Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i Vogue Australia

The Vogue team had originally planned this March edition, which heralds a new season of fashion, as the ‘conscious’ issue. It seemed appropriate because we all felt so much more conscious of everything and everyone around us, and it feels as though we are entering a new era of being more conscious of our consumption and our responsibilities to one another. We are appreciative of the beautiful island we live on, and yet also mindful we are unable to leave it. We are aware of how much we love and appreciate friendships and family, and the simpler things in life, but dread the idea of being isolated from or again locked down with those we love. It still feels at odds with our democratic values to be required to give…

AUSTRALIAN WILD CARDS AMONG THE PURE EXPRESSIONISTS IS A GROUP OF AUSTRALIAN DESIGNERS CREATING WORK THAT BORDERS ON ART. THEY SEE THE WORLD THEIR OWN WAY, AND THEY’RE TAKING US WITH THEM. Alix Higgins Living in Paris, designer Alix Higgins found himself feeling that familiar Australian longing for his home landscape. He channelled it into a signature ultramodern print, which represents “a never-ending sunset, a horizon to wrap oneself in”. Being inspired by the early internet (when it was “frenetic, boundless and free”), Higgins’s pieces were first crafted for friends and his designs and campaign images serve as unintentional celebrations of queerness and gender fluidity. Lines between real and digital ostensibly blur more every day, but Higgins’s garments facilitate a middle ground by bringing “the digital into the real world…

Atong Atem, Melbourne Writer and artist Atong Atem treated the image of Nina Ricci’s trailing hem for spring/summer ’21 as an object. “I’ve been interested in the possibilities of a printed image; how the photograph in itself is an object rather than just a representation of something,” she says of her decision to reorder the picture into a new form by weaving the paper back together. Known for her photographic work, Atem challenges paradigms by reframing, as she did in a portraiture series that sought to turn colonial views of African people. As with the way she’s repositioned Ricci’s look, Atem asks the viewer to look again. Medium: paper Charlotte Allingham, Naarm (Melbourne) Charlotte Allingham is a master storyteller, using her Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa heritage to enforce action through art. When…

TIMES OF STRUGGLE often inspire movements of immense creativity. Emerging from a Britain rocked by economic depression and civil unrest in the early 1980s, London embraced a new attitude that stood for rebellious self-expression, friendship and a fearless creative spirit. Buffalo was a maverick collective of designers, stylists, photographers, musicians and artists – pioneered by Ray Petri – which united in an empowering, inclusive attitude, celebrating diversity and style with a DIY flair. Today, as we reel from the fallout of the global Covid-19 pandemic – against a backdrop of rapidly accelerating climate change, social inequality and austerity politics – a slew of young, consciously minded creatives, sharing resources and championing each other, are crafting something meaningful. Designers like Maximilian Davis, London’s latest breakout star, who – spurred on by…

1. Jordan Askill certified recycled gold Many of fashion’s waste concerns are shared by the jewellery industry. Jordan Askill has responded by sourcing recycled gold from a refinement factory in Belgium. This is part of an effort to care for the planet and preserve our kinship with it. “It is important to be aware of what we as humans are doing as much as possible, as we and our Earth are all connected,” he explains. 2. Artclub by Heidi Middleton Sass & Bide co-founder Heidi Middleton’s new label, Artclub, maintains a supply chain that involves sourcing deadstock and remnant fabrics and creating small quantities locally in Sydney to avoid overstocking. Producing and distributing within 10 kilometres from its studio, Artclub aims to provide optimism after a year in flux. “Now…

