Well. Here I am in Melbourne. March 2016. VAMFF. Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival. It’s been a hell of a week for a few different reasons. Travelling interstate for a week of fashion frenzy is, for any seasoned fashionista, and I guess I could call myself that, a hard slog. The “four seasons in one day” Melbourne weather took us from an unprecedented heat wave at the beginning of the week to full on rain a few days later. A pleasant but unexpected development. But! I have to say … well done Melbourne! What a great week. I moved gallantly through the week, albeit with moments of exhaustion, with equal doses of sheer determination and pure adrenalin. I have attended eight events, with some more to come, the last of which was Discovery Runway. I love the established designers, and I truly feel that nobody could love designer clothing and our amazing home grown designers more than I do. (I mean, really, who writes about this subject more than I do!) However, anyone that knows me well will know that the support and nurturing of emerging designers and their creative teams is where my true passion lies.
Anyway, back to VAMFF. Tonights Discovery Runway was a selection of eight Melbourne emerging designers who were invited to showcase their collections in the foyer of the Melbourne Museum, the new home of VAMFF. Four of tonight’s emerging designers have recently been showcased by Label Ministry as a vehicle of support and an offering of virtual love!
ASSK, Article. by Courtney Holm, Amxander & Lois Hazel stood out for me tonight, of course, as I have been pouring over their interviews and collections for weeks now. Not only that, I have developed a rapport with these designers and have read with interest and affection their perspective on the world we live in, and their representation of it through the creation of their fashion labels. It is always an honour for me to interview these designers, as for the most part, they are grateful, respectful, and genuinely humble in their quest for support. They speak with honesty and transparency about the struggles of being an emerging fashion designer, where larger egos, and unsympathetic ears are often the mainstay of their business interactions. They share their hopes and dreams, the stories of their educational journeys, and how they aspire to design in the same vein and success as their industry icons.
I hope my voice, both in the literal sense of the word and in the form of my editorials brings them the kind of support which is so desperately needed for their guaranteed success. It is extremely heartening to me to hear of their gratitude, and be on the receiving end of their heartfelt thanks.
The love of their trade, their genuine concern for the future of our planet, and their continued efforts to shape a world in which we can all co-exist touches something deep inside me. Draping ourselves in beautiful fabrics, and accessorising ourselves in ethical and sustainable product because of the efforts these young people is something I feel immensely proud to be part of.
I hope that my work becomes their very own public relations voice.
One that is loud. One that is heard. One that makes the difference.
To everyone who participated in the Discovery Runway tonight.
ASSK is an anagram of the designers initials. Sarah Schofield and Agatha Kowalewski. The girls have been living in Paris working in the fashion industry for a few years. Sarah was working at Louis Vuitton, and Agatha was working as a stylist when they started ASSK in 2013. Their business and studio are based there and they have press offices in Paris and in NY.
Both girls are originally from Australia, and Melbourne especially has remained really important to ASSK.
They sell through Distal Phalanx in Melbourne, and have a really strong base there.
Their label has been heavily influenced by technology and internet culture.
The internet has always played a big part in the ASSK brand. Agatha and Sarah first connected on the internet and worked with Melbourne artist Oliver van der Lugt over the internet for two years before they met.
Their first four collections were sold via the internet over look books to people they didn’t know. In places they had never visited.
This interconnectivity through technology has been very important to them.
Model | Sarah Baxter | Photographer | Kim Mennen | HMUA | Emma Gillett
Lois Hazel graduated from RMIT’s Bachelor of Design in Fashion with first class honours in 2012. She then left Australia to work for the New York design house, Marchesa, and Iris van Herpen in Amsterdam. Lois returned to Australia, and her home town Melbourne in 2014. She launched her first capsule accessories range, and then her debut collection “Frayed” in 2015. She is passionate about ethical and sustainable practices, and hopes to bring positive change to the fashion industry by donating five percent of her profits to One Girl Australia.
She loves the fashion industry, but unfortunately feels that it does have its ‘fake’ moments. She says “only a small percentage of those involved really get the credit they deserve. I really want to make sure that in my practice people get the credit they deserve. I want to show my consumers not only where everything is made, but also that they can see it is a team effort”.
I have always been a fan of designers who tackle the menswear side of things. I feel that menswear is a part of the market, particularly in the emerging sector, which has been, and still is, under represented, at least by local designers. Talent like this, I haven’t seen for some time. It’s wonderful to think that the dressing of the modern man is being catered for so beautifully. The main thing I love about this label is just simply it’s wearability. No fuss, manly, well tailored, nicely detailed, tasteful and well, I think pretty close to perfect.
It is a privilege for me to be able to write with such genuine enthusiasm about the talent of these young, upcoming, positive, talented, gracious, emerging designers. It is the red passion which fills my veins.
I just had to ask Mr Amxander himself, the questions that were burning a hole in my fashion week head.
Courtney graduated with First Class Honours from the University of Technology Sydney and her debut at L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival in 2013 led her to re-locate to Melbourne. It’s not hard to see why I loved interviewing Courtney, a young, dynamic, talented designer, who seems to have boundless energy. Not only is she putting a collection on the runway at VAMFF in a couple of days, she also got married a couple of weeks ago. And I thought I was busy!
She is described by NJAL (Not Just A Label) as “the designer and director of sports-luxe Australian menswear label”, and that her “label is distinct for its assimilation of pop-culture street styling, elemental sportswear and tailoring details”, which is “designed and hand produced in Melbourne, injecting a fresh equilibrium of functional, high-end fashion into a niche menswear market”. And, “her use of varied materials, such as polyurethane plastics, luxury knits, sportswear and hard-wearing materials with quality cottons, silks and wool give each piece inner softness with an overriding masculine exterior. The amalgamation of high fashion detailing with sportswear and street style makes a bold statement while the prevalence of functionality, style and fit ensure a wearable outcome for a discerning customer”.
Article. by Courtney Holm. The interview by Label Ministry.
I’m sure some women DO shop because they actually need clothes, shoes and bags … I just don’t know any of them.
