Circa Nocturna 2011

On the 12th of March I found myself at the Circa Nocturna 2011 Fashion Parade with a few hours to myself minus baby. What bliss! I was on the VIP list as a result of my blog entry about last years parade and we had reserved seats and even a free drink! It has taken me ages to complete this blog entry. The photo's, the text, the links and of course the 5 week old baby ...

Had to include this picture of an ex-student modeling John and Betty

The fashion parade was professionally run with lots of new designers that I hadn't seen before. There were about 20 photographers at the end of the runway, but we chose to sit about a third of the way down the runway. I didn't fancy standing up for an extended period of time.

There were lots of lovely clothes, but here are some of the designers that I am still dreaming about ... in no particular order.

Petticoats and Gallantry

There wasn't much on their web site before the parade, but "wow", their collection stood out as being well thought out and refined. The styles are all sizes friendly and looked well made, there were no threads hanging down, as there was on another collection.

A good choice of contrasting fabrics and attention to detail.

They put a lot of effort into styling their clothes and make-up, with head pieces and shoes all matching. Don't you hate it when a model is wearing something lovely, but their shoes are falling to bits?

Head on over to their web site where they are updating it with their creations from the fashion parade. There is also a youtube clip on their range at the parade.

Clockwork Butterfly

These guys did not disappoint, it was a very "steampunk" collection.

Again, a great deal of attention to detail from top to toe.

With many of the accessories being "one of a kind" pieces that you would probably pay a small fortune for.

The menswear looked liked it belonged to the model, unlike another collection where the jackets and waistcoats were ill fitting.

It is a bit disappointing that their web site does not have prices listed, so I have no real idea as to how much one of these gorgeous pieces would cost :(

There is a youtube clip of their parade where you can see the steampunk gorgeousness!

Michael V Couture

When it was announced that the Michael V collection was his first runway collection, I was expecting something amateurish. In reality the collection was breathtaking and left me feeling both quite excited and disappointed that I wouldn't be able to do any of it any justice with my post-baby body .. but give me time!

All of Michael V's creations were gorgeous, but one that caught my eye was the burgundy pencil skirt number. I immediately thought that this outfit might have been inspired by Rachel from Bladerunner. The hair and the clothes worked perfectly.

I loved the subtle alternative statements in the headpieces. Most of Michael's outfits had fabulous head pieces, showing his flexibility as as designer.

The last outfit was this black strapless number. At the end of the runway stood this goddess with the most amazing shapely figure (unlike most of the Loreal Fashion Festival models). Her sexy walk up and down the runway was most memorable! Check out the youtube clip of his clothes.

Edit: A reader tells me that Michael V's head pieces were designed by Milly Pilly Designs

Rebecca Cobbing Couture

This collection was another well rounded collection with high attention to detail.

The zombie make-up on this model was well suited to the dress she was sporting and what you would expect at an alternative fashion event. You had to appreciate the embroidery work on the "heart" up close, intricate and well finished.

Like something from Marie Antoinette's wardrobe, the headpiece for this outfit was grand.

My favourite from Rebecca's collection was this silver number with hand embroidery on it. Breathtaking.

Rebecca Cobbing parade on Youtube

It's interesting to note that when this event first happened, the type of clothing was predominately "club-wear". This year there was a definate avante-guard feel to the collections and not many "club-wear" focused labels.

It was sad to hear that this will be the last parade of it's kind by these organisers. I know that a lot of the manpower that goes into this show is voluntary. I would suspect that you can only organise these events so many times before it becomes soul sucking.

I thank the organisers for their energy in putting this event together and hope that they reconsider! Check out the Circa Nocturna facebook page and "like" them to show that you appreciate their efforts.

There were lots of photographers there that night and a quick search reveals that many have put their collections online for you to enjoy:

• Viceral Industry
• NightlifeOz has a few video's on Youtube