CHANGEMAKER IN CHIEF  HOW TO REALLY BRING ABOUT A BRIGHTER FASHION FUTURE? ITS INDUSTRY POWER PLAYERS MUST JOIN THE CHARGE. ALISON LOEHNIS, PRESIDENT OF THE INFLUENTIAL ONLINE E-TAILER NET-A-PORTER, IS NOT ONLY ON BOARD, BUT FORGING HER OWN PATH, DEMONSTRATING HOW CREATIVITY, ENVIRONMENT AND PEOPLE CAN COME FIRST. INFLUENCE CAN’T BE underestimated – when an upstart label counts Net-A-Porter as a stockist, soon after comes global recognition. Alison Loehnis, president of luxury online retailer Net-A-Porter (as well as Mr Porter), knows just how much reach it has, so to her, it is imperative its influence is a force for change. Joining the parent company, now known as Yoox Net-A-Porter Group (YNAP), in 2007, Loehnis has launched initiatives including Net Sustain, a curated platform of sustainable design, talent-incubation pillar The Vanguard,…

AUSTRALIANMADE AN ABRUPT DISCONNECTION FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS NOT RUFFLED THESE HOMEGROWN LABELS, WHICH PUT STOCK IN LOCAL MANUFACTURING.WE CELEBRATE THE PIECES CRAFTED ON OUR OWN SOIL. TRAILBLAZERS Attaining longevity is no easy feat, but these local labels have made themselves household names. Instantly recognisable, they’re also renowned for their production, dependability and support of local craftspeople and quality – coinciding with fashion’s pivot to timelessness over transient trends. The time is now to shine a spotlight on those making on-shore and who have prevailed through shifting times and moods, emerging with a galvanised vision. NEW GUARD The past year has proven we should be prepared for interruption, and certain brands are showing the power of constant evolution. With the majority of their products made locally, these…

“I ORIGINALLY APPROACHED the V&A about the idea of a book, but it wasn’t very long before I thought: ‘Gosh, this has got to be an exhibition as well,’” says Heather Tilbury, Mary Quant’s former director and head of marketing from the late 1960s through to the 1970s. What followed was an almost five-year gestation period of bringing the exhibition to life with the curators at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. It also involved a call-out to the general public seeking photographs and garments, which received an overwhelming 1,000 responses. “It was just exhilarating and thrilling,” says Tilbury of the reaction. “It meant contacting people from a lifetime before, some of whom had been models or journalists.” The V&A team found clothes from a variety of sources, recorded anecdotes, and…

VOGUE AUSTRALIA: Jen and Maeva, when we reached out to you both to be part of this conversation, we were surprised to learn you had recently spoken on the phone. How did you meet? JENATKIN: “I probably hit you up on DMs [Instagram’s direct messages] – I slide into DMs here and there – and then we Zoomed a few months ago. I really love supporting female founders, especially in the hair space. When I first began creating Ouai, I noticed most brands were owned by older white men. My hope for us, years from now, is to be those white men that own brands and support and invest in other brands, so I see it as a huge win when there’s another female founder in this space.” MAEVA HEIM:…

FOR MANY AUSTRALIANS , myself included, 2020 will not just be the year Covid took hold, but the time we drank more than ever. It will be remembered – or rather, forgotten – for its quick-fix G&Ts to signal tools down after a day working from home, and bottles of wine that evaporated thanks to home-schooling, loneliness or anxiety about the future. For me, a glass of wine came to signal the end of my first shift of the day and beginning of the second. After lockdown ended and work returned to some degree of normalcy, I’d race from the office to pick up my toddler from day care before rushing home again to start the dinner-bath-bedtime routine. Opening that bottle and pouring a drink as I prepped his dinner…

The woman – let’s call her Client A – had done everything right. She studied international relations and economics at university in the US, interned for a senator (a Kennedy, no less), graduated cum laude and secured a job at a nonprofit nurturing future Hispanic leaders. She started her own publishing imprint, shining a spotlight on writers from her community in the Bronx. In the evenings, she worked as a bartender to support her family. She was intelligent and driven and at 27, a woman with her entire life ahead of her. But she was also lost, plagued with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘what next’, wondering why she felt so disconnected from her own trajectory. So she decided to sign up for a professional development workshop in New York…

