fashion event | The Hidden Thimble

This week I had the pleasure of attending the regional final of the international Woolmark prize for Australia and New Zealand. For those who don’t know, this prize celebrates outstanding fashion talents from around the globe in a competition that challenges participants to test the boundaries of merino wool.

Of the talent present on the night, Australian labels Exinfinitas and macgraw took out the competition with their unique, innovative and forward thinking designs. Macgraw stole the show with a two-piece look that showcased a soft pink overcoat with hand embroidered merino wool flowers. Inspired by the Flannel Flower native to Sydney, the piece embodied the soft woolly feel of the flower.

From luxury fashion to contemporary street wear, merino wool is soft on the skin and provides superior drape that follows the form of the wearer’s body – making it an ideal, trendy and not to mention warm must-have for winter. But if you’re not too sure where to start on the next wool piece for your closet, don’t worry! The Woolmark Company puts together a seasonal guide that curates the most inspirational emerging wool trends known as ‘The Wool Lab’. This year, The Wool Lab has identified 7 themes for 2016/17 Autumn/Winter that are inline with the latest fashion trends.

Here’s the scoop on two of my favourites below:

Normdecor

Redefining elegance, Normdecor is about wearing structured but comfortable clothes with deluxe touches. This look takes inspiration from different fashion eras and cultures.

Get the look:

Structures & Patterns:
Jacquard, embroideries, prints, taffetas, fake fur (Byzantine), panno, voile, trimming
Knitwear:
Jacquard, Milan stitch, compact knit

Androgyne

Androgyne is all about timeless elegance. This theme takes the idea of made-to-measure ‘man’ suits, designed for the classy woman.

Get the look:

Structures & Patterns
Glenn check, pinstripe, houndstooth
Colours
Grey, blue, black and white

*Please note that this article was also contributed to SydneyScoop.

After professing our love for IXIAH’s collection at Sydney Fashion Weekend, when we heard news of IXIAH’s media launch we knew we just HAD to go!

Heading down to level 1 of Westfield Pitt Street, a small sealed off section was packed and we mean PACKED full of people all checking out the IXIAH collection. We were pretty stoked to be able to see the collection up close and personal. There’s nothing more satisfying than running your fingers on some expensive threads, ahh *sigh*.

Just a bit of background IXIAH (pronounced ex’ sy’ ah,’ yes we were fighting over the pronunciation too) is a Sydney-based fashion label by Krystal Davis. It’s always hard to articulate a brand’s signature style, but IXIAH’s “about us” page best describes their aesthetic as being “textural collections and strong silhouettes with handmade eclectic design aspects.”

We couldn’t agree more! There is something genuinely intriguing about the choice of delicate fabrics and feminine cuts that are both flattering and well put together. Amongst music, tasty treat munching and freebie goodies, their clothes were marked down with a generous discount. We even found pieces from $300 down to $150! It made us swoon with a giddy childish glee when going through each rack from their SS12 – Fall 13 collections.

I (Talyssa) absolutely LOVED that blue blouse!! I still want it, but ah..I’m so poor these days.

If we’re completely honest the crowd looked kinda pretentious – models, good looking people in general, fashion buffs, the brand designers and of course, hipsters. Although it took us a while to work up the courage to talk to people on the night when we finally did, everyone, especially the models, were super nice!!

One of the models we gathered up the courage to talk to (LOL). This lovely model’s outfit features IXIAH’s upcoming Spring collection due to be released in August.

We absolutely loved this outfit! This model also features clothing from IXIAH’s Spring Collection debuting in August. Loving this Aztec inspired style! Spring trends seem to be fluro, bright colours, aztec/geometrical patterns, and exploring clothing of different textures.

We were in awe of this outfit!! That vest was immaculate and works so well with the blouse underneath. For some reason we can’t shake the the lost Island “Atlantis” vibe we’re getting from IXIAH’s clothing! Don’t you think?

Freebie showbag!! This was such an awesome bonus. Each bag contained a free belt, a hair product (mine was a heat protectant spray), a $100 makeup lesson voucher (so awesome) and a complimentary treatment and blowdry at Intershape Hairstylists.

The IXIAH pop up store is on level 1 outside Zara in Westfield Pitt Street for one month only so check it out!

The Hidden Thimble

Tag Archives: fashion event

International Woolmark Prize and A/W 2016/17 Winter Wool Trends

Normdecor

Androgyne

Ixiah Media Launch

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