RISE UP.
LONG LIVE THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS.
In 1926, Coco Chanel had a dress published in US Vogue. It wasn’t just any dress though; it was the dress that would save all women from tight wardrobe binds forever more. It was indeed the ‘little black dress’. The design was so simple – straight, calf-length and decorated only by a few diagonal lines – that Vogue dubbed it ‘Chanel’s Ford’ (making reference of course to the brand of cars then affordable to the masses) and insisted it would become a uniform for all women of taste. At the time, her competitor Paul Poiret was reported to have famously snarled: “What has Chanel invented? Poverty de luxe.” Au contraire, my dear naïve Paul, for we all know that Chanel’s LBD became an icon of elegance… an institution. Over the decades since its creation, the ‘black dress’ has provided a staple canvas for designers to stretch their imaginations, mould fresh silhouettes, and recreate simple, wearable sophistication. And perhaps thanks to Tullia Jack and her band of inspired followers, the spirit of the black dress will live on. By Hayley Miller
‘We are a group of independent recent graduates from different backgrounds committed to raising the profile of emerging fashion and increasing international appreciation for Australian design. We run an annual Fashion Photography Exhibition that showcases ten of Australia’s most innovative emerging designers’ reads the homepage of The Spirit of the Black Dress. Quite a meek description, for what is anything but a wallflower production.
It all began when Tullia Jack, finally fed up with seeing amazing design talent mixing Tequila Sunrises at bars across Melbourne, decided to do something about lifting the spirits and testing the skills of these designers-in-waiting. “I had a clear vision from the start that this project should involve as many creatives as possible,” says Tullia, who is currently working on a research ?paper at the University of Melbourne exploring sustainability practice within the fashion industry. “The people who have become involved in this project really understood the vision and with their input, The Spirit of the Black Dress has grown to encompass fashion design, video, photo-shoot, exhibition curatorship and myriad creative processes.”
The team has just wrapped up its second year of the project, which began with the search for ten up and coming designers and ended recently with an exhibition on display at Georges on Collins, in Melbourne. To gain the position of a ‘chosen one’, hopeful designers had to submit a dress that was original, showed a forward thinking silhouette and creative textures, and used sustainable materials and practices – and of course, it had to be black. A panel of industry experts, including Janice Breen Burns, Karen Webster, Joe Saba, Roger Leong and Emer Diviney chose the ten successful applicants who then went on to have their garments professionally photographed and exhibited as part of the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival.
But the crew had a hankering for more media attention, and so they fashioned a fancy new term – ‘Flash Walk’, which combines the recent phenomena of Flash Mob with the established fashion practice of catwalk – and went on to stir up some interest in Melbourne’s CBD one fine Tuesday morning. How it worked was this: the media was tipped off, told to be at Flinders Street at 10am to be the first in Australia to witness a Flash Walk. Ten models, each wearing one of the designers’ creations, got all dolled up thanks to the creative team on board, and were sent parading through the CBD. The paparazzi-style attention had the desired effect, and henceforth the Flash Walk created a feverous buzz about town. “The passers-by were quite confused,” laughs Tullia. “It was really funny to watch them scratching their heads! My favourite part was the three businessmen trying to explain to each other what was happening!”
Creatively speaking, Tullia implored the services of some of Australia’s most celebrated talent in the fields of photography, makeup and hair design. “Jordan Moore, our creative director, has been instrumental in putting together the photoshoot team, and the rest have just crawled out of the fashion woodwork,” Tullia says.
Jordon is currently the fashion editor at SPOOK Magazine, and began her illustrious career as a stylist simply via her own persistent instinct for fashion editorial, advertising campaigns and events. This instinct clearly served her well as she rounded up the likes of Melbourne-based photographer Jaclyn Adams, who boasted a spot as a finalist in the Fashion category of the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards (and by-the-by, photographed a sexy editorial spread in this very issue of culture – see ‘Valkyrie’ on page 98), along with cheeky session stylist Carl Reeves, who for the past 15 years has been working his magic and reeling in some mighty high-profile gigs. A finalist for Session Stylist of the Year in the 2009 Schwarzkopf Professional Hair Expo Awards, Carl has also directed many a show at RAFW for labels such as Wayne Cooper and Alpha60, and is at this very minute living the European dream as he styles his way through the fashion capitals of the world.
“The photo shoot aspect particularly is a blank canvas for a diverse range of artists to flex their creative muscles,” Tullia says, “and create a directional and inspirational story that will be used as a flagship to promote the emerging designers.”
For Carl, The Spirit of the Black Dress is all about having the privilege to work alongside this team of stellar creative professionals, who all have one working goal – to elevate the careers of these upcoming designers. “The hair brief for me this year was simply to do what works best for the dresses and the shoot,” Carl explains. “To have an open plan is not always easy but definitely a lot of fun!
“I decided to keep each model much the same with the hair because I truly wanted it to be all about the dresses. Also we were shooting on location so I think its more effective to create one look that can be altered to match the personality of each dress and the girl modeling it.”
And when it comes to personality, each designer poured plenty into their creation. For Tia Carrigan, her dress had to be about changing moods and versatility, and so ‘The Frilled Chameleon Black Dress’ was born. “It’s made using 100% bamboo jersey fabric and is designed so it can be changed and updated by a simple wrap and tie feature,” says Tia, “which increases the value of the single dress and contributes to living in an environmentally conscious society.”
Designer Maja Mueller desperately wanted her design appreciated up close, and the idea of an exhibition was the fuel in her fire. “My garments usually have subtle but intricate details, which is better appreciated in an exhibition space rather than on the catwalk,” insists Maja. “I love playing with different ways of fabric enhancement, and I wanted to create a feeling of exclusivity and old world luxury by adding abundant beading by way of leather pieces, Onyx beads and Swarovski crystals on the top part of the dress.
“The other great thing about this project is that you get to meet people from the fashion industry and even get published in magazines!”
And that’s really what it’s all about… lifting spirits, opening doors and encouraging the next wave of great talent to show off their wares. “Overwhelmingly when we finished last year we received such positive feedback,” Tullia recalls. “When we were in the thick of organisational mode it was hard to see the big picture. But after we had wound up the project, we were able to take a step back and see how the event had affected people and how much positive attention we had received.”
Take that Poiret… the black dress is alive and well.