creative director Stuart Vevers. That was until the music flicked on at the label’s show on a warm and breezy Manhattan day – breezier thanks to the raised location on the High Line – and all was blown away. In its place, unmistakably 80s ruched midi-dresses, muscle tanks and T-shirts printed with the faces of Rob Lowe, Barbra Streisand and Michael J. Fox (a collaboration with the estate of late pop artist Richard Bernstein), bomber jackets and sneakers in Marty McFly primaries. “I’m really glad people sensed that there…

WHEN STACEY NISHIMOTO skipped class in school, she didn’t know it would set course for her career. “I would hide in the library and read about fashion history,” she says, remembering the worlds of women like the 1930s flappers, who would use the soot of a freshly extinguished match to create their doleful pencil-thin eyebrows. “I went home and locked myself in the bathroom and started lighting matches,” she recounts after one visit. “My dad walked by and smelled something burning and he was banging at the door yelling. I was so scared – as if I was caught smoking.” For Nishimoto, the thrill of breathing life into the past led to her future. Now the LA-based owner of the tightly curated vintage offering The Corner Store is working on…

WHEN DESCRIBING KATE Mulvany it is impossible not to reach for a handful of adjectives, so varied is her career. Hollywood film and stage actor, playwright, adaptor and screenwriter are just a few ways you could describe the Western Australian native, professionally at least. I have had the good fortune of knowing Mulvany for 14 years and can safely say ‘melodramatic’ is not a trait I would associate with her. So when she casually drops into the conversation that she’d recently had her throat cut open, you know they’re not the words of an attention-seeker, although when you consider the off-screen suffering this dignified woman has endured in life you wouldn’t begrudge her if they were. Rather, Mulvany is relating how she landed her lead role opposite Oscar-winner Al Pacino…

A SLEEK, BLACK cube the size of a household coffee machine sits atop a bench at L’Oréal’s Sydney headquarters, whirring into action. The device, developed by L’Oréal-owned SkinCeuticals, is busy processing my skin concerns via a patented diagnostic system following an in-depth consultation. In less than five minutes it shoots out a unique SkinCeuticals serum concocted with a singular objective: to target my complexion. The small apothecary bottle is loaded with retinol (for lines and persistent breakouts) and potent antioxidants (for post-inflammatory pigmentation), which the gadget cleverly dispenses in real time, courtesy of its in-built mechanics that are capable of analysing a remarkable 250 skin trait combinations, 49 formula concentrations and varying doses of 15 key ingredients. SkinCeuticals’s Custom D.O.S.E, which will be available at selected dermatologists from April, is…

Over the past 12 months, a post-modern revolution has been afoot. Driven by YouTube, Instagram and, most of all, video social media apps TikTok and Dubsmash, there has been an unstoppable wave of young people putting their own spin on mixtape/playlist culture as we know it. Using video, these creators are pushing old songs back in the charts and giving fresh meaning to new ones. The example we’re specifically talking about today is a highly addictive dance routine created by 19-year-old Filipino-Australian TikToker Hannah Balanay, to the tune of Dua Lipa’s latest anthem of independence Don’t Start Now . The #DuaLipaChallenge, as it’s sometimes known, is one of the biggest viral dances on the platform. The song itself features in at least four million TikTok videos – and it’s less…

Have you heard the legend of the origin of pleated skirts? It goes like this: a woman, wanting to find a unique skirt, searched the landscape for inspiration. A flower with many folds gave rise to a beautifully crafted, pleated creation that was worn by women far and wide. This isn’t the stuff of fashion fairytale but an important story in the 5,000-year-old history of Miao dress, the technicoloured clothing worn by the Chinese ethnic minority, which includes lavishly embroidered cloth, regal silver headpieces and carefully pleated skirts, and how it wound up as the unlikely inspiration for Marni’s newest collaboration. The Italian house’s creative director Francesco Risso, who has just released the collection, citing disillusionment with fast consumption in fashion and lack of purpose, isn’t the only one turning…

