The Armour

Armour is defined as something which offers the wearer protection and is therefore traditionally conceptualised as tough and unforgiving. It is heavy and all but smothers the person underneath, but what if it didn't have to be about hiding the person underneath? Alexander McQueen and more recently Bouchra Jarrar's couture shows have proven that feathers can be used in a similar way. For birds they offer protection from the elements but are also used in order to attract the opposite sex in flashy shows of display or camouflage to suit their surroundings. Many of the aforementioned designers have stuck to rich earthy tones when using their feathers simply allowing texture to reign supreme. Compared to the other couture this season, Susie Bubble noted that Jarrar's collection was a welcome reprieve from the spectacles of fashion week. This resounding approval only reinforces the idea that feathers frequent some of the more spectacular editorials. Indeed it is somewhat overwhelming to imagine where one would wear such an outfit but as always, fashion can be used as more of an escape.

1, 4, 5, 8- Bouchra Jarrar via Style Bubble. 2- Grace Bol by Simon Burstall for Hunger Magazine. 3- Giambattista Valli, Alexander McQueen. 6- Mia Wasikowska in Alexander McQueen's Ostrich Feather and Silk Dress 'Dual in the Sun'. 7- Lady Gaga in Alexander Mcqueen SS11. 9- Chanel, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent. 10 & 13- Bouchra Jarrar Couture Fall 2015 photographed by Kevin Tachman. 11- Feather Dress from the Alexander McQueen SS08. 12- Versace, Alexander McQueen. 14- Lady Gaga in Alexander McQueen.

purity ring

White has always had many different associations for me, typically wedding dresses and smocks for baby's baptism. Occasionally wedding dresses which bear resemblance to something a baby wears to get baptised. Naturally I found it surprising that designers had such a level of detail when working with all white and was delighted with the spectrum of different textures. Pleats, embellishments, embroidery, laser cut... you name it, it has graced the catwalk in one form or another and that's just within the last five years. The characters who wear white are just as intriguing, whether they be beguiling doe eyed girls with sharp faces or the typical IT girl (be it fashion blogger or fictional figure in the form of an editorial). With the amount of guides instructing young twenty-something women on 'HOW TO WEAR WHITE THIS SUMMER' I had all but given up on seeing the shade as chic. But how wrong I was and you'll forgive me for losing faith if you were as annoyed by Cosmo or Seventeen magazine's lack of vision as well as anti-feminist sentiments. I have no interest in wearing something because it's trendy, rather, I see something new and exciting because it has transformative powers.

1- Tim Walker for US Vogue 2012, 2- Style Rookie, 3- Christian Dior Haute Couture SS15 Paris Fashion Week, 4- Chanel SS14 Couture. 5 & 6- Christian Dior Haute Couture SS14, 7- Karen Elson and Edie Campbell in Atlas the Lion by Tim Walker for Love #10. 8- Karla Spetic SS15, 9- Ulyana Sergeenko Haute Couture SS13, 10- Louis Vuitton SS12, 11- Tim Walker, 12- Mona Matsuoka photographed by Gen Kay. 13- Photography by Tim Walker, image courtesy of Rhea Thierstein. 14- Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). 15- WhiteNoise by SOMA magazine, Simone Rocha dress and trousers, Prada bra top.

Baby Bear

There's been a whole business of incorporating the humble teddy bear into runway collections, editorials and photo shoots of independent designers. The catalyst for this moodboard was undoubtedly the teddy bears at the Moschino Fall 2013 show, but I wanted to further explore the theme. Jeremy Scott did not champion this idea but social media and the street style phenomenon has popularized his designs above all others. It seems rather unfortunate that the pioneers of underground culture, in particular style such as FRUiTS go unrecognized. However this idea inspired by doe-eyed young girls (and boys!) dragging their favourite teddy around everywhere is universal. It comes as no surprise that the motif does not reoccur as does many major trends, but is ever present in the background rather than at the forefront. The idea of a stuffed bear as a constant companion has therefore been replaced in many instances by a favourite clutch, a pair of trademark sunnies or a cell phone. They are objects which become an integral part of our identity and self-expression and without them we would feel utterly lost.

1- Ashley Williams FW13. 2- The Beckerman Sisters in Coach. 3- Photography by Rachel Louise Hodgson for Haunt-Mag.com Issue 5. 4- original design by Molly Trubody. 5- Björk . 6- 60′s dorm room. 7- Ashley Williams A/W13 via The Guardian, 8- Shutter & Love Girls are Dancin’ on In Tokyo, 1996 compiled and edited by Kotari Iizawa. 10- Street Style at Milan Fashion Week via FashionGum.com, 11- Vogue Australia November 2013. 12- Antonina Vasylchenko by Danil Golovkin for Vogue Russia, December 2012. 13- Backstage at Ashley Williams' Fashion East Show, 14- Moschino Fall 2015 Runway. 9 & 15- original designs by ShopFloorWhore.

I Want Candy

I realise that these images taken from the Australian Vogue X David Jones editorial are literally so last season but I've been drawn to pastel tones and clean lines. This has largely been fueled by Susie Lau's comprehensive archive, Plastic Candy but also comes by way of J.W. Anderson's most recent collections and mainline Jeremy Scott, as well as Moschino. But before I can delve into any of that I felt it necessary to describe what inspired those works and revisit S/S 2015. Spring/ Summer 2016 promises so much and it feels like designers are willing to create the collections they've always dreamed of, experiment with new techniques and invest in the weird and wonderful. Although there's a lot of black and white in this editorial in particular I feel like this dichotomy of hot and cold will play a major role next season. Also I just really admire it and feel that Grimes would totally be on board with this if you added say, fingerless leather studded gloves or something like that?For her it's all about accessories and these outfits are the skeleton of street style magic.