As a long time lover of designer fashion, and a stylist of many years, I have been thinking a great deal lately about being a woman.
As a woman I love being able to enjoy gorgeous designer labels, makeup, perfume and all the lovely things that are so readily available. I take enjoyment from such things every day.
This started me thinking a lot about the various roles that we have as women and I noted just a few.
We are mothers, friends, wives, girlfriends, mentors, colleagues, nurses, cooks, ironing ladies, confidantes, step parents, counsellors, sports coaches, taxi drivers, stylists, decorators, gardeners, CEOs, marketing directors, volunteers, and ambassadors.
Often we are all of these things in one day. I know I have been, sometimes 365 days in a row.
Women have so many varied roles to play in their lives. No wonder we often feel pulled in many directions and struggle to get it all done.
I thought I would share some information from a group of women I know about WHY women shop.
It will make you laugh.
I certainly found myself in this list. Maybe you will too …
Women Shop because
They are premenstrual.
They have their period.
They are turning 50.
They are turning 40.
Their husband is turning 50.
They found a grey hair.
Their husband is turning grey.
They dented the car.
They need glasses to read texts.
Their husband lot his job.
They found out their child is gay.
They found out their partner is gay.
It is the first day of the school holidays.
Their mother is here from London to stay for a month.
It is the last day of the school holidays.
They are having a fat day.
They are expecting a baby that wasn’t planned.
They just ate a cake in the middle of their diet.
Their mammogram appointment is tomorrow.
Their husband just bought a chainsaw when you are desperate for a holiday?
But what has caused this great herd of humanity to suddenly veer off and have a red-hot branding iron seared onto their arses?
Greg Bearup
Inked. Yep. It looks like tattoos are here to stay. Or so it seems.
When the day arrives and tattoos are no longer fashionable, I guess we might see a lot of people heading to the place that removes tattoos. Whatever that place is.
Cosmetic surgeons or beauty salons with laser machines? Or maybe people will go back to the tattoo parlour they went to in the first place. If I was enterprising in a different kind of way, I would be thinking about opening up a tattoo removal shop, because if my predictions are anything to go by, I reckon the tattoo removalists are going to get busy. Really busy.
How long can tattoos remain on trend? We’ve been looking at them for a long time now. The eastern influence of yin/yang and the Asian symbols became popular with people travelling through South East Asia. The colourful sleeves of full bodied, big bottomed, busty, scantily clad girls on Harley’s in full colour. Red and blue flames rising up the back of people’s calves, and birds on women’s feet carefully placed in such a way that suit their Haviannas are now common place all over Sydney and indeed all Australian cities. How about the long verses of text up the inside of arms, (Angelinga Jolie style), or across the back of the neck. When I see people with these kinds of tattoos I feel compelled to stop them and say “look, if you are going to sport that tattoo, as least pay me the courtesy of not racing past me. I would like to read what it says, and at the same time ask you what on earth possessed you to paint essentially, what I would have just written in my journal, all over your body? Of course I don’t do that. I hope I don’t sound patronising, because I am genuinely interested in people’s motivation for getting a tattoo. Whatever it is, and however many. I respect their decision to have one or ten, but I have to be honest and say the widespread prevalence of them is now causing me irritation.
It’s not because I don’t like tattoos. I actually find them quite artistic and interesting. I don’t happen to have one myself, although I have thought about getting one in the distant past. Had I decided to get one, it would have been very small and most definitely hidden away from the public eye. My lack of tolerance for them now is because they just seem to be everywhere. And I mean everywhere, and on nearly every body. At least that is how it appears. I don’t go anywhere anymore that I don’t see them on literally every second person and consequently they now seem so… overdone. Furthermore, it seems to me that the tattoo wearers choice of fashion has also been forever changed. When I find myself in shopping malls or city streets, I am reminded that a significant part of the population seems to have forsaken their choice of wearing a full coverage of clothing, in order to show off their body art. There is a sea of skin showing out there, open tanks on men and women, the shortest of short shorts, midriff and crop tops, low slung trousers, and super short minis.
It’s increasingly common to see multiple tattoos. Arms, legs, necks, stomachs, torso, shoulders and backs. The other day I even saw someone with tattoos on each eyelid and also each ear. I mean really. Doesn’t that constitute some sort of health risk? I guess there isn’t a law against stupidity. I wonder what these tattoos will look like when the person ages a little and their skin is no longer taut and youthful. What happens to the man with the tattoos on his eyelids when he gets a little older and his eyes follow suit. I sincerely wonder what we will see in the future when some of these tattoos are removed, and what then? Will people then be covering the previous areas of their tattooed skin because they are sporting a scar? Will they regret their decision of deciding upon tattoos all those years earlier? Very probably. I hear that the current cost for tattoo removal is around $350 per session and usually takes around 8-10 sessions. That’s a lot of money for something that may have only cost a couple of hundred dollars at the time, and you could hardly call it an investment. Well maybe an investment in looking like you used to.
And now we have the legalisation this week for the allowance of eye-ball tattooing. This really has raised the bar in terms of permanent body work, and seems to me to add a completely different dimension, which is humans looking more and more unhuman. According to the article published in The Sydney Morning Herald, eyeball tattooing can lead to infection and blindness.
Greg Bearup, is a writer for The Weekend Australian Magazine. In 2013, he interviewed veteran tattooist Tony Cohen from The Illustrated Man, the most iconic tattoo parlour in Sydney. He says that he “keeps waiting for the tattoo bubble to burst, but it just keeps getting bigger, more colourful, more lurid. Australians are getting inked at a phenomenal rate – skin specialists I contacted say that 10-20 per cent of their patients have one or more tattoos”.
