The new White Shirt Dress. Which will you wear?
Top to bottom: Leonard Street, Above Label and Bul (Images thanks to Meagan Harding Photography)
… and then there was this one on the Emerging Designers Runway – Brooke Ross from Melbourne School of Fashion (with thanks to the @_MSFW_ instagram account)
Happy second day of spring. I had hoped that the rain might have stopped, but in true Melbourne fashion it’s showing no signs of letting up and the show must go on.
It’s Melbourne Spring Fashion Week and the city is abuzz with all the flowers, fashion and frivolity that comes with the season of new beginnings and sunshine. We haven’t seen the sunshine yet, but QV is celebrating a new beginning – that of QV Hideaway.
Launched last week with a spectacular lunch (more on that later!) QV Hideaway is an urban oasis in a busy city. A place where you can escape the rain, bask in the sunshine away from the noise of the world or enjoy a range of free events in a fabulous setting. Located in QV Square, QV Hideaway is open until September 21.
Officially part of the MSFW schedule, curated fashion events, hair workshops, mini makeovers and exclusive sneak peaks are all on the agenda, together with cocktail masterclasses and string garden tutorials for the more crafty among us.
The gorgeous hub, aptly decked out as a woodland forest, features trees created from sustainable wood, colourful flowers (provided by Flower Temple who are ah-mazing) and a grand centrepiece – a real, live tree! (Seriously!) Together with ‘the birds nest’ (a private nook you can really hideaway in) and a birch covered cafe serving coffee and sweet treats, the QV Hideaway is the perfect spot to escape to in your lunchbreak, or make part of your MSFW calendar.
A final note on that launch lunch last week? The sun shone (it was divine!) and we ate particularly yummy woodland inspired food by Brooks. A mini fashion show set the tone for the coming season (including a Jason Grech dress with real flowers sewn onto it!) and we experienced a true taste of spring before that awful Melbourne weather kicked back in.
Or, download the PDF here: QV-Hideaway-Activity_Schedule-5
You know how you can buy the little trees that hang from your rearview mirror in the scent of ‘new car’ smell’? That’s about as close to a new car as I’d ever been until I was picked up last week in the new Renault Clio and whisked off to a seriously stylish soiree at The Blackman Hotel in Melbourne.
My poor bruised RAV4 sat in the street while doors were opened for me and I zoomed off in the oyster grey Clio for a night of fashion and fun with fellow Melbourne bloggers.
Driver Gil (who, poor soul, didn’t know what a blogger was!) whisked us off and explained to me some of the very cool features of the car while we waited at the lights. Had I noticed the back door handles were missing? (Note, not actually missing, cleverly disguised so it looks like a two door!) Or perhaps I’d like to test the stereo, which can be customized to sound like a V6, a motorbike, an old style car OR EVEN A SPACESHIP!!
Arriving at The Blackman, and heading straight for the Penthouse, we sipped Jack Rabbit sparking (I was VERY grateful for a driver!) and munched on adorable canapés, overlooking Albert Park Lake and the coast.
MC Em Rusciano regaled us with how in love with the Clio she was before launching the Renault Clio Pose Off – a competition where an ugly selfie could win you a car!
How you ask? Simply take a pic of yourself looking less than perfect, upload it to the Renault Clio Pose Off Facebook page and take seriously stylish to a whole new level. Viola!
Love this shot from Lady Melbourne of the Melbourne Bloggers who were in attendance. L-R: Lauren Brain, Phoebe Montague, Sarah Willcocks, Me!, Erica Moloney, Cheryl Lin and Emily Collie.
And if you are too vain to pose and just want to buy one of these babies, they come in at under $20k, have a stack of features you can design yourself, don’t do badly in the safety or environmental stakes and look AWESOME.
