Consumer? Culture? Celebrity?

The L’Oreal Fashion Festival’s opening night presented by Vogue and David Jones kicked off a week of style frenzy in Melbourne on March 19th at Government House.

L’Oreal’s Megan Gale and Barbara Palvin hosted the launch to 350 exclusive guests including A-listers CEO Graeme Lewsey, Camilla Franks, Jessica Gomes and Magdalena Roze.

But behind the glitz and glam of LMFF’s official opener – the previous night  L’Oreal’s ‘Operette’ displayed the festival’s artistic depth at Melbourne’s Atheneaum Theatre showcasing there is more to the festival than commercial marketing.

Festival chairman Laura Anderson said ‘Operette’  is part of L’Oreal’s Cultural Program blending modern fashion with the arts and offering experience to future designers.

With the iconic theatre at capacity almost 1,000 attendees, including former Premier Ted Bailleu, saw Designer Linda Britten’s vision realised in a 50-minute fusion of opera and fashion.

“(It’s) an incredible concept, the purpose of the festival is to bring together fashion and the arts and you could see that displayed tonight,” Ms Britten said in an interview after the show.

The Cultural Program played out throughout Victoria during the March festival combining art, film and fashion to explore another side of the industry and contrast the festival’s usual consumer and retailer focus.

Other Cultural Programs schedule during the LMFF included:

•The Spirit of the Black Dress

•How to be a Fashionista

•Wardrobe Weekender

•Windows by Design

Ms Britten, who is recognised as a Mentor of the Dame Nellie Melba Trust’s program, said her involvement in the project started through working and sponsoring operas like the Acclaim Awards and the Melba Artists program.

“The idea of bringing opera and fashion together, it was very interesting,” Britten said.

Mr Baillieu stressed the importance of L’Oreal’s Cultural Program providing a back-drop to the high-end comercial runways and marketing campaigns at the forefront of the festival.

“It was a great night, Linda did such a great job, a great concept, a great blend of the arts,” Mr Baillieu said.

L’Oreal’s mission statement for it’s week-long festival is to market Australia’s fashion industry for designers, consumers and retailers and news.com.au’s Melissa Hoyer said the LMFF continues to flock millions to the festival by targetting a ranging audience through adapting cultural initiatives like ‘Operette’  with retailing to produce universal appeal.

 “(It’s) A totally egalitarian event – tickets are available for everyone,” Ms Hoyer said.

But Vogues Editor Edwinna McCann  said L’Oreal’s conusmer and retail focus remains the prominent factor ensuring the LMFF’s populairity as a landmark event on Melbourne’s calender.

“The shows I have attended at the festival are full of people who are thrilled to be there and keen to buy what they see,” Ms McCann said.

“Its purpose is to inspire, inform and — most importantly for our local fashion industry — to sell clothes,” she said.

 The first runway shows saw almost 3,000 fashionistas  rubbing shoulders with the fashion elite to see the latest looks from hot Greek designer Mary Katrantzou showing off the festival’s consumerism.

A Mary Kantrazou design at the 2013 LMFF

 

But The Australians Damien Woolnough said since a tough transition of leadership past from former CEO Karen Webster to Mr Lewsey it’s the festival’s expanded diversity which has caused the LMFF to better reflect Melbourne, rather than by flaunting free products, celebrity crowds, street style & “peacocking”  to the public.

“The strong cultural aspects of the festival… add extra depth to an industry often dismissed as superficial,” Mr Woolnough said.

Chadwick model Jan Uwland, who participated in the festival’s Penthouse Start Up Show on Friday the 15th of March believes there is place for both culture and comercialism within L’Oreal’s festival but said the changing fashion climate has lead to evolutions to the program.

Jan Uwland Chadwick Model

“The festival has actually gotten a lot smaller as a whole, with the internet affecting business sales, fashion retailers have been forced to change the way they market their clothes and in some cases that’s lessened the consumer focus of L’Oreal’s festival,” Mr Uwland said.

“But it’s hard, the whole thing is intrinsically market focused and for the development and expansion of the fashion industry, especially Australia’s fashion industry, L’Oreal’s festival is great because it provides the perfect platform for marketing,”

“The clothes we wear are generally from stores, that get us to market their new designs so there is always going to be a marketing purpose but especially during fashion week there is a definite artistic edge to the designs,” Mr Uwland

It’s commercialism, it’s culture, it’s celebrity, it’s the Melbourne’s L’Oreal fashion week and while events like Brittens ‘Operette’ won’t get the media coverage of  the starstudded opening parades Mr Uwland says the fashion industry will contiue to offer cultural showcases  within the festival to seek out diverse intrigue from their audience.

“Being in the industry you probably get to better appreciate how both sides of the retail and cultural aspects of the festival interplay, but it’s great to see more of the public get a chance to view and appreciate the industry we work in,” Mr Uwland said.

L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival – What makes you interested?
	Appreciating the Fashion Shows and Runways
	Seeing the Celebrities, AListers and Models
	Cultural Activites linkning Fashion and the Arts
	Searching for Retail ideas and opportunities
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