Last September, 17-year-old Daisy Jeffrey found her face beamed across the country. As part of the group of students who organised the Australian school climate strikes, she galvanised more than 300,000 people to demand climate action and became the local face of the movement in the process. In her new book On Hope, the year 12 student writes about juggling her activism with assignments, being invited to attend the UN Climate Conference last December and why it’s important to raise your voice, especially on the topic of climate change. It’s 8.30am in August 2019 and I’m struggling to process the maths being written out on the smartboard. Just four and a half hours earlier I was discussing strategy on a call with strikers from around the globe. The reality of…

JULIA BAIRD “I would love it if people would think about awe; what it means, why we need it and how they can find it, not just when on adventures, or out exploring the world, but in their everyday lives,” says acclaimed writer and journalist Julia Baird. In ‘Deep blue wonders’, on page 120, she explores the concept of awe, and its impact on our wellbeing, by sharing her own experience of discovering it via her daily ritual of swimming in the ocean. “Water meditates you, nature calms you, and understanding you are a small cog in an enormous universe is a very healthy way to be,” she says. For those seeking such a sensation, she advises: “Spend time in the ocean, in the bush, in the wild, as much…

1. “The most beautiful trip I have taken is to [Italy’s] Lake Como in April. The wisteria, camellias and rhododendrons are in full bloom. There is something so enchanting about the lake and the mountains dripping with colourful flowers. It is a sensory overload. One of my favourite holidays last year was [Spain’s] Menorca in September. The weather was perfect, the beaches were empty and there was so much untouched nature.” 2. “I dream about Ricardo Bofill’s La Fábrica regularly. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be there.” 3. “My favourite pieces in my wardrobe are my Alaïa shirt-dress and my Sophie Buhai everyday hoops. For something special I love the splendour of Simone Rocha or the elegance of The Row.” 4. “Right now I’m reading…

WHERE WOULD WE land if we returned from the future to look back to now? Certainly, it could be Seoul. Back in the 2010s, before Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and K-pop band BTS broke Billboard records, a contingent of new labels established South Korea as fashion’s next frontier. But only now is the world taking note. “It has been building up for a while,” says Eunhye Shin, who founded Le17Septembre in 2013 after gaining a following through blogging. Australian e-store My Chameleon added the label, identifiable by its collarless jackets and classic shirting, to its mix in 2019. “Society is becoming more multicultural, people are nurturing different ideas. Fashion is leading the mingling of the international community.” Hers is just one of the labels…

LIVING IN AUSTRALIA affords us a relaxed lifestyle, so the rigours of racing dress codes can leave some at a loss. How to reconcile our climate (often dry, sometimes humid and in some places always unpredictable) with the requisites of being trackside? Which rules must be followed with zeal and which are loose suggestions? Vogue enlisted Hiromi Yu, CEO and managing director at Melbourne boutique Marais, who knows her felts from her sisals, for her guide to interpreting autumn racing dress codes. HATS ON Autumn racing has a slightly more traditional feel – put it down to the weather that feels closer to Ascot climes than our steamier months. Yu says seize the occasion to be dressier, millinery inclusive – think hats and oversized headbands that make a statement but…

“I have never learned code, and don’t intend to … I am far better placed to play to my strengths” EVER BEEN IN a meeting surrounded by experts mapping concepts, only to feel too unqualified to have a perspective? Imposter syndrome is a common theme among those who have limited technical knowledge but work in industries that are increasingly disrupted by technology. It’s something I struggled with too when I began working in technology for a consulting firm. I’d find myself sitting in meeting rooms with people talking about code and cloud and wonder whether someone missed a key question in the interview process when they hired a ‘non-technical’ like me. It took me a while to overcome this self-doubt and recognise the importance of my perspective in these conversations…

