ANNA SAXON reports from the Karrinyup Spring/Summer Fashion Launch and explores the Brave New(ish) World of fashion blogging.
“What’s the name of your blog?” seemed to be the catchcry of Karrinyup’s Spring/Summer 2014 Fashion Launch. All of Perth’s glittering bloggerati were at the event which featured fashion previews, a catwalk of upcoming trends for the Spring/Summer season, and a styling session from successful Australian bloggers Tash Sefton and Elle Ferguson.
Elle and Tash from They All Hate Us fashion blog fame are true internet celebs – beacons of Aussie success and well-coiffed hair. Best friends and business partners, the women presented the trends for Spring-Summer to an eager blogging crowd, most of which appeared to be seasonal classics with a chic twist – pastel blazers and crop tops, floral midi skirts, and all-white ensembles with metallic accessories. But the fab duo doesn’t expect us to break bank on a new spring wardrobe. “We really advocate dressing ‘high-low’,” Elle said.
“I get a lot of satisfaction from wearing a $1000 pair of shoes with a $20 top from Target.” All of the runway looks were styled from boutiques within Karrinyup, illustrating just how easy it is to put together great head-to-toe outfit using local material. Tash and Elle were quick to assure us that Perth isn’t the fashion backwater we were afraid it was. “We love Perth fashion – you’re not that far behind,” Tash laughed. “On the Gold Coast, its all beachwear, in Melbourne it’s all black, but in Perth you always see a unique twist on trends.”
The catwalk preview put together by the pair was a serious show stopper – with models descending the shopping centers escalators, as though they were mannequins who had come to life and decided to join the party. However, the most successful part of the evening was its focus on celebrating the Fashion Blogger. Quite a few of us were starstruck when seeing local fashion icons we’d idolized for years, people from blogs we’d stalked and furiously tried to emulate since we’d figured out stripes and spots could go together.
The true rise of the fashion blogger dates back to 2003, when blogger Kathryn Finney (aka The Budget Fashionista) received an invitation to attend New York Fashion Week. Over the following years, not only have we witnessed fashion bloggers gaining access to fashion’s finest events, but they have also begun to fill the front row, sitting alongside American Vogue’s notorious editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. This surprising shift of importance proves that the fashion industry recognizes the influence and power that prominent fashion bloggers now possess. Many everyday fashion lovers are now just as, if not more famous than the models, designers and celebs they admire. So now’s the time to fire up your laptops and charge your crappy cameras, guys – who knows, you could be Perth’s next style superstar.