JORDAN GOGOS Sydney-based designer Jordan Gogos drew inspiration from Dr Seuss for his work on Gemma Ward’s cover shoot, and Austin Powers for his artistic contribution to ‘The community-minded’ feature, from page 76. “Both sets were created from found or discarded materials,” he says. “I search for things which inform what I’m going to make. I like making sense of things that usually don’t make sense together.” The multidisciplinary artist enjoyed collaborating with photographer Joe Brennan and make-up artist Sean Brady “with no set confines or limitations”, and found joy in “bridging both the natural world and the out-of- this-world Gemma together through art and colour”. MEENA HARRIS For author and entrepreneur Meena Harris, the women in her life always instilled the belief in her own power to make change.…

Matty Bovan He is the original DIY, made-at-home (literally up North in England’s city of York) designer and all is made with love, ingenuity and scraps, patchworked and reconfigured. He studied fashion knitwear at Central Saint Martins and, since graduating in 2015, has challenged ideas around taste with his trash/treasure ethos. His work is organic, bold, poetic, sculptural, layered, reclaimed and totally original. And most importantly, one of a kind. Charles de Vilmorin In mid-2020, at 23, he emerged in Paris against the Covid odds, a graduate of the École de la Chambre Syndicale with a smoldering powerhouse of swirling hand-drawn prints, patchworking, dyeing, painting and embroidery, launched via Instagram. His ingenuity and refreshing sense of theatre and riot of ideas are reinvigorating in what could be a dark time.…

It has been a busy morning on Zoom for Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, the wonderfully charismatic Italian who has an easy laugh and buzzing hands, which are all the more fun to watch given her enormous lozenge-shaped crystal rings that flicker on screen. “I am testing them,” she jokes. “We have been getting so casual lately, right? But these are making me super happy.” Battaglia Engelbert, 41, has every reason to feel good. Last year, Swarovski appointed her to the post of global creative director, a role created for the first time in the company’s history, and part of a major restructuring that saw the Austrian house’s family members, Nadja Swarovski, Robert Buchbauer and Mathias Margreiter join the board. Before that, Battaglia Engelbert had been directing the house’s business-to-business division for…

Magpie Goose The graphic whorls and enigmatic lines of the artwork that finds its way onto Magpie Goose’s clothing is part of the connective tissue that gives Indigenous artists a platform to share their works and stories with a wider audience. Each collection is a partnership with art centres and artists and a pathway for wearers to discover culture, as much as it is one towards economic justice for makers. The Social Outfit Empowerment is no mere buzzword for The Social Outfit. The Sydney-based operation is a blueprint for a new kind of fashion label: not only is its clothing sustainable, but the endgame lies equally behind the scenes, training people from the new migrant and refugee community in design, production, retail and marketing, promoting autonomy and, crucially, belonging. Nobody…

Nobody Denim x George When great minds commune together, solutions to problems are unearthed with ease. Such is the case with Canberra weaver and designer Georgina Whigham, who resurrects Melbourne sustainable denim label Nobody’s offcuts from their Thornbury factory in her hand-loomed bags and hats, utilising a technique learned from Yolngu women in East Arnhem Land. Weaving throughout lockdown, Whigham allows the haphazard textures and the imperfections to guide her pieces that are a deliberate echo of disposable plastic bags, while diverting scraps from a wasteful end. Christopher Esber x Catherine Conlan Following a creative relationship that began while she was interning in Christopher Esber’s studio, digital artist Catherine Conlan was recently enlisted by Esber to produce prints as a paean to the Australian landscape. Broad brushstrokes in invigorating shades…