1. “I don’t get facials often, but when I’m travelling a lot I see Joanna Czech in Texas, who I simply adore. Joanna has the best style, gives the best advice, is so kind and I always leave our little rendezvous super-happy, inspired and, of course, glowing.” 2. “I spent most of my 20s in America between LA and New York, so most of my closest friends live there. I’m lucky enough to have a solid group of smart, strong, hard-working women and men around me. We regularly check on each other, lift and cheer for each other.” 3. “The first thing I do when I get home from work is light candles. My absolute favourite right now is Jardin d’Orangers from Maison Christian Dior. I’m very sensitive and receptive…

CLASSIC FANTASTIC To read between the lines of Hedi Slimane’s collections for Celine is to recognise his unwavering confidence in the classics. No frills, no adaptations, this trench coat is ahistorical yet relevant. BEIGE BRIGADE All good things come in beige. Here, an A-line cape softens an otherwise serious silhouette for days when the weather is dreary but you don’t want your style to suffer. SKIRT ROAD Designers drew inspiration from the classic mac, but dressed it up for an office occasion. Here, an Annakiki skirt retains the usual trimmings – pockets, buttons and a belt – but is adapted in a silhouette that need not be shed indoors. STAY IN NEUTRAL Blessed are the fruits of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s imagination. Here, her ideas take root in their most distilled…

Rows of white sheets drip-drying on washing lines in the sun, gravel below sprinkled with water marks and a soapy scent wafting through the air – this may seem like an incongruous setting for a Chanel haute couture show. And yet it was the scene that greeted guests as they filed into the Grand Palais in Paris for the house’s haute couture spring/summer ’20 show. In the centre of the space was a romantically overgrown garden, a replica of the cloister grounds at Aubazine, the ancient Cistercian abbey in south-western France where Gabrielle Chanel and her sisters were sent by their father after their mother’s death in 1895. The purity and rigour of Aubazine became ever-present in Chanel’s aesthetic – even shaping her interlocking C logo, which is said to…

TAURUS 21 APRIL–21 MAY Your recent heavy schedule may have stretched you to your limits, so revamping your health routine is a priority now, and you’ll get better results by pampering rather than punishing your body. Career pressure eases up too, but money’s on your mind, so get clever with cash and don’t be shy about sharing costs. STYLE ICON: Behati Prinsloo GEMINI 22 MAY–21 JUNE Don’t be surprised if good things and good people seem to be more plentiful in your life this month. A realisation that you can’t have everything but you can have the best, rather than settle for less, may make you get off the fence with a romance and either commit or let it go. Start making smart judgement calls now. STYLE ICON: Angelina Jolie…

I DIDN’T CALL myself a feminist until I was 20 years old. Feminism was deliberately and aggressively stigmatised as angry and shrill and unattractive, and when you’re an insecure teenager you don’t want to be perceived as alienating and unattractive, even if it’s for the sake of demanding equality. There were people who were fiercely identifying as feminists in the 90s, but I didn’t have that kind of confidence. In my freshman year of college, I took a class about politics and social justice and the professor asked the class: “Raise your hand if you’re a feminist” and I remember only one woman raised her hand. Then, he went around the room and asked all the other women in the class whether or not we thought we deserved equal rights…

UP TWO FLIGHTS of metal stairs in New York’s Chinatown, away from the fug of a drizzly, oppressively humid day, a small air-conditioner rattles away to cool the Bode studio. A team of around six – people are coming and going, having impromptu meetings, and some are obscured by fabric, so taking a head count is difficult – is seated around a white table. Emily Adams Bode pops her head out from behind a rack of clothes to request a moment to finish a discussion about clothing tags. It is a small detail, but at Bode (pronounced BOH-dee) it is important. Swing tags on the clothing, along with blurbs printed on the website, provide a story, telling the wearer about the history of the piece’s fabric, like an artwork exhibition…

