Brands – especially fashion brands – are continually coming up with new and innovative ways to expose up and coming talent in the industry.

The latest to venture into this space is shoe label ALDO, launching RISE to support, promote and celebrate daring talent in the fashion community.

The selected designers collaborate intimately with ALDO to turn their visions into reality – whether it’s behind-the-scenes to help produce and promote their fashion show or designing the perfect set of heels to strut a runway look.

JW Anderson, Christian Cota, Cushnie Et Ochs, Faster by Mark Fast, Libertine and Preen are all breaking new ground in their designs and can now incorporate footwear into their lines for SS12.

ALDO states: ‘To RISE is to go beyond, to find your own path’, and this is very much like the designers than have been chosen for this seasons collaborations.

Check out the ALDO RISE Tumblr for more inspiration and shoe fabulousness.

While I didn’t rate her frock (Ralph Lauren, in case you wondered), Delta Goodrem is still a gorgeous creature.

Her jewelery did shine on the night though, and this Secrets dress ring is just the thing to offset a white hot dress.

Secrets Round Brilliant Pave Dress Ring, $1,240 (Piece shown: 10ct Pave Set Dress Ring With Round Brilliant Cut Stones, 1.5ct, Available In White, Yellow And Rose Gold.)

If you are after something a little less ‘I’m a pop star’ (budget wise), Carrie Bickmore rocked a red frock. This one is not for the faint hearted.

If you want to stand out in a crowd, red is definately a color you want to wear, and a cocktail ring really finishes things off.

Secrets rose gold ring, $160 (Ring featured:  Rose Champagne Cushion Dress Ring Accentuated With A Rose Colour Finish.)

He may have pulled out of Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week, but Dion Lee is coming to Prahran – THIS WEEK!

Asher Keddie wearing J’Aton: gorgeous lace with lemon highligh, simple sleek hair.

Jennifer Hawkins wearing Toni Maticevski: teal blue with watermelon pink, beach babe ponytail

Natalie Bassingthwaite wearing Alex Perry: black never goes out of style, plaits for the win

Lisa Wilkinson: brave to go green but stunning colour and orange accent earrings.

All images thanks to mamamia.com

The National Gallery of Victoria is one of my most favourite Melbourne places. From the fountains outside where people throw coins, to the wall of water and atrium space as you walk in – and thats before you even get to the exhibits!

In addition to the wonders at the National Gallery on St Kilda Road, the Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square is equally a treat – especially when coupled with ACMI and the fabulous films they show.

Some of Linda Jackson’s work on display at the National Gallery of Victoria

Both the National Gallery and Ian Potter centre regularly show fashion collections and the wonders of fabric and textiles, as does ACMI.

The current collection, housed at the Ian Potter centre at Federation Square, honors Linda Jackson, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the last Fashion Torque. Linda hails from the same fashion years at the top as the fabulous Jenny Bannister, both of whom are massive advocates for the Australian Fashion Industry.

Bush Couture, Sydney (fashion house) 1982-94
by Linda Jackson
Maasai Africa (1982-88) (cotton, lycra, plastic, metal, glass)

Linda has worked in the Australia Fashion Industry for over 40 years and is also a practicing artist. Her influences draw from Africa, Asia and India and she has spent large amounts of time travelling. Linda Jackson – Bush Couture, is on show at the Ian Potter Centre until September of this year, and Linda is also the subject of many floor talks for the duration of the exhibit.

Linda Jackson and Jenny Bannister, image thanks to Fashion Torque

So should you find a few hours spare on a Sunday afternoon, there is really nothing better than educating yourself on the history of Australian Fashion and the stalwarts who made our industry what it is today. With the passing of Sheila Scotter this week, also an Fashion icon, we are the ones who must remember these amazing fashionistas who paved the way for the rest of us.

National Gallery of Victoria, Linda Jackson: Bush Couture, is open until September, 2012.
Entry is free.

E  L  L  E  R  Y

POP UP SALE

APRIL 13 – 16
___________

Ellery will be in town town to hold their annual
Melbourne sample sale.

Take this opportunity to purchase one-off show samples &
covetable pieces from past collections at rarely reduced prices.

New stock added daily.

FIRST FLOOR, STORE F02
In between Lisa Ho & Manning Cartell

Do you ever get the feeling that customer service has slipped to a point where whenever you have a good experience – online or offline – you want to shout it from the rooftops because it’s such a rare occurrence?

I certainly feel this way, which is why I am shouting from the rooftops (or from my little piece of the web) about my recent experience with Aesop.

To be honest, Aesop is somewhere I have never shopped for myself. I regularly bought handcreams and soap products as gifts and always loved the look of the store, their visual merchandising and the philosophy of the brand, but could never justify the expense of the products for myself.

I’ve tried hundreds of products and brands on my own skin and regularly mix it up with what I use. I have my tried and tested staples – sorbolene cream, rosehip oil and ten-o-six face masks are a few of my faves, while gift bag samples and friends recommendations pop in and out of my bathroom cupboard on a success based rotation.

I can’t even remember who I was speaking to when the suggestion was made that I try Aesop haircare products for my somewhat dry scalp. Through daily washing, drying and styling, my eczema prone skin was feeling the stress of heat and chemicals and I needed something to give it some life again.

Just a few clicks away was the Aesop website, and, to my delight, a haircare product selector survey. Within a few minutes and a few questions, the program had recommended which shampoo, conditioner and styling products were best suited to my needs. Just as easy was the add-to-cart feature and the sign up process. The whole transaction took less than ten minutes.

