The Good, Bad and the Skinny

By Katherine Monday, May 18, 2015 0 Spring/Summer, winter Alex Perry, ALWAYSTRENDING, Australian Fashion, AW15, Bardot Permalink

Now that the Fashion Week dust has settled and my feet have completely recovered, I’ve had an opportunity to mull over it all.

I caught up with a friend this week whom I haven’t seen since Fashion Week last month and we were having a good tête-à-tête about the Week from an industry perspective.

Here’s our verdict (in reverse):

SKINNY

One thing that resonated with us over the course of the week was the absence of waif-thin models!

Now, I’m usually somewhat comfortable with my body (kinda) but amid a sea of models and celebrities (who might as well be models), my self-esteem usually drops a notch (or two) and by the end of Fashion Week I end up feeling hugely inadequate.

Last year the Carla Zampatti and Alex Perry shows sparked controversy and health concerns about their excessively thin models when their shows were dubbed “The Hunger Games“.

Alex Perry Runway 2014 (Image via Daily Telegraph)

This year the models were noticeably healthier and fitter. In fact, We Are Handsome sent real-life fitness stars down the runway instead of professional models, including yoga instructors, pole-vaulters and ballet dancers – advocating a healthy body image.

We Are Handsome Show MBFWA 15

We Are Handsome Show MBFWA 15

Thank you to the industry for hiring healthier models this year and promoting a more realistic body image. Thank you for helping to save our daughters from eating disorders.

BAD

We can’t forget the fascination of watching the outrageous sartorial warriors who wear the darndest things in an effort to get snapped up by a street-style photographer – fuzzy yellow shoes, bunny ears, pom poms – and no one even bats an eyelid.

Street Style MBFWA 15

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

GOOD

Apart from the obvious thrill of clothes, clothes, clothes and more free drinks (I mean, clothes), Fashion Week is a great opportunity to identify, first hand, the key trends for the coming season

Steven Khalil MBFWA 2015

Then there’s the pleasure of sipping cocktails with the fashion elite and the sheer excitement of sitting within a few inches of Christine Centenera, which never gets old.

Christine Centenera Front Row Fashion Week

Christine Centenera front row at Steven Khalil

As luck would have it, Fashion Week was scheduled during the school holidays so my mini-me snagged a plus-one ticket to some of these highly-coveted shows. She obviously doesn’t know the difference between a flare and a bootcut but she certainly enjoyed lapping up all the attention.