The clothes we wear act as a revealing window to our own identities. Considering Australia is a melting pot of culture, history and reflection, our talented local designers have countless personal stories to tell. The work of First Nations fashion designers evoke the brilliance of this expansive country – from Lyn-Al Young’s visceral homages to her ancestors, to Ngarru Miimi’s depictions of landscapes. Meanwhile, others challenge traditional definitions of fashion through their individual experiences – for example, Song for the Mute’s global storytelling from their Sydney base, and Youkhana’s playful subversion of gender in their flounces and feathers made for all.…

Actually Existing Fashioning something out of nothing: this is the driving force behind Melbourne sisters Anna and Olivia Nicholas and their accessories and footwear label Actually Existing. They employ age-old techniques to hand-make their shoes, which to date have included creations for breakout Sydney-based designer Jordan Dalah where soles have been stitched using hand-coated hemp thread coated in beeswax. Specialty Pleaters We may think of locations far-flung for niche lines of design, but the 1925-founded Specialty Pleaters fashion the most precise and near-architecturally constructed pleats in their Melbourne workshop. The operation is one of only a small handful of studios still pleating by hand in the Southern Hemisphere. Maggie Marilyn Long has New Zealand designer Maggie Hewitt of Maggie Marilyn rejected throwaway thinking to nurture an understanding of quality so…

Artistic expression knows no bounds as creativity and beauty unite to dramatic effect. From cobalt and lime to fuchsia and lilac, kaleidoscopic colours in every texture burst with renewed energy. While nothing can dull the visual impact of these freewheeling hues, in exaggerated close-up they make the most creative of statements. PAINTBOX Powder on lids is foolproof, but for maximum impact, marry painterly and chalky textures on lids and lashes alike. GREEN MACHINE Forget the muted tones in your eyeshadow palette and reach for something impactful. The rule of thumb? Blend, blend, blend. COLOUR CRUSH Paint outside the lines, or go one better and get crafty with your favourite contrasting shades. BLANK CANVAS Create the illusion of negative space by muting your natural lip tone and mixing your own palette…

MEDITATION DOESN’T MAKE the uncertainty of life go away. But meditating can change the way you react in uncertain situations. A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that meditation might have a lasting effect on the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotion. When presented with images meant to evoke various responses, fMRI scans revealed that subjects who had been practising mindful-attention meditation – which involves focusing on your breath – were better able to control their emotions, even when they weren’t in a meditative state. During times like these, that’s particularly useful. “The need to find an internal compass with which to navigate our rapidly changing world has never been greater,” says Kelly Morris, a meditation teacher based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and founder…

Getting your skincare foundations sorted – from the right cleansers and moisturisers to serums and treatments – can refresh and reinvigorate more than just what’s skin deep. In this more considered age, we demand more from the products that take up precious space in our bathroom cabinets and make-up bags. Natural ingredients and an awareness of environmental impact now drive the vision of many brands. This is the next frontier of self-care and a more holistic way to look after ourselves. Understanding this, David Jones has created The Beauty Cut, a premium online beauty destination that empowers customers with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about the products they choose for their skin and hair, how to use them and why. Discover the world of new trends and…

It’s midday and nudging 35 degrees at The Australian Botanic Garden in Sydney’s south west, where the 10 principal cast members of the Australian production of Hamilton are assembled for their Vogue photoshoot. There they are, gathered on the hilltop, the sun high in the sky above them: Matu Ngaropo, Brent Hill, Marty Alix, Shaka Cook, Elandrah Eramiha, Victory Ndukwe, Lyndon Watts, Akina Edmonds, Chloé Zuel and Jason Arrow, the man stepping into creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda’s shoes as Alexander Hamilton – young, scrappy and hungry, an American immigrant who rises through the ranks of the founding fathers to become an architect of the country’s fledgling government. It sounds like improbable source material for an 11 Tony Award-winning (and Pulitzer Prize-winning, and Grammy Award-winning) musical, but that’s the genius…