Based on what I see most days, I would have thought that number to be somewhat higher. I have been wondering for some time when this trend might slow down but it stands strong. It occurs to me that this is in fact no longer a trend but something of a prolific societal statement. But why? Why do so many feel the need to get a tattoo, when really it is no longer a unique thing to do. It seems Greg Bearup was thinking along the same lines when he asked the following question. “But what has caused this great herd of humanity to suddenly veer off and have a red-hot branding iron seared onto their arses? It is a yearning for belonging, according to Adam Geczy, an artist and academic at Sydney College of the Arts, who has studied tattoo culture. Traditionally, tattoos were a marker of initiation into a tribal society or a sect, like the Yakuza, or the mark of a man of the sea. “We are now living in a culture where people don’t know where they belong,” he muses. “Generations X, Y and Z are constantly in contact on Facebook and Twitter, thinking it is a community, but it is a void. If you go out and choose a Maori tattoo you have the luxury, and the shallowness, of initiating yourself. You are not being initiated into a clan, you are initiating yourself into yourself. You are giving yourself a kind of fetishised sense of belonging.”
Geczy says the great growth in the number of people being tattooed, particularly women is also part of the pornification of society, which has come with the internet age. He argues there is a strong link between body modification and porn. “So you have a prim girl who has a small rose on her shoulder – it’s a wink to say, ‘I have desires’.” He continues: “Look, most people work in pretty boring jobs and have a problem with being interesting and having interesting identities.” They see a tattoo as a way of making them seem more interesting. But it is all built on a false premise, he argues, and in time many people who have tattoos will live to regret their decisions. “Besides, it all looks hot when you are young but when you’re an old man you look like an ageing stud.” And, he ventures boldly, “There has never been, on a woman who is middle-aged, a tattoo that looked any good.”
My husband recently showed me a video he thought would interest me. … what an understatement!!!
I loved it!
And I’m pretty sure you will too. With over five million views already, I guess I’m not the only one who thinks it hilarious. To all the wonderful Instagram Husbands out there, I’d like to thank you, for lots and lots of laughs.
I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate you and love you … our Instagram lives would not be the same without you!
I was so intrigued and fascinated by the way the video was produced, I just had to find out who was behind it’s creation.
Michelle and Jeff Houghton, a married couple from Springfield, Missouri in America’s mid west, are the ingenious creative minds who birthed the concept. They are parents to their little boy, Elias and Michelle is also a counsellor and an artist.
Her Instagram husband, Jeff, is a comedian and talk show host. Jeff creates a syndicated show called The Mystery Hour, which is what Instagram Husband was written and produced for. Michelle also writes and performs for the show.
“we thrive on keeping things interesting and are driven by a desire to connect with others and chase after our dreams. I am an avid Instagrammer and I love tacos, philosophical conversations, indie music, podcasts, and creative expression”.
Their Instagram account is the “official account bringing support, comport, & praise to all you human selfie-sticks out there …”
It is truly brilliant and hilarious. Quite simply, I’m hooked!
I hope you love this piece as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it.
LM
I absolutely love what you are doing … how did you start Instagram Husband?
IH
Jeff, my husband, came up with the Instagram Husband concept and wanted to do it as a video for his show, The Mystery Hour. He thought of it last summer, after having a lot of experiences where taking a pretty photo got in the way of experiencing the moment in both our lives and the lives of our friends.
LM
Is Instagram Husband a collaboration, as often I see many things that are posted by different people?
IH
In some ways, yes, it was a collaboration, in other ways no. We have a group of writers who write for The Mystery Hour and we collaborated on the video for that entity. The idea of Instagram Husband was Jeff’s and everyone who was involved was doing it for the show.
LM
How has Instagram changed your life?
IH
I have a lot of good friends who I have met through Instagram, actually, which is the greatest impact it has had on my life.When I find a new Instagrammer from my area who has similar taste, I follow them and then start commenting on their posts out of mutual respect and admiration. Often that has lead to online friendships which have lead to hanging out in real life. Some of my closest friendships started that way over the last five years. Instagram has also enhanced my connections with my friends because we have access to knowing what is going on in each other’s lives. It starts conversations about things we otherwise wouldn’t know about, and I love that.
LM
Do you feel we have created a problem of “oversharing” on social media in general? Do you feel that Instagram specifically has created an aspect of “oversharing” in our life?
IH
I think we do have a bit of “oversharing” going on in our culture, but I don’t think it is unique to Instagram. I am a counsellor and work primarily with adolescents. To them it’s not Instagram, it’s Snap Chat. For others, it’s Facebook. Regardless the medium, we do go to ridiculous lengths to provide interesting and appealing content related to our lives. I think we are going to look back in 50 years at this time period and see a lot of good things that have come from social media, but we will also recognise a lot of mistakes we have made culturally with regards to our obsession with it. We cannot learn those lessons until we go through them, however. I do see a lot of individuals online who go to extremes to get “likes” and ultimately gain validation from that, which creates a culture of comparison, and as Theodore Roosevelt said …
“Comparison is the Thief of Joy”
– Theodore Roosevelt
LM
Are you addicted to social media?
IH
You know, it sort of depends on what lens I am looking through to say whether or not I am “addicted” to social media. There have definitely been times in my life where I have spent more time on it than others. Also, compared to some people who are rarely online, I am definitely addicted, and yet compared to those who very obviously check their phones every few minutes, I am definitely not. I probably check my Instagram and Facebook feed a few times a day, but I don’t let myself get sucked down the rabbit hole of spending a chunk of time there as much as I used to. I really enjoy photography and curating a space which exudes my asthetic, so Instagram tends to be my “addiction” more than other mediums of social media.
LM
Do you believe that people lead “fake” lives through Instagram, as is often suggested?
IH
I have a hard time saying what is “fake” and what is “real”– with social media, because I truly see a movement toward people sharing the rawness and realness of their lives online. This is probably in response to all the curated lives we are seeing others live through the social media lens. I think it takes a real balance to share authentically what is happening in your life online, because you don’t want to make things “too” pretty or you are not relatable, and yet you also don’t want to over-share your struggles or the not-so-pretty side of things, because if you’re doing that all the time it can come across as humble-bragging, which is equally off-putting. In the end, I think we all want people to see the best in us. It just happens to be on a different platform and a different level with social media.
LM
What was your motivation for starting “Instagram Husband”.
IH
We started Instagram Husband because we thought it was a funny concept. We really enjoy making people laugh, and Jeff has a knack for coming up with relatable concepts to do that. It just so happened that this video connected with a lot of people.
