Melissa by Vivienne at Izabel

"Izabel at 5, 167 Grey St, South Bank, QLD 4101"

I went to the launch of Melissa by Vivienne Westwood at a shop called Izabel the other night.
Izabel Boutique is one of those shops on the Southbank cinemas strip where I was always afraid to go into because it seemed shiny and expensive and if I went in, I feared that I’ll end up falling in love with something, only to find a price tag of $500 or more.

So when I went the other night for there launch I was pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive they are and better yet that they are also currently holding a end of season Sale!. The sale prices of the woman shoes are $99 or less and men are at $49 or less but only while stocks last.

The shop itself is owned and run by friends Patrick, Salvatore and Leah. The boutique opened 5 years ago as a shoe store but 2 years later expanded to also stock clothing and accessories, with further expansion planed for next year.

"Shoes on display "

"Drinking Bubbly and shopping at the same time "Haven"

"The range of Melissa shoes in Izabel"

"I love this range that I found on the counter"

"The shoes I ended up getting"

Now back to the shoes I came for. The first thing that sparked my interest about this range of Melissa
shoes was the fact that it’s designed by Vivienne Westwood, my all time favorite Idol designer, who if she were a religion I would worship at her alter.

But it was for Melissa Shoes, “Melissa” is the company who brought us the original jelly shoes back in the 70’s and only made jelly shoes. So I needed convincing, I took a look at the collection which I thought was quite me and naturally had already picked the one I wanted even before seeing it in real life.

I did start having social conscious thoughts tho. About how it’s made from plastic, and how much pollution it must of caused to make it in the first place so I looked up the company on the inter-web and found out that ‘Melissa’ had all the information I was looking for.

All there Products are developed, fabricated and distributed with sustainability in mind. There products are created from a mono-material called MELFLEX which can be easily disassembled and recycled. The formula contains products which are hypoallergenic and 100% safe to your health, it’s odorless, neutral and natural. Also all of the solid, Liquid and gas residues, left over from the production process are recycled and dealt with in-house which means nothing leaves the factory without being properly treated, resulting in practically no waste.

Right well I’m sold.

" Melissa by Vivienne Westwood range that is Stocked in Izabel"

Looking threw the glass of Venues

On my daily commute past the “Blond venues” shop in the valley I can’t help but to look at there window displays and whenever they change it I play a little game to myself call “Hit or miss” and in spite the reputation of the place sometimes it’s a miss for me. But the latest thing they have on there window is a definite Hit.

I find the current dress on display to be bold, original, clever and yet simple at the same time.

I was intrigued enough to actually do some research on who designed it, and this is what I found out.

It’s designed by a lady call “Mary Katrantzou” she was born in Greece, and first studied at Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to Central Saint Martins where she graduated with a distinction in MA Fashion.

For her graduate collection she featured dresses with oversize jewelery digitally printed on to silk (which would become her signature look) gave the illusion of wearing giant neck pieces. In turn she also created real jewelery pieces design as exact replicas of the prints. This collection made her an instant hit with the buyers and the press alike.

Due to the hit of her gradation collection she started her own label. She received a New Generation Sponsorship to produce a second collection for AW09/10 which was launched during London Fashion Week in February 2009.

Her hyper-real imagery of her graduate collection is further explored but this time the pictures of jewelery have been replaced by art deco style glass perfume bottles.

The print of the perfume bottles worn on a woman’s body creates the illusion of an hourglass silhouette which accentuates the female figure.

Mary Katrantzou’s range is only stocked in 2 places in Australia one at “Le Louvre” in Melbourne and the other being where I saw it, Blond Venus in Brisbane.

At over $1000 a Dress Ill just have to keep dreaming while looking at it behind glass but from now on I promise to keep a lookout for her work.

From Mary Katrantzou's Graduate collection



Some of her garments from her AW09/10 collection that is currently sold in Australia.



Mary’s latest collection for spring 2010 is inspired by the spiraling, fluid forms and colors of blown glass. She also commission British master of art glass-blowing, Peter Layton, to make neck pieces and cuffs to accompany the collection. This collection is not yet available in Australia.



All photo's courtesy of Style.com

When Easton met Pearson

For the people who know me, you will of course know that I can’t do a blog about Brisbane and fashion and not do at least one on Easton Pearson.

A Brisbane label that started in 1989, this year saw the 20th anniversary of Easton Pearson, which in any industry, let alone fashion, is a milestone.

The way they celebrated was to hold a 20-year retrospective at the Gallery Of Modern Art here in Brisbane.

The exhibition opened on the 28th of November with a very fanciful cocktail party and because it was inconjunction with the start of the annual Brisbane Fashion Festival, everyone who was anyone, or at least thought they were was there. In other words there was a lot of people in attendance.

I definitely thought It was the highlight of the festival.

The exhibition ended last Sunday, but I managed to return a few days before for one last look and brought along my camera to photograph some of my favourite outfits.

So without further ado, here are my photos (I’m still not great with my manual camera and there was no flash allowed)!

"the top is made entirely out of metal sequins and skirt is silk tafetta with metal sequin detailing"


"I call this "The African Princess dress" "

"I call this "The flamenco dress"

"Love it"
"Just a random shot but I do like that coat dress "

Photos of the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Last Saturday was the opening of The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial Of Contemporary Art (APT6) For those who are not aware, this is something that Brisbane has been holding every three years since 1993.

The whole premise of APT is to form a closer bond with the countries within our Asia Pacific region, by commissioning and exhibiting works from artists living in said countries. In the past it has been the launch pad for up and coming artisans who would later on be highly successful.

I personally have been going to these exhibitions since 1999 and it's never failed to inspire me. I promised myself not to miss this year's opening weekend as they are always full of activities
and artist talks and I absolutely loved the APT6 line up!

These photos are some of the highlights that I found especially interesting - which makes for quite a bit actually. So grab a coffee or tea first and sit down to browse through my selections of must-sees.

GOMA Director ' Mr Tony Ellwood'

I just want to say that the photo's doesn't justify the true beauty of it in real life.