WHEN CHER HOROWITZ confronted her high school nemesis for wearing the same outfit as her own in Clueless , she famously charged: “Do you prefer fashion victim or ensembly challenged?” Though delivered in the movie as a joke, the question she posed could apply to the one in five Australians who live with a disability that can affect how they get dressed. If clothing is designed to support us, in what ways does it fail us? And how can designers fill holes in the adaptive market so that fashion – with its promise to empower and uplift – can be a tool for positive change? “The available products had a medical focus rather than a fashion focus” In 2020 designers are still wrestling with these questions. As the fashion industry…

DIAMONDS, THE STONES that seem never to relinquish their mesmeric grip on us, have been given a minimalist rework in Tiffany & Co.’s newest collection. With streamlined bangles, rings and a trophy piece – a kinetic, sinuous choker made to meld to the neck via articulated links – the precious stone takes its surprisingly well-suited place in our everyday wardrobes. The streamlined look is evidence of chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff’s belief that diamonds shouldn’t be saved for special occasions (though Tiffany has a bread-and-butter trade in this, too). “At Tiffany, we are looking to redefine modern luxury, which to me means living with beautiful things daily and making exquisite things part of your life and personal style,” he says. “The pieces can be worn every day as a celebration…

1. EILEEN GRAY (MÉMOIRES) (ASSOULINE, 2013, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1998) BY FRANÇOIS BAUDOT “Photographs of incredible designs by the great Eileen Gray. It’s hard to believe this furniture was designed in the 1910s and 1920s; they appear modern and timeless but are also definitive of the times with strong Art Deco references.” 2. THE ART DECO STYLE: IN HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS, ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, GRAPHICS, JEWELRY (DOVER PUBLICATIONS, 1972) BY THEODORE MENTEN “[This book] is like a bible of inspiration. The cover boasts ‘468 authentic examples’ of Art Deco objects, architecture, sculptures, graphics and jewellery, and it is exactly that – a collection of photographs that encompass the important design details and spirit of the Art Deco movement in the 1920s and 1930s.” 3. VOGUE ITALIA, MARCH 1969 “Old issues of Vogue…

GOING GREEN A neutral canvas – matt lips, undone brows – provides the perfect setting for the marrying of high shine and intense colour payoff. DEEP DIVE Just two products – a fine brush and blue shadow – are all you need to create an eye-popping work of art. KEEP BLENDING The fast track to high-impact make-up? Fairy-floss eyeshadow and an ample dose of blending. FINGER PAINT Forgo the brushes in your kit for fingertip smudges of colour that clash in the finest way possible. WALK THE LINE Soften shape-shifting graphic liner with a colourful wash of your favourite hue.…

THE FIRST TIME I saw a cuttlefish swimming in the wild I was astounded by how prehistoric and alien it looked. Cuttlefish are astonishing creatures with heads like elephants, eight arms that they occasionally splay then join together like a trunk, and small bodies ringed with thin, rippling fins that look like a silk shawl. They glide across the ocean floor, changing their colour to match the surface underneath them, – from gold above sand to brown and red over seaweed – and even their texture – from smooth to thorny – blending in with the background so effectively that they are often only noticeable when they move their silken frills. Cuttlefish are not just otherworldly in appearance, consider these facts: their pupils are shaped like the letter W, and…

The Australian Ballet Foundation and Ballet Ambassadors Board hosted a Ballet Family Lunch in Melbourne‘s Greenfields Albert Park on February 18. In celebration of the company’s patrons, supporters and ballet ambassadors, guests were treated to a beautiful lunch and enjoyed local wine from nearby vineyard Yabby Lake. Principal artists Amber Scott and Adam Bull joined Kenneth Watkins, the Australian Ballet’s director of philanthropy; Libby Christie, executive director; and artistic director David McAllister as former principal artist Olivia Bell interviewed designer Kit Willow. Willow spoke about her costume collaboration with the company and the upcycled materials she used to make costumes that were both stunning and sustainable.…