RMIT student showcase

Well, continuing with the theme of out-of-date blog posts, allow me to present you with something that happened last weekend, which, as you would know, is an eternity in the blogging world. Sorry! Anyway, this is the RMIT student runway show – the first one. There were two shows with 15 students in each of them showing 5 outfits each, but this is just a little selection from the first show.

Architectural inspiration from Amelia Agosta. Dare I say that students always attempt this sort of thing, but this collection was very well executed.

Elyse Barker went with an overblown flower theme in candy tones…



…and in bright gold (gold hibiscus!) – I would totally wear this jacket, although maybe not at the office…

Laura Hui Shan Li played with illusions and moulded her pieces to the body.

She used leather for a lot of the pieces. Here you can see the back of a huge mask – and a detail of the pom pom chain ponytail which most of the models were sporting.

Remie Cibis sort of reminded me of Ann Demeulemeester/90s grunge gone clean, which is not my kind of thing at all usually.

However, I loved the plaits (although this look would never work on my wussy flyaway hair) and I also loved the huge white stitches which in some places were used not only as decoration but as a construction detail. You can see them on the model at the right below (around the yoke of the garment)…

… and also on the back of this long waistcoat.

Franca Sabatini’s skirts were somewhat impractical…

… but her blouses were sweet, the mask idea was fun, and the shoes were amazing. It’s hard to see here but they were white booties with what looked like carved, curved wooden platforms which resembled blades on ice skates.

Stephanie McPherson’s collection was quite commercial in taste, which makes me think she’ll probably be snapped up quite quickly once she graduates.

I’m not sure what the prints were – maybe shells? Her designs were all very flattering, real-world friendly, and would have appeal across all age groups – and depending on the styling could look fashion forward or office-appropriate.

Emmarose Kinsman’s work seemed simple, but I bet the cutting of these pieces is actually quite tricky. I love the pop of colour in the tiered dress on the left.

And this dress is decorated in yo-yos, which as you all know are very handy and can be used to pretty up lots of things!

Jon Cordiano had some interesting silhouettes which showed off his construction skills.



I’m not going to say that this rope dress was flattering, but it was certainly interesting and displayed his skill.

I actually think it looks beautiful from behind with all the tassels swinging.

Menswear doesn’t usually do much for me but I think we can expect big things from Chris Ran Lin. I loved the gold rope (?) motifs printed? or embroidered? on this navy suit.


His textured knitwear was nothing short of fabulous. I had actually seen this jumper on a female model in a photo at the exhibition I went to the other day, so it could definitely work as a mini dress.

Toned down a bit, this intricate cabling on the sleeves could be perfect to add interest to winter woollies, or a coat, as he’s shown here.

I think he had a bit of an under-sea theme going – this hoodie/cropped jumper reminded me of an old fashioned deep sea diver mixed with some of the characters in Pirates of the Carribbean.

Kind of tentacley and barnacley, don’t you think?

The finale was such a joyous occasion – the last show for MSFW but for many students, the first major one in what I hope will be long, successful fashion careers!