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- Courtney Sanders
It has to be said: the vibe at Carriageworks, IMO anyway, is not all that great. There's the manic energy of the street style photographers, bloggers and hangers-on outside the venue - none of whom seem particularly interested in the shows themselves - and the unpleasant door staff who have on multiple occassions refused us entry (even though we have to pick up show tickets inside of the venue #catch22). All this has arguably resulted in the poor turn-out at many of the on-site shows and this piece eloquently explains the conundrum all fashion weeks are currently faced with- people, including myself, who want to create substantive coverage are staying at home to do so. It's a testament to both the vibe Vanishing Elephant have developed over the past fews years and their place the market - a delicate balance between street and designer - that their off-site show, at the rather incredible Australian Technology Park, was incredibly well-attended by a group of vaguely hipter-y, down-to-earth humans, all of whom stood outside colloquially mingling due to the show's late running time, chatting away and introducing themselves to one another: practically an unheard-of occurance on-site.
The show notes, placed on the surprisingly solid cardboard (!) seating, further perpetuated Vanishing Elephant's impressive aesthetic. A burgundy booklet called 'Working #1' suggested the beginning of an ongoing zine that curates the work of their collaborators. The likes of Ben Sullivan, Laura Bannister and James Ross-Edwards all contributed to the booklet, inside of which a single piece of faded yellow A5 paper detailed the inspiration for summer 2013-14 'A Continuous New Beginning'. The transformation of the historical Australian Technology Park into a modern monolith, the zine and the show's title all suggested Vanishing Elephant were going to embark on a new voyage while maintaining the witty preppiness that has driven the brand thus far: someone described them as "vintage dressing for dudes who have more money than time" and I find this description pretty apt. Julia Nobis opened the show dressed in a Japanese-influenced belted tuxedo jacket (a V.E sales rep told me afterwards that these oversized jackets were actually from the men's collection), followed by a girl in a slick, black pantsuit. This new, relaxed corporate-wear called to mind the basic parts of a Dries Van Noten collection and will undoubtedly find favour with a new, mature, moneyed audience. As the music progressed from venue-appropriate industrial electronica into regaee, the bones of Vanishing Elephant's brand came into view. Dudes wore chinos and jackets in Scandinavian colour combinations, followed by short-sleeved shirts and shorts in incredible shark and Hawaiian prints. The second half of the womenswear was a bit all over the place - oversized Hawaiian shirts, leopard print shorts, polka dots pants - all of the things, basically - but it's a testament to the styling talent of Mark Vasallo that it managed to retain the same freshness and consistency of the second men's section. There were also a bunch of excellent leather bags, particularly oversized satchels and backpacks, that I - along with I'm sure a myriad others - hope they're putting into production for summer 2013-14.
Drinks were served following the show as the models and designers came out and chatted to everyone that was there: a sort of all-inclusive, fun-times party in an incredibly beautiful, creatively-decorated space. That moment was probably as good an indicator as any that as long as Vanishing Elephant maintain the original shtick of the brand and step into new, diverse markets and audiences, their success is pretty much guaranteed. And deservedly so.
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