PISCES 19 FEBRUARY–20 MARCH This month offers you an opportunity for reinvention. Which version of yourself will you become between now and September? Ideally one who’s not afraid to stand out rather than blend in, and who won’t say yes when they mean no. There’s an aura about you now that attracts fine things and good people. STYLE ICON: Rihanna ARIES 21 MARCH–20 APRIL Your mind might be on holiday this month but your mouth seems to be working overtime. Instead of talking at or about people now, try listening to them instead, as emotions are high in a close relationship so you’ll get further if you empathise rather than criticise. Picture your ‘best life’ scenario too, and start to manifest it. STYLE ICON: Anya Taylor-Joy TAURUS 21 APRIL–21 MAY…

AS LONG AS I can remember, I’ve considered myself to be two things: an optimist and a problem-solver. Neither happened by accident. Growing up in a social justice family, I learned these qualities (and so many others) from the extraordinary women in my life: a hardworking single mother. An aunt who lives out the importance and impact of public service every day. A grandmother who taught me to always try and make a difference – always , big or small – in everything I do. Especially since I became a mum myself in 2016, I’ve marvelled at how each of these women managed to live three distinct lives at once, juggling the demands of parenthood, professional success and public-minded activism. All parents – but mothers in particular – face enormous…

A POET, AN army of knitters, a heroine in white and a man and his dream factory. It is not a surreal fairytale, but rather a round-up of the most influential forces in fashion in the past 12 months and they extend far beyond solemn sfilate and défilés in the style capitals. Step up: Amanda Gorman, the poet laureate in Prada at the US presidential inauguration whose blazing sunshine-yellow coat emanated hope; Harry Styles’s JW Anderson patchwork cardigan which inspired TikTok users to knit their own (#HarryStylesCardigan has 55 million views and rising); Kamala Harris’s white Carolina Herrera suit, which spiked searches for the style by 129 per cent on fashion search platform Lyst in the 24 hours after her November victory speech; and Alber Elbaz’s AZ Factory – a…

COPENHAGEN: “For me, my one-to-watch designer would be the Copenhagen-based knitwear and textile designer, Louise Lyngh Bjerregaard. From her contemporising of craftsmanship to her redefining of the potential of textiles, she has carved out a strong following both in Copenhagen and abroad. It was my honour to announce her as our newly introduced Talent Slot on the Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule. She will debut with us on the schedule in the [northern] summer. I can’t wait to watch her trajectory and her continued dedication to sustainable values.” Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO, Copenhagen Fashion Week NEW ZEALAND: “Natalie Procter of Mina is certainly one to watch in the New Zealand fashion industry. Not only does she produce trans-seasonal, timeless, high-quality pieces – she does so ethically, right here in New Zealand. Over…

A certain scrappiness has characterised life Down Under. With sometimes less scope of resources at our fingertips than our counterparts across oceans, we know how to make do, and make good, with what we have. It is little surprise then that some designers are getting scrappier – that is, utilising deadstock (fabric over-ordered or unwanted by a maker prior) or repurposing existing garments. Different to labels dabbling in sustainable one-off projects, these small-scale operators are choosing to make the entirety of their pieces in minuscule runs. Starting out knowing the scalability of such endeavours is near non-existent and flies in the face of business school advice, but is exactly the point for these upstarts. According to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency, in the US alone, more than nine…

Dakota Moore-Lizotte In the wake of 2020’s racial reckoning, Dakota Moore-Lizotte believes many people have learnt accountability, something she calls a “beacon of hope” in an otherwise trying year. Explaining how grateful she is to have a platform and the power to spark important conversations, the model says part of her inherent activism is as simple as just being herself. “In many cases, simply existing as a person of colour in fashion is a catalyst for change, for others to see themselves, and for magazines and clients to understand that the bare minimum is not enough.” Penny Capp Penny Capp’s hopes for an ethical fashion industry include a turn away from impulse buying trend-driven and low-cost garments, many of which are destined to end up in landfill (in Australia alone,…