LM
What do you feel are the main differences between Facebook and Instagram and are you fan of both platforms?
IH
I like both Instagram and Facebook. I tend to lean towards using Instagram more because I am such a fan of art and photography, and I follow a lot of people who use Instagram to showcase their work in both genres. I like Facebook to hear about what is going on with family and friends.
LM
What do you see as the positives of Instagram. And, the negatives?
IH
Instagram positives: good photography, platform for people to connect, photos often convey concepts in an easily-deliverable way where people connect to an image, community, and inspiration. Instagram negatives: tends to lead us to compare ourselves with others (just as all social media platforms do), FOMO– personally I have a hard time seeing vacation pictures of other people or people around the world in beautiful places if I’m spending my hours at work feeling uninspired and unmotivated.
LM
What is your opinion of buying followers and likes?
IH
I don’t really know anyone, (well, at least to my knowledge) who “buys” followers and likes– to me it seems like another marketing ploy mostly for businesses or brands wanting to seem culturally relevant. I would be very suspicious of individual people who do that for personal accounts but I haven’t really dealt with it.
LM
What is your view of people who share a difficult personal moment on the Instagram platform?
IH
I sort of answered this in #7, but I’ll add to it by saying this– I heard a podcast where Elizabeth Gilbert interviewed Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly and Rising Strong among other books about shame and vulnerability. She asked her about sharing personal stories in what she writes. What she had to say about it really resonated with me. She said that she never publicly shares a personal story that she has not already fully processed. Her rule of thumb being that if her healing is contingent upon what others say about that story, then she should not share it. She says she’s shared her story before she was ready, and learned a lot of lessons from that. When you share a difficult story before you have healed, it is not giving and generous to the people hearing it, and can actually be abusive to yourself. Attempting to gain deep healing from a wound in a public arena is just not the way to go about working out your issues– that is what close friends and therapy is for.
She missed another job interview today because the light was “just perfect”
“Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world”.
– Brene Brown, in her podcast, Big Magic
LM
Do you believe that social media is responsible for people having poor interpersonal and social skills in real life?
IH
People throughout the ages have had poor social and interpersonal skills in real life, so I don’t think social media is to blame. In my career as a counsellor I work with a lot of people who have poor social skills, and there isn’t one specific set of circumstances that lead them to be that way. Some have manipulative or abusive upbringings, some have disorders like Autism where social interaction doesn’t come as easily, and some are just downright introverted, which is fine, but is not always valued in our culture. I know some very inward people who are also successful bloggers or Instagrammers. Just because they are less likely to wow someone in person than online does not mean that blogging is what caused them to be introverts. Blogging, social media, and writing may just be the platform they feel the most comfortable socialising on.
LM
Do you believe that Instagram amounts to modern day narcissism?
IH
I think Instagram can portray a sense of narcissism, yes, but I also believe most people don’t go out and create Instagram accounts because they want validation and “likes”, and thus are essentially narcissistic. I think to some extent we all want positive social interactions, and naturally that is a healthy thing. When someone spends an inordinate amount of time curating a space online that looks nothing like their real life in the hopes of gaining followers and likes, however, that crosses the bounds of healthy living.
LM
What is your view of Instagram advertising. Do you feel that it is effective?
IH
Every form of advertising is effective if it gets people to buy things.
LM
What has been your personal response to Instagram Husband?
IH
My personal response to Instagram Husband? Wow, there’s a lot in this one question. I’ll start by saying that I have been a supporter of my husbands show since he started it in a crappy basement of an improv theatre 10 years ago. It has been his dream to consistently showcase his talents of writing, acting, hosting, and performing on a large scale, and Instagram Husband got him, as the creator, a lot of the attention he deserved because the video was such a big hit. My biggest response to it therefore is just sheer happiness. Mostly because of the story of our struggle. For him to be doing what he loves in a very obscure way.
Personally, I’ve had a lot of fun posting the Instagram photos on our @ig.husband account, and have had a great time connecting with people all across the world who relate to the video through that, through interviews, and with people reaching out after they saw it. It’s weird that so many of us have had this phenomenon in our lives– asking our husbands (or wives or girlfriends or friends or sisters or whatever) to take our photos so we can later post them– and we didn’t have a term for it up until this point.
LM
Do you enjoy your food less when you are always wanting to photograph it in it’s untouched state first?
IH
Heck no! I enjoy it MORE! I love anything that is well presented, and especially food! It’s fun to snap a picture of it before it’s all gobbled up. Obviously the line of “we used to eat our food, now we just take pictures of it…” is a comedian’s take on prolonging eating things when we are taking pictures of it– but I promise I would never sacrifice tasting food for a photo!
LM
Do you feel a certain pressure to constantly find new and interesting material to post?
IH
Yeah, to be honest, sometimes I do. If it’s been a few days since I last posted a picture, I start to think about what I should post, or why I didn’t post. To me, snapping an iPhone picture of a scene or a person or a thing that happened during the day is a way to look at it with a focused lens– to not miss the beauty of that moment. If I am just going through the motions of my days and I don’t stop to REALLY look at my surroundings, I notice because I generally don’t have any pictures from that time. Now, of course, it CAN go the other way, where you take so many dang pictures that you miss the moment entirely, but I do think there is some balance. There is always something beautiful right in front of you, you just have to take a moment to really see it. I just happen to do that sometimes with snapping a photo of it.
LM
Is your husband generally interested in Instagram?
IH
He’s so-so about it. He definitely doesn’t spend much time on it– a lot of his pictures are of our son or of something funny he sees and wants to share.
“Vacations make the best Instagram posts…”
– Michelle Houghton
LM
What do you think of the selfie?
IH
I have so many mixed feelings about the selfie!! I have only recently upped my selfie game, realizing that people who follow you like to see YOU, but before that I mostly felt self-gratuitous and weird about taking them. It was when I read an article somewhere about how selfies actually promote people LIKING themselves (gasp!) when I started to see the logic in how it could be a good thing. We’re often so down on how we look or who we are. I don’t think its a bad thing if you like the way your face looks in a particular light to take your own darn photo.
