Thrills, frills and spills
Brisbane City Hall rolled out its red carpet for day three of Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival where things heated up both on and off the runway. The Brisbane glitterati braved the heat, flocking to group show seven which featured internationally recognised design talent Lisa Ho, Nicola Finetti and Kirrily Johnston as well as up and coming Brisbane boutique Pink Mint.
With Australian fashion messiah Kirstie Clements seated front row, Nicola Finetti did us proud opening the show with his latest collection. Finetti’s distinctive designs featured strong silhouettes and were contrasted by the soft pastel hues of the fabric once again allowing women to express their strength and femininity.
Kirrily Johnston was next in line and sent her models strutting down the runway in her sky-high searching heel platform shoes. The audience watched with bated breathe as each girl walked the runway determined to stay standing. Concentration and determination were evident in the models faces all of whom remained upright and unharmed for the duration of Johnston’s showing.
As Pink Mint took to the stage the pink and yellow taffeta evoked the feeling of an 80’s themed prom. In the true style of prom the showing was not without its drama. The shoes provided by Joanne Mercer were somewhat of a holiday from Johnston’s searching heel and would be considered baby steps in comparison. Almost off the runway a model, whose heel would not have exceeded two inches, took a little tumble recovering in time for us to catch a glimpse of her horror stricken face (The boob flash on Monday night is looking pretty good in comparison).
Lisa Ho heated things up for the final showing, débuting her latest collection which draws inspiration from an African safari. The raw collection features a mix of tailored, structural pieces in deep blues and browns and floaty maxi dresses and kaftans in animalistic prints. This collection embraces a sizzling summer.
Words by Phoebe Parsons
All images by Sandra Kafrouni