JUST LIKE THE booming digital art market, which saw online auction sales up five-fold across Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips in 2020, the pandemic has sparked a similarly viral revolution for high jewellery. Last April, a 1930s Art Deco Cartier Tutti Frutti bracelet sold for $1.76 million through Sotheby’s, doubling its listing estimate and making headlines during the onset of the pandemic as the highest price for any jewel sold online. Retail stores and auction houses may be intermittently shuttered across the globe, but that hasn’t sidelined shoppers or collectors. “The unprecedented times have been a catalyst for change, mobilising all our imagination, creativity and digital capabilities to provide new, innovative ways to meet the growing global demand,” explains Gary Schuler, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s jewellery division. At the close of…

SINGULAR VISION There are no prizes for guessing why many make-up artists expressed their creativity across eyelids. At Dior, heavy kohl ran rings around lashes while at Valentino there was every adaptation of a winged-shaped lid. But it wasn’t all about intensity. For the Salvatore Ferragamo runway, make-up artist Fara Homidi went for a precise sweep of rouge liner across the top lashline and at Blumarine, a dusting of violet powder across models’ lids and cheeks served as a muted-colour masterclass. SCREEN TIME Our technological reliance over the past year served as inspiration for top make-up artists such as Pat McGrath. “It was super interesting. Pat did little or no make-up at all, very raw, but she put plastic wrap on cheekbones and brows to make the girls look a…

1. MAKING FACES BY KEVYN AUCOIN (1997) “My first encounter with make-up came from picking up this book when I was seven years old, and I still love to read it. It’s full of incredible make-up tips and transformations, and the most iconic talent – from Madonna to Cher to Kate Moss – grace the pages, looking like you’ve never seen them look before.” 2. IN THE GUTTER BY VAL HENNESSY (1978) “There is something really beautiful about the way this book pairs the very best of punk press photographs and the most interesting pictures of primitive peoples wearing their ritual adornments. It’s been a hugely inspirational book and although the anthropological comparison is somewhat odd, it works.” 3. L’ESPRIT…

GEMMA WARD EXPERIENCED A RARE FLASH OF DEJA VU during her recent shoot with Vogue – a jolt of energy and excitement that hasn’t happened on set for quite a few years, let alone on Australian soil. The team of creatives, spearheaded by stylist Jillian Davison, gelled so exceptionally in its vision that it instantly transported the 33-year-old back to the mid-2000s, when she was at the height of her modelling career and hailed as the face of her generation. “It reminded me a lot of the shoots I did back in the day overseas, when photographers really got to unleash their creativity,” she says, recalling past work with Steven Meisel, Craig McDean and Mario Sorrenti, as well as stylists Lucinda Chambers and Edward Enninful. “There’s something really special about…

The ravages of Covid-19, border closures, natural disasters and a political awakening has led to a rise in the collective consciousness. People, voices and stories, which for so long were silenced, unacknowledged and banished to the fringes of media and public policy, are finally being seen and heard. My family’s story and ties to Australia begins 142 years ago in 1879. I am a fifth-generation Indian immigrant, born in Australia, passionate about pushing this new awakening forward. My mother set me on this path. I saw her being discriminated against, implicitly and explicitly, for most of my early life and it was while working on an education project a few years ago under the Department of Foreign Affairs that I decided to take action. I saw firsthand the damage inflicted…

One of the saddest sights in our modern existence can be observed each time you venture out to a bus or train station. Standing on the platform, waiting for the train to come, hundreds of pairs of eyes glued to hand-held minicomputers; the glow of screens feeding our insatiable appetite for ceaseless content. The illuminated screen lures us away from the physical world, implanting us into one that is seductively stimulating and seemingly real. Last year, as many of us plunged into an almost entirely online existence during the pandemic, I found myself retreating into a space of quiet solitude and abandonment. Solitude and abandonment are not words one usually associates with joyfulness, but that’s exactly what I found when I ventured outside into my backyard. During the craziness of…