LM
Do you believe we are over the selfie and the duck face?
IH
I am so over duck face. I’ve always been over it. That and women standing with their hand on their hip and their butt curved out. WHO STANDS LIKE THAT IN REAL LIFE!?!?!
LM
For people who are looking for followers, what is your advice of increasing one’s following on Instagram?
IH
Offer something unique, special, genuine, and worth following.
LM
How often do you personally post to Instagram?
IH
I post to Instagram about once a day or every other day. It depends on what is going on in my life at the moment and how busy I am.
LM
Do you believe that posting to Instagram at a certain time is important? Why?
IH
I never really took the time to think about what time of day to post to Instagram for maximum exposure until I started curating the @ig.husband account — then I asked my friend who curates a famous blog about timing, and she gave me some tips. If you want to reach your audience, you need to think about when they are going to be online. So yes, I think it is important. Is it the be-all-and-end-all? No.
LM
What is next for Instagram Husband?
IH
There are some things in the works for what is coming next, but at this point we can’t share what that is. For now, we’re just trying to focus on putting out quality work with The Mystery Hour, and are having a ton of fun doing it!
LM
Where do you see yourselves in five years from now.
IH
I HAVE NO IDEA! As an artist, I just started selling my artwork online and in local venues, so I am hoping to get more exposure with it and incorporate it more into my life. I also LOVE counselling, I am planning on starting a private practice and other ventures where I share my expertise on a community platform. While all that is going on, The Mystery Hour is also a huge part of my life, and I hope that my husband and I continue to work together on the show or in some capacity to put out comedy to the world. Jeff is so incredibly talented and I LOVE working with him in that arena.
LM
What is your greatest dream?
IH
My greatest dream would be for Jeff and I to both be simultaneously employed doing what we love. “Chase your dreams” has practically been the motto in my house for a long time, but it has not come without sacrifices. More than anything I want us both to be happy creating unique things to contribute to the world, and to do it while providing for our family.
LM
What is your favourite food, country, and fashion designer?
IH
Food- tacos. Hands down.
Country- Croatia. I visited there last summer and FELL IN LOVE.
Fashion designer?? Hmmmm… to be honest I’ve never been able to afford designer labels, but if I would name a few that speak to me I would say Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, and Rachel Comey. I tend to shop H&M, Free People, Urban Outfitters, Need Supply, and Madewell the most.
LM
Have you ever visited Australia? Do you intend to?
IH
I haven’t, but its definitely on the bucket list. I’ve heard that it’s breathtakingly gorgeous, and I’ve never met an Aussie I didn’t like.
LM
Lastly, what subject do you believe makes the best Instagram post?
Anna Whitehouse “This photo took 15 minutes of her standing in front of that wall with the kiddo writhing like Gollum to get out of her grasp. It took 45 more minutes just for the little one to stop snot-crying”.
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two bodies, but there is one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
– Anon.
Well. For those of you who know me well, you will be aware that I recently got married to my darling sweetheart heart-throb. Miss Label Ministry is now Mrs! Not being of the fashion blogging world, he wishes to remain somewhat anonymous … here is the long awaited Label Ministry wedding post, Love & Nuptials …
It was the most beautiful day, almost surreal because it is blurred by happiness, adrenalin and disbelief at the sheer abundance of beautiful moments experienced. The heavens shed tears for our happiness, and the beautiful blanket of grey misty sky blessed us with a veil of quietness and serenity and saw that the trees were the most beautiful green hues ever seen.
It is the time in one’s life when you truly stop for a moment and give gratitude for one’s blessings. All beautifully gift wrapped in the form of wonderful family, exceptional friends, unspoken alliances, and forever lasting bonds which seem to know no time or space.
Ours was a morning wedding. An 11 am church ceremony meant that we had an early start and a lunch time reception. My journey to the church was spectacular in a beautiful vintage Daimler, loaned to us for the special day, courtesy of Richard Rolfe. My two beautiful bridesmaids dressed in white lace Lover dresses slipped into a shiny new Mercedes. We were all adorned in Natalie Barney fine jewels.
We arrived at the church to the sound of bells tolling. My heart rippled with love and excitement as I walked towards the church draped in the magnificent silk lustre of the eponymous Australian designer, Johanna Johnson.
The Canberra Chamber of Music string trio started to play …………… our moment had arrived. The church ceremony was full of tears and happy people and the ceremony, magnificent and serene.
The rest my dears is pure joy!
Until next time,
Jade xx
I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
I awoke at 4am. Excitement had overtaken sleep. In the preceding, chaotic weeks, everything else that needed my attention meant that I had still not finished my speech. The beautiful quiet, reflective moments of the early morning was the perfect time to finish the articulated sentiments that needed to be shared in the coming day.
My dear friends and bridesmaids talked about the coming day as we lay about waiting for the morning to dawn, and before we knew it, it was 7am, and our hairdresser had arrived!
We were greeted with champagne, fruit and yoghurt to start the day and much chit chat in the midst of a flurry of white dressing gowns and excited girls. Our expert styling hairdressers, Aqua Hair of Canberra, were patient, and professional. The platinum tones of my own hair were accomplished by the gorgeous Susie, from Sydney hairdressing salon in North Sydney, Platinum Blonde Hair. Most importantly, our hair was amazing!
We have birthed a modern day crisis. The social media kind. Is our addiction to social media ruining our world? Have we officially entered the age of over sharing?
A couple of years ago, I was talking to a Gen Y about social media. I was interested in what they thought of people’s obsession with celebrities and communicating with the new type of human. A screen. It seemed to me that the world had changed forever and I was right. Their response fascinated me. They told me that young people did not know how to communicate, even with their friends. Their screen addictions were their answers to connecting with the rest of the world, their peers and their families, through largely pubescent and anxious eyes trying to carve out a future for themselves. What I found most bizarre was their obsession with communicating online, email and even text when their friends lived close by. Their behaviour was the same with their family members also. My own child used to text me or request that I email him even when we were in the same house. Sometimes even in the same room, if the time I had chosen to speak to him did not suit. I thought a great deal about this and like many, watched the development of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with interest.
