Glamour went way out when OUTinPerth and Perth Fashion Festival (PFF) joined forces to present Titled Couture at The Court Hotel on September 8. The entire evening was a night where fashion and fun were turned slightly on their head, creating an event that not only knocked off the socks of those who attended, but got voted one of the best parades of PFF 2009 by My Style Local.

The catwalk parade featured seven local designers and was a mixture of those who were either openly gay or supportive of the gay and lesbian community. A number of student designers work was also featured during the evening on static models, with some of the best from Curtin, Central TAFE and Edith Cowan making an appearance.

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Swan TAFE student designer Augustus Pinto opened the parade with his dark and romantic voluminous evening gown modelled by PFF’s Face of the Festival, Emily Cattermole. The piece was a striking affair, large and confronting yet restrained in its elegance.

Alister Yiap delivered larger than life jewellery, his wearable art always striking and majestic. Older pieces from his debut ’08 collection nestled themselves between his more dynamic new work, the latter boisterous and authoritative in equal measures. Yiap has a knack for wowing the crowd, his parade collection a far cry from his more delicate and refined ready-to-wear jewellery range, Malachi.

Next off, Mandi Mac sent out a bevy of troublesome young women, dressed up and sophisticated, demanding yet doing so with subtlety. Her silhouettes hinted at a heavy flirtation with reconstructing and reworking, the overall effect one of modern women with directional dropped crotches and tulle. Delicate details were in the string binding which contorted and eschewed dresses and the backs of evening coats.

Of Cabbages & Kings consistently deliver a fantastic parade, this showing yet another delight. Set to the hypnotic drone of a Johnny Cash remix, OC&K presented clothes for both men and women, albeit those firmly thinking – and living – outside of the box. Ripped gilled dinner shirts, oversized hoods and the most delicate, slightly dishevelled trench cape. Highlights included the brocaded skinny legged pants with pointed pockets sewn back on – genius and thoroughly divine.

Another highlight was Garth Cook. This Perth boy has couture on the mind. His collection here fused pieces from his past two seasons and included the most amazing silk organza fur dress. Cook as yet doesn’t have an official stockist for his amazing garments, but rest assured once he does he’ll be yet another Perth designer set to reach the stars.

At the eleventh hour, Ruby Mariani had to pull out of the show, but to take her place was the extraordinary work of young designer Chaka, who takes vintage pieces and reconstructs them into gloriously nostalgic creations. Showstoppers were the white beaded slip, the Indian summer inspired black halter dress and the black feathered cocktail gown worn by Fiona Thomas and matched with the most alluring purple feathered headpiece.

Ruth Tarvydas closed the show with a retrospective selection of works. The beauty of Tarvydas is that, back in the ’80s, she was at her most outrageous… and that’s exactly what her show delivered. From black and white body stockings to barely there bejewelled dresses, the highlight was the sequined show closer worn by Emily C who, by this point, had the crowd lapping up her enthusiasm.

Each of these designers helped to create an amazing parade show, one that showed exactly how exciting some of our community’s members actually are. OUTinPerth would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved, especially Perth Fashion Festival, all the beautiful models and, especially, all of the fantastic designers.

Scott-Patrick Mitchell

Involved in the creation of this show were:

83 VIPs, including the ever-gorgeous Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi, Perth Councillor Chris Hardy, Em from 92.9 (dressed exclusively in Ruth Tarvydas for the entire fashion week), Antonio Tati from Cream Magazine and Georgina Safe from The Australian.

52 shoes, provided by Betts.

50, James Street, home to the sparkling host venue and co-sponsor, The Court Hotel.

28 dressers busy dressing backstage.

20 models including Emily Cattermole (PFF Face of the Festival) and Tom Bull (PFF Youth Ambassador).

15 pizzas to feed the models pre-show.

6 emerging or established designers, including Alister Yiap, Chaka, Garth Cook, Mandi Mac, Of Cabbages & Kings and Ruth Tarvydas.

6 student designers, including Emma Brown, Augustus Pinto, Tim Watson, Jessica Shirras, Rachel Lockyer and Jeromy Lim.

4 rounds of applause for Kate Wilson Events for projectors and tech support

3 video cameras recording the whole event for Fashion TV (thanks FTV!).

2 backstage wunderkinds, model liaison Des Eddy and catwalk choreographer Kelly Holmes.

1 night… 1 fantastic and truly memorable night – thanks to all those who helped make it one of the best shows of PFF!