LMFF and Mary Katrantzou.

So this morning (Monday 4th February),was the official program briefing for the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival. It was held at the picturesque Trocadero restaurant, situated on the Yarra river within Melbourne's iconic Arts Centre, Hamer Hall. Much like the festival itself, the restuant is modern, sophisticated and accessible and as Graeme Lewsey, CEO of LMFF said  "from the minute it opened we knew this would be the place for this mornings briefing." It was such a great morning catching up with the team from LMFF, the girls at AMPR, my fellow Devotees Jasmin, Chelsea, Davis and most recently Megan Castran. We are all so diverse and yet all link in together nicely which is amazing. 
Anyway, LMFF, together with David Jones announced this morning that the award winning Mary Katrantzou will be attending the Festival as a special guest! OMG!! So excited! Her designs caught my eye a couple of years ago and she is definitely one of my favourite international designers. Her business has grown tremendously from her first ready-to-wear collection which debuted at London Fashion Week in spring/summer 2009 where she picked up 15 prestigious stockists such as Browns, Joyce and Colette, to now boasting over 250 stockists worldwide including Selfridges, Barneys and David Jones, where she is stocked exclusively in Australia. 
Mary has based her collections on perfume bottles, artisan blown glass, interiors and objects of Art, while keeping the printed image central to her aesthetic. For Spring/Summer 2013, the collection is inspired by postage stamps and obsolete banknotes, a world history 'Tour de Force.' Luxurious texture is also at the heart of the collection making her designs highly sort after. She says, "I wanted to play with unique fabrications that created new textures and aesthetic qualities. For me the most important factor when designing is creating something new, something innovative and something that people will appreciate for its intelligent design aesthetic, as well as its function. It's important to be in sync with your times and create something that is relevant but also can shape how people want to dress in the future."
Mary will be attending the Opening Event presented by David Jones and supported by Vogue Australia on Tuesday 19th March, and her collection will open the first and largest runway show of the week. Other David Jones top Australian designers including Dion Lee, Ellery, Collette Dinnigan, Rachel Gilbert and many more will also be apart of the show. This is one event you MUST NOT miss! 
Not only that, but on Thursday 21st March, Mary is speaking at the highly acclaimed L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival Business Seminar presented by the State Government of Victoria, Westfield and supported by WISH Magazine. Other speakers at the seminar include media pioneer, Marc Worth (UK), store designer Ron Pompei (USA), fashion illustrator Bill Donovan (USA) and digital and fashion film expert Quynh Mai (USA). Presentations run from 8:50am-4:00pm, with the doors opening at 8:30am. Set in the Grand Ballroom at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, tickets are $450 per person and include lunch & refreshments throughout the day. Networking drinks then begin at 4:00pm. In 2013 the event focuses on business and creative with topics including 'the emerging digital trend of social curation,' 'evolving patterns in global consumer behaviour,' 'transformational store design' and 'fashion illustration' among others. I would highly recommend attending this if you have the chance, as the speakers are world class and I can imagine it will be extremely inspiring!
So this is only the beginning.. I have soooo much more amazing information to share with you that I couldn't fit it all into one post. I was just so excited by the fact that we are going to be blessed with Mary Katrantzou on our shores, attending the Festival, that I had to tell you ALL ABOUT IT! If you haven't already heard of her, then click on the link above (hover the mouse over her name to click through to her website). Her site is currently 'under construction' so to speak, however click on the 'Press Book' to see a collection of images of her designs throughout hundreds of highly acclaimed publications. We are all in for a treat! Below is an image of Samantha Harris and two other models at the Program Briefing this morning wearing Mary's beautiful designs (I'll take one of each, thank you!) and also a photo of CEO, Graeme Lewsey, and the girls next to the new BMW (a sponsor of the festival). How amazing, right!? xx