We are now addicted to a barage of everyones’ images and perceptions of life through social media platforms. Their new G string, a picture of their dinner, their new hair, their latest visit to the nail salon, and their morning coffee. It is this obsession with the finest details of everyones’ life which I find most worrying. All under the guise of fashion.
This is not fashion.
It is modern day narcissism and it’s prevalence amongst our youth and even those who are not youthful is extremely worrying.
I am not against social media at all. Nearly all of us use it now to broadcast our voices and ideas, not to mention our work. I am worried, however, when I notice that social media platforms, particularly for young women and men, has become a way for them to advertise themselves in scantily clad clothing in the name of fashion. When did fashion become a vehicle for soft porn and why do our societal values now seem to be almost entirely shaped by what is tolerated on social media. It seems that we have entered the time of “everything goes”, and a world of “over sharing”.
I am all for women and men, regardless of age, making the best of themselves. I think there is nothing more pleasing than someone who is carefully presented in every way, including their choice of fashion. I love to see anyone who wholeheartedly embraces their sense of self and has the courage to be the beautiful individual they are.
My point of difference however is that it seems that young women and men, and society at large has lost its way. Our obsession of self and the hidden, albeit epidemic, levels of self-loathing have become one of the most serious and worrying aspects of health in our modern society. The silent rules of acceptance of ourselves and others and our engagement with others are deeply entrenched and unmistakably linked with narcissistic tendencies encapsulated within the world of fashion. We have entered unchartered and dangerous waters. These are territories we have not visited before and I for one, feel great trepidation as the world of fashion as we know it, has changed forever.
I read an article not so long ago on Reddit about a blogger who described in the greatest of detail, a day where she started her menstrual cycle and was not prepared. The entire post was dedicated to every detail of her discomfort, her appearance and her various emotional responses. All for the world to read, and for complete strangers to empathise about. A strange phenomenon I feel, about a topic which would once, have been extremely private if nothing else. Feel free to google period stories on Reddit and like me, you will find a whole sub Reddit dedicated to the topic. Am I the only one who thinks it strange?
And then, we have the “over the top”, over publicised, and over documented story of the instafamous Essena O’Neill. The story of a just turned 19 teenager, who describes herself as having a “career on social media”, and who apparently has quit all social media because it is fake and making her unhappy. I could write a whole post on this kind of ridiculousness which pervades every day of our lives, but I won’t. I simply can’t be bothered. I will say a few things however, that I feel are necessary for the general population to think about for a nano second.
First of all, this teenager claims to have had a “career on social media”. Can someone please tell me what that is? What teenager has a career? And what constitutes a career on social media? She says she is a model, a social media influencer, and surrounded by the most famous, wealthy and successful people. According to Essena these people, even though they are enjoying phenomenal success, are all miserable, depressed and disillusioned about the representation of their lives on social media, “because social media is fake”. Whatever that means. I think we all know that social media is not the real world, don’t we? How very frightening if we don’t.
So let me get this right. She spent hours taking photos to find one that she was happy to post, used these images to endorse brands, for which she was paid, and then posted the photos for likes and followers. Apparently, this is a career in social media. Really? Is that it? By her own admission, brands will often carefully stipulate exactly what needs to be posted, when it needs to be posted, how often it needs to be posted. Her “career” is driven almost entirely by brands deciding that their newest form of advertising should be through the vehicle of the blogger to reach the young demographic of current spenders.
I watched a 17 minute video of explanation, crying, drama, swearing, and gesticulation exclaiming that social media is evil and that the lives represented on it are fake. Well, I post often on social media and I am not fake. I connect with many other people on social media who are not fake. My life, my posts, my opinions, my connections, and my line of work is not fake. It is in fact, extremely valuable and of great benefit to many in my industry. I don’t have 500,000 followers on Instagram, nor do I have 260,000 YouTube followers. The truth is I don’t care. How normal. My self worth is in tact. I am not miserable or depressed about my own, or others, social media.
And here’s the reason why. Social media is “part” of my life. A very small part. I can and do, connect and talk to real people. I have real life meetings. I understand that whilst I may form a connection on social media, it does not define my value, my judgements, or my self worth. I understand that social media is a platform that can be used for good, but is not always. Social media does not affect my ability to life my life fully in other ways, and I don’t sit around waiting for people to follow me and like my posts. If Essena believes that her social media career is causing her grief then I applaud her decision to ‘quit’, but it seems to me, she hasn’t quit. She has in fact received more publicity than ever, and feels quite comfortable in using the biggest form of social media, the Internet, to gather momentum for her next venture. I counted more than 40 accounts on Instagram in her name and when I finished writing this article, I set about as I always do, to find some great images to accompany it. It fascinated me that I could not find one image of Essena O’Neill which I was allowed to use commercially for this post.
She has now launched a website called, “Let’s be Game Changers” where she asks people to support her newest quest for self expression, but also tells people to please support her by donating any amount they feel appropriate to pay her rent. Hello? Yep. You heard me. Pay … her … rent. Gosh, I would love someone to offer to pay my rent! What planet do these entitled, narcissistic, children come from? If you ask me, any girl at nineteen who has had so many opportunities should be feeling, at least, incredibly grateful but mostly just downright blessed.
Quit social media eh? I don’t think so … my final word on the subject? What a spoiled brat!
Kelly Hume, a writer for news.com has written her own article on Essena O’Neill. In it, she says, “I’m under no illusion that O’Neill has an agenda: with the launch of her new website, Let’s Be Game Changers, which requests money from her readers, it seems her change of heart was, at least partly, a publicity stunt. But she did succeed in raising the issue that social-media influencers, who are paid to promote products by showing off their perfect bodies and perfect lives, do create insecurity in young women”.