Given I hadn’t bothered to look at the delivery times, it was quite the surprise when my new shampoo and conditioner arrived at my desk less than 24 hours later, packaged beautifully and complete with free samples and a gift.

My retail experience was complete and I was sold on Aesop before I had even used the products – which I will add, are AMAZING.

If you are not yet on the Aesop bandwagon, I suggest you jump on board. Even if its just to check out their website or stores – retail at its best.

‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ is supposed to be a mythical place that only exists in your head; a place where dreams come true, skies are blue and people are smiling and happy all the time.

This is a place that Dorothy imagined for herself in The Wizard of Oz, but discovered, as many of us do, that the grass is not always greener on the other side and sometimes we need to create our own rainbows instead of feeling like we need to leave to find them.

This is a reality I think I have been struggling with for the past few months. Stuck in an endless cycle of working on projects I wasn’t passionate about, I dreamt of running away to Canada, of all places, (I had my reasons though), to escape the never ending dread that I was going to be someone I hated for the rest of my life.

While my friends and family became increasingly frustrated at my lack of availability (and constant checking of my phone), I started to realise that I was the only one who could change this cycle and after reading an article that detailed the Top 5 Regrets of the elderly and terminal ill, I decided to make my move. I quit my job without a job to go to. Again.

Those who have followed my online journey for the past years will know I quit my government job in 2009 because I wasn’t feeling challenged. Two years later, I am leaving because although I am challenged, I am still not doing something I am passionate about.

My mother insists that it’s called work for a reason, but I am an advocate for work life balance and of working for something you believe in. Otherwise, what’s the point?

There are those who live to work – I am not one of them. Don’t get me wrong, when I am working on something I love, I could sit at the computer until 2am – perhaps longer – and not feel like I’ve been there an hour. I could talk about fashion, or social media, for hours and hours without taking a breath (actually if you know me, this is pretty much how I talk anyways).

I want to feel excited about working every day. Is that so much to ask?

I also firmly believe that once you are set on the right path in life, the universe will deliver. That is why, within hours of my quitting my job, I believe I was offered some part time work with a woman whom I admire and respect, and a company that has the same vision and passions as I do. Within days, another two offers landed in my inbox and while nothing is concrete yet, the opportunities are there.

Call it serendipity.

So one door in my life closes and many, many more are opened. I have no regrets about any of the work, or decisions, I have made about my career for the past few years – everything I have learnt, the people I have met and the places I have been all contribute to making me the person I am now.

It’s simply time for the next chapter to begin.

Having recently attended the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival business events, and heard about the plethora of new technologies available in the US and UK, it seemed only a matter of time before Australia caught up and we were riding the retail wave with the best of them.

One of the first to introduce some of this very cool technology is Highpoint Shopping Centre, leading the way by bringing digital fashion technology to Australia.

The latest craze in retail therapy is MiMirror, an experience that allows shoppers to compare outfits and ask friends for advice via social media – all from the change room.

A similar product from Germany, Tweet Mirror, shows how the technology works.

Just when you thought happy snaps with your iPhone on funny angles in a confined space was the best way to send a new outfit to a friend for a second opinion, MiMirror takes out all the agony of getting the shot right and allows comparisons and the ability to send to a friend.

The technology features a touch screen and inbuilt camera that doubles as a mirror, allowing a consumer to use their social networks to gain opinions and advice from friends and family. All of a sudden, you can be asking your mum and your best friend for their opinion on that little black dress – the short one with the high neck, or the backless long one?

Highpoint’s fashion stylist, Daniela Orlando, is around until Friday April 6 (5pm to 8pm) to offer further advice on the trends of the season and help consumers understand how amazing this new technology is.

‘I’m seeing more and more of my clients wanting to instantly share their shopping experiences online with friends, whether it be for a second opinion, comments on a new purchase or even just a nice compliment’ Daniela said.

Highpoint will host MiMirror until April 11, running a facebook competition simultaneously with a $1000 gift voucher prize for the shopper with the most ‘likes’ on their happy snap.

Today a most brilliant article appears in the Australian Financial Review, about the state of the Australian Fashion Industry. I’d recommend you go out and buy a copy, then study it, but if you are on a tram or train, and ‘flicking’ through on your ipad, you can read it online.

~

THE HUME REPORT
by Marion Hume

Three months in the making and more than 50 interviews later, international fashion editor Marion Hume’s survey of the state of the industry in Australia makes for sobering reading as?forces global and local are irrevocably changing the way we?shop now.

It is 5am and Joanna Lowry reaches out in the dark of her flat in Sydney’s inner west to hit ‘off’ on the alarm, ‘on’ on her iPad. She’s neither an early morning exercise junkie nor a shift worker: she’s an “eBay troll”. Money is tight for Lowry, 20, so she plans her schedule around the optimum time to place last-second international auction bids and sweep up the style bargains.

“I got a jacket from Sonya Rykiel and this amazing top from Dries van Noten,” she tells me. I ask if she buys from shops as well. “Maryam Nassir Zadeh for Rachel Comey and Isabel Marant and also Assembly New York.” It hasn’t crossed her mind that I mean real stores. It hasn’t crossed mine to specify bricks and mortar.

Lowry’s all-time favourite bargain is an Ann Demeulemeester jacket, circa 1997, a year when she was five and I was the editor of Vogue Australia. The purpose of this report is not to take a trip down memory lane but, before we dig deep into the business of fashion in Australia today, a quick glance back is in order.

Read the full piece at The Australian Financial Review.