When you celebrate 25 years in the global fashion industry, you wanna make it a night to remember! And Tuesday night’s Perth Fashion Festival (PFF) finale was just that as Wheels & Dollbaby (W&Db) closed the whole calendar with a big rock band bang.
Yup, W&Db went all out for their anniversary parade. The buzz was palatable. Hell, even I had signed up to attend, having heard how fabulous decadent last years W&Db parade had been. You go for the clothes and the spectacle, I had been told. And the killer rock soundtrack.
W&Db flew in Perth ex-pat Little Birdy frontwoman Katy Steele to front their rock group on the go. Bombshell Tiah Eckhardt-Delaney and 2011 PFF Face Nicole Trunfio both strutted their stuff with style and panache in iconic W&Db cuts. And, to add to the impact, designer Melanie Greensmith held the whole shebang at His Majesty’s Theatre. They even had gold glitter canons go off at the close.
All very over the top, perhaps, but beautiful stage production insured W&Db’s milestone was memorable and well executed.
Trunfio opened the evening, getting dressed in W&Db while Sinatra’s The Lady Is A Tramp crooned across the sound system (personally, I hate the latent misogyny of that song, but perhaps that’s just my inner feminist complaining). Then, curtains lifted to reveal rock staging and a loose cocktail lounge set, complete with hot pink neon W&Db sign and pink satin Parisian hotel sofa.
As Steele kicked out the tunes alongside Greensmith’s beau, Divinyls guitarist Mark McEntee, a bevvy of beautiful girls strutted across the stage in beautiful 1950’s inspired silhouettes. Their curves were seductive. And I only hope the kitten ear Alice bands are W&Db… it’s the closest I think I’ll get to sporting anything like current season Givenchy panther ears, and achievable at a fraction of the price one hopes.
Midpoint saw a beautiful video montage play on a huge screen that lowered from the stage ceiling. This visual time capsule encapsulated the last 25 years of W&Db as astutely and quickly as possible, flying through a photo montage of celebrities and rock stars all sporting W&Db garments. It ended on a delicate, endearing note, lingering over a leopard print attired image of troubled pop star and recently departed music legend Amy Winehouse. A beautiful touch, reminding us that rock and roll doesn’t always save your soul.
Then there was another curtain lift and more costume changes and a medley of Dinyls tracks. Kudos goes to Tiah Eckhardt-Delaney, positively the only model on that entire stage capable of rocking out in high heels and attitude. She’s a goddess, and she added much needed life, energy, charisma and spunk to the show. Thank god they flew her in!
It was a great end to PFF, but not a brilliant one. It was perhaps a little formulaic, but then sometimes W&Db itself presents clothes that are just that: nostalgic nods to the bygone 1950’s etc etc. Recognisable, yes, but not overtly inventive. Like this show. But hey… they’ve been around for so long they’re better off doing what they do best – giving us the best god damn live show of all of PFF. Plus some damn sexy models.
As a brand, W&Db is a living legend of a brand. They gain respect merely for that fact alone. And then, one has the inkling Greensmith will, in time, become the Antipodean antithesis to England’s Vivienne Westwood. OK, so on the surface that seems an outrageous claim having both those names in the one sentence, but reconsider the wording, ‘antithesis’ being the key term there.
While London’s grand dame pushes the envelope with her fashion, Greensmith will endeavour to tow her beautifully nostalgic party lines. One is a maverick, the other the matron to Perth, the secret millionaires playground of the world. Greensmith will continue to do what she does because she does it bloody well, and we need a brand like W&Db , both in fashion and the global scheme of things.
And, in years to come, her fashion will bring big names of the day to our city, Greensmith’s reputation set to secure her a place as Perth’s Grand Dame of Fashion. Not nearly as outrageous as Westwood, clearly, but Greensmith is equally as determined to make her brand immortal, both of them sharing a rock root aesthetic that gives their labels an undeniable signature.
Trust me on this one folks. It may be my most outrageous fashion prediction to date, but by golly I bet you I am right. Let’s hope Greensmith recognises the potential herself and uses her pull to move the consciousness of her label and the Perth fashion scene forward into shaping concerns into social commentary. After all, rock & roll can save your soul, as they say.
So… here’s to outrageous fashion and Wheels & Dollbaby… oh, and all of PFF, particularly their brilliant team of polite and conscientious volunteers (who asked if I needed help while I struggled to send a text, they were that on the ball)… and another fabulous 25 years of fashion in Perth, the city of fun. Bring it on!
Just let me go shopping first for a whole new wardrobe… OK? Mwah!
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
P.S. On final count I managed to clock 10 outfit changes across the entire 7 days.
P.P.S. My deepest apologies to whomever released The PFF Runway Rules, but I wore my Luella for Linda Farrow cat mask sunglasses from Dilettante pour femme et homme while sitting front row on Sunday night. My excuse? I was possessed by the spirit of Anna Wintour. And I liked it….