Yes. It certainly does. And young men. A social media influencer? I think not. A young, confused teenager with more attention and success than her emotional age and maturity can handle would be an accurate assessment. Young people, any people, do not need this type of influence. And if we are going to accept the evolution of “the social media influencer”, for God’s sake, please make it someone who has some wisdom to share! What we need is not to make social media the evil one, but to understand that it is a tool to be added to an already balanced set of skills and opinions.
This ever growing obsession with taking pictures to portray and indulge in the perfect life, the perfect body, the perfect hair, the perfect teeth, boyfriend, car, apartment, travel itinerary and stylish brunch, lunch, and munch has become a joke. It is a fantasy and should be exposed as such.
As Kelly Hume continues in her article, “this age of the selfie isn’t healthy. Why are we measuring our self-worth by the way we look and the number of likes and followers we have?
Earlier this month, an Australian Psychological Society survey on social-media usage and FOMO found that one in two teenagers felt they are ‘missing out’, while 48 per cent felt worried if their friends were having fun without them, and 42 per cent were anxious if they didn’t know what their friends were doing.
I’d rather that we focused our energy on being well-rounded individuals, learning to be kind and considerate of others, being intelligent, and having a varied skill set. Instead of taking selfies, why don’t we learn to cook? Why don’t we read more? And why don’t we interact and have a proper conversation for once?”
Good dressing is often about “not overthinking it”.
I was recently in Melbourne where I met an editorial stylist who captured my interest and attention. Clearly someone who was interested in fashion herself as she was beautifully dressed.
I could see in an instant that styling was probably her game.
We chatted about the importance of offering the concept of styling in any capacity and making it available to anyone, from the individual to what’s required for photographic shoots.
I mentioned to her that whilst I have worked as a stylist for many years now, and have styled more women and men than I can actually remember, I sometimes feel that I need one myself! A kind of “stylist for a stylist” if you like.
We lose perspective on ourselves sometimes. It’s normal. We get very used to our own bodies, our own proportions, our faces and our adopted styles. Sometimes, a stylist can bring a new perspective to the way we present ourselves to the world and I think as you become older and as you pass through different stages in your life, it becomes a necessity, not a luxury.
It’s a way of visiting ourselves, as the outsider, the person who can objectively assess, tweek and improve our appearance, presentation and therefore others perception, in subtle and consequently effective ways.
I asked Cat to explain her work and her perspectives derived from her experiences as a Melbourne stylist.
LM
How do you define your work as a freelance stylist?
CM
At this point in my career I have developed a certain creative process, I am at the start of most projects putting forth a vision or idea, organising the team and essentially bringing the ideas to life. So in many ways I work as a creative/art director who happens to also style the fashion in each project. It is the job of the stylist to envision every single aspect, not just the clothing.
LM
With whom do you work?
CM
I work with a number of other creatives. Photographers, designers, make up artists, magazine editors etc. Along with modelling agencies/models and clothing stores.
Recently, I caught up with Cimon Vozzo, Fashion Editor of the Sunday Mail in Adelaide, Adelaidean stylist and fashion blogger whilst she was visiting Sydney for the recent launch of the spring collection at David Jones.
We chatted about Australian fashion designers, styling, the emerging fashion market, and what we hope for, for the future.
Adelaide fashion is something that is growing fast and many labels that we know and love were born in South Australia. Cameo, Finders Keepers, and The Fifth just to name a few. It is so encouraging for me to see that wonderful emerging designers and more established designers are finding their way into our major department stores and speaking to the broader population no matter where they have been birthed. As a nation, we are now being recognised in a significant way on the global stage of the fashion community and I believe we will continue to witness continued growth. Next time you are browsing through David Jones, take a look for yourself.
Who cares about where the labels are developed? Talent is everywhere!
I for one want to see each and every state in Australia contributing to our wonderful fashion industry which I am totally in love with, as you all know!
We are all Australian gals, wearing fabulous Australian labels, and I want to see more of it!
We should celebrate, celebrate, and celebrate again, the phenomenal talent we have on our doorstep.
Good on you Adelaide … can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
I asked Cimon some things that I felt curious about.
LM
What do you see as the differences between Sydney and Adelaide fashion?
CV
People in Sydney are more adventurous, less conservative, more fashion evolved and not afraid to take risks.
LM
What changes would you like to see around Australian fashion?
CV
I would love for things to be made in Australia. Design wise I tend to like the way the Europeans use colour, and I am a fan for a little bit of glamour and dressing up! I would love to see more of this in Australian design.
If you love photography then this is a story you will love, and a name you will wish to familiarise yourself with …
Kay Sukumar is one of Australia’s very talented fashion photographers.
His work is sharp and creative and is somehow executed differently, although I cannot even define myself in which way. I find his work engaging to the degree of studying the image long after I need to to understand the context.
The lighting and story telling in his images, is one of the components I feel he captures better than most and creates a significant point of difference.
He is heavily involved in fashion photography, although he dabbles in health and beauty also.
No matter what the brief, Kay delivers.
Magnificently. I asked him what he believes sets his work apart from his contemporaries …
Enjoy xx
I feel my work is “very moody”, oftentimes sensual, and full of story telling.
I crave to create the engaging. So many things go through my head when I am taking a picture. Is the image interesting enough for me to want to be in it? Am I telling the right story? How can I do this differently?
Every image that I take is my vision. My photography is the way I see the world and over the years I have seen my taste and vision grow. It is much like self discovery and the more I shoot, the more I learn about myself and the world and it’s a very liberating feeling.
Almost overnight we have become used to consuming fashion with reckless, addicted abandon, buying more clothes than ever before, reversing centuries of fashion heritage, knowledge and understanding in the process.
Did you know in our contemporary fashion industry we create an estimate eighty billion new garments every year, of which approximately two million tonnes of apparel ends up in landfill every year?
Did you also know that it takes 11,000 – 20,000 litres of water to produce enough cotton to manufacture just one pair of jeans?
Have you heard of the book “To Die For” by Lucy Siegel? She describes fashion, as the queen of all the creative industries.
She speaks of an unwelcome revolution, where “almost overnight we have become used to consuming fashion with reckless, addicted abandon, buying more clothes than ever before, reversing centuries of fashion heritage, knowledge and understanding in the process”.
This girl makes almost too much sense, and her words are frightening in their truth.
Do you shop at Zara? H & M? Topshop? Do you ever wonder how your potential purchases affect the local designers in your own city?
As I walk through Sydney city, I often pop into Zara to check out the latest colours, designs and fashion on offer. Being a lover of pretty much any garment, my fashion senses are suitably nurtured by my visits to Zara as I love looking at the sea of creative flair which is refreshed on an almost fortnightly basis.
I often notice that many of the walk through customers are tempted to grab a great piece for a night out at a fairly low price. Any why wouldn’t they? Who wouldn’t want a nice fresh print, something new, at a very reasonable price which is great on the bank balance and which doesn’t put a dent in our conscience? The answer is clearly a lot of people.
Zara on any given day is buzzing, and I mean, buzzing, with wall to wall people who are obviously thinking the same way. But, thinking, might be the key here.
Zara is the Inditex fashion model which has enjoyed phenomenal success across the globe and appears to be growing at a great rate. At least in the fiscal way. But what about in a conscious, mindful, way. Should we not be embracing a greater level of awareness in this modern age around the creation, production and the ultimate offering of safe products. Fashion should not be exempt from these guidelines just because it is beautiful.
How much do we think about what we buy? Do we stop to consider where the garment was made and by whom? Do we consider the environmental impact those garments have had on our precious mother earth? Well the answer is some people do already and many more are starting to.
One such person who has become an expert on this topic is the author of “To Die For”, by Lucy Siegel, a British journalist focusing on the environmental, sustainability and ethics In her book she describes …
In her recent podcast The Wardrobe to Die For, she talks about how our over consumption of buying endless piles of clothing that we could not possible need, use, or enjoy is literally strangling our world, filling up our landfill sites and is one of our 21st century diseases. One that some of use are still not aware of.
In her book, To Die For, she writes, “this is not my ‘beautiful’ wardrobe. Every morning when I wake up I am directly confronted by my fashion history. Mistakes, corrections, good buys, bad buys, comfort buys, drunk buys: they refuse to go away. This is because my ‘primary’ wardrobe – as distinct from the other two wardrobes I’ve had to take over in the past ten years to accommodate the growing volume of my clothing collection – is opposite my bed, and the door, like a broken zipper, will no longer pull across to hide the tale of excess”.
In the words of Lucy Siegle.
I love fashion. But I want it to excite and inspire me, not to make me really, really angry.
The question is this. Should we develop a conscience around this type of shopping? I believe the answer is a very significant yes. When you ask? The time is right now. And if we have not fully understood before now how urgent this really is? Then we need to understand now.
Like never before.
Please don’t misunderstand me though as I am guilty of this type of purchase also. And Zara is not the only culprit. The Spanish company Inditex, is representative of the new model and has revolutionised the way we approach, and buy fashion. It has to stop. And soon. I have recently started to seriously consider the finer points of how “unthinking shopping” is affecting our local fashion industry, the state of our economy, the third world individual, and the environmental effect on mother earth. With the knowledge we currently have, we know that fashion production is the world’s second greatest pollutant. According to Lucy Siegel, it is estimated that eight hundred and forty million garments are produced every year by Zara alone and the owner, Amancio Ortega, is listed as the third richest man in the world.
Clearly the business model works but it might just be one of the key influencers which leads to the horrible demise of our human existence. Sadly, I can’t even be upbeat and tell you that we will all go out looking well dressed either …
Sadly in the world of fast fashion, we have developed what Lucy Siegel has termed, micro trends, where we see a lightning fast translation of fashion from the cat walks to sales floor to wardrobe.
We often hear the term sustainable fashion bandied around. Whilst we are all familiar with the term I feel it is really important to understand exactly what it means. The google definition goes like this.
Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility.
The reality in our everyday reality is that sadly, that not nearly enough designers are able to keep to the guidelines of sustainable production and practices even though they would like to simply because we do not support them enough financially for them to be able to make these kinds of important choices.
Recently, my most favourite designer of all time, at least in Australia, Kit Willow has launched her KitX label espousing the all important ideals of ethical production within the fashion industry. Naturally, it comes as no surprise to me that a woman with clearly so much phenomenal talent has taken up the role of the ultimate visionary for our local industry.
This excerpt of her recent interview with The Australian describes her long awaited re-entry into the Australian fashion scene and the launch of her newly created ethically sourced and manufactured line, along with her solid and affirmed relationship with David Jones.
The designer opened the show of 35 designers and labels, showcasing the debut collection for her KitX label. Just two years after being dumped from Willow, the label she founded, by its majority owners The Apparel Group, Podgornik has come back with an ethically and sustainably produced collection that has clearly struck a chord with the department store — and upstaged her former brand on the catwalk.
“(David Jones has) very much embraced my work from when I launched my first brand from its first collection, so it’s nice to get this wholehearted embrace for KitX and it’s wonderful to be able to open the show,” Podgornik told The Australian.
The collection goes into 16 stores across Australia, an impressive number for a contemporary label in its first season, which Podgornik puts down to her longstanding relationship with the retailer and its customers.
“I had a very strong connection with the customer so I think that’s probably front and foremost (in the decision) and why they’ve backed it like they have,’’ she said.
“The other thing in this collection is that quite a large part of it is organic jersey, which is really well price-pointed, which allows a broader customer base to buy into the brand.” Read the full article.
My question is this.
Can we afford not to educate ourselves about this important issue. I am not saying don’t ever buy high street labels, but I am saying, do it consciously.
Think about where the garments you purchase have been manufactured and produced and the effect that it’s production has had on that particular local community and the processes undertaken in its creation.
Has it helped them or has it kept them locked into a third world reality.
Please think about the ethical and moral investment in relation to the piece you buy. Do you intend to keep it, love it wear it, and cherish it? Will it be a long term marriage, or will you discard it after one wear and let it fill up the toxic piles of landfill that are already strangling our beautiful earth?
Lucy Siegel’s words, and even those of your grandchildren, might just be ringing in your ears if you don’t …
