Launch My Label- *Flash* Kapow!

I was going to title this Blog, 'Why I am the worst best runway photographer in the Universe'  but then I decided that would be far to controversial a title and decided to go with the more pedestrian one above. Yes I have been coaxed yet again to attend a Fashion Show, this time Launch My Label by Chic Petite Events. "This is a quarterly event ,etc etc etc emerging artists, organisations and talented young people to effectively launch their label in the Australian market."

Well that is definitely a good thing & as my readers will know I am becoming quite familiar with the new phenomenon of Fashion as Entertainment! This time I found myself in the photographers 'pit' with a view to doing some real runway shots, well why not. The problem was that I was a bit lazy last night and while I did take my bigger camera I decided to leave my flash behind as I hate carrying too much stuff around. I thought well, I will just make-do.

Making-Do has its own special surprises though and last night it was that as the models made their way to the end of the (short) Runway the spotlights which were only on one side only really illuminated their bodies not their heads. Of course if you were just watching the show you probably would not even notice this but my camera certainly did and I very quickly had to decide if my next Blog would be about 'Headless models on the Catwalk, We only show the clothes'. Ah Catwalk, thats a phrase I far prefer to Runway!

No; headless models would never do, they would never forgive me. Everyone else with a camera was however using flash, they were firing off all around me from every conceivable direction. I thought "you know theres plenty of light going on here I just need to use it", and so I did setting my camera to long exposure and coming up with a kind of beautiful, 'Village of the Dammed' version of Launch My Label that I am sure will be far more entertaining to my readers than any normal runway pictures could ever be.

After the show we, (my photographer friend & I) headed backstage to meet the designers & models and congratulate everyone on a job well done. I was telling everyone "no I don't shoot runway I'm a photographer, but I do have a blog called Street Fashion Sydney". And we were all swapping cards and stories as you do! My cards which are quite big and look like this,

or this
or this

Seemed to go down quite well.

But its not about us, its about the designers who last night were, 
Carmen Steane
ZarBe
Clover Love
Laura Maidment
Samantha Chan
Rebekah Anne Fashion
Thulie

Accessories,
Coco Liberace
Featherhead
Danyelle

As these are emerging designers I think the best way to find them will be to cut and paste their names into that search bar thingie at the top of your Facebook page. Everyone has  a Facebook page & I suspect they do too. You can 'follow' Chic Petite Here.

And if you are at a loose end tonight, The Amnesty International Australia Artists Network has a photography exhibition at Carriageworks, Journey To Freedom. See you all there.

Dream Girl 2010 Sydney Australia

20 Girls... From 15 different parts of the world ...

A series of 10 portraits I took of the participants in the inaugural Dream Girl Pageant launch last week. Full details about the pageant can be found below along with a link to the Dream Girl website. And yes I have reproduced the press release in full. Street Fashion Sydney had a lovely time at the opening at Bay Leaf restaurant in Crows Nest, all the participants seemed very well informed about the issues Dream Girl is addressing and then there was some very tasty food as well.

Dream Girl 2010

Australia's first ever multi cultural beauty pageant, Dream Girl 2010 is bought to you by Pratibimb (Indian Cultural Community Inc). Indian Cultural Community is a Non Profit organization that helps and supports cultural and multi cultural events to showcase diverse local and national talents. It is established to help discover, and promote different cultures around Australia.

This Pageant is designed to showcase talents of today's modern girls in Australia, who are well aware of their culture as well as their present surroundings. It will embrace the Australian culture, as well as other cultures involved to show the best of both the worlds. The event will be held on 23rd October 2010. We're looking for one girl who is diverse, refined and creative. She has to have a vision; she has to be out of this world, and of course, she has to be dreamy…

Our final winner, the Dream Girl 2010 will get the chance of a life time to visit Bollywood and meet the biggest stars and watch them shoot (all expenses paid), and that's not all, we'll also be giving her two days at the best acting school in Bombay, and the opportunity to star as a lead in an upcoming Bollywood movie!

Because Dream Girl 2010 is multi cultural and focuses on women from different backgrounds living in Australia, we would like to take this opportunity to promote crucial matters regarding women all over the world. Our 20 participants will be raising money for Breast Cancer, as well as creating awareness for IWDA (International Womens Development Agency) through out the next two months, until the 23rd October, 2010, which is when the final event will take place.

Dream Girl 2010

Best of luck to all the participants in Dream Girl 2010.

Istanbul Fashion Week: Day 5 Koton Beachwear

I wasn't familiar with the brand Koton until last year when I attended their fashion show which showcased their collaboration with Hakan Yildirim. I' found out that they have many stores outside of Turkey as well and are comparable to H&M or Mango with their ability to catch on quick to trends.

This time around I was invited to see their beachwear collection. It created a huge buzz beforehand because Victoria's Secret angel Alessandra Ambrosio was announced to be on the catwalk. In fact she opened and closed the show and finished thereby the last show of the fashion week.

There were lots of bikinis with interesting straps, one-pieces with original shoulder details and flowy, long cover-ups.

Istanbul Fashion Week: Day 5 Özlem Süer

Özlem Süer’s show was held at a beautiful location in the early evening that suited very much the collection we were presented. On the Maiden’s Tower, which is located in the Marmara Sea between Europe and Asia, a very decadent atmosphere awaited us.

Before the catwalk show we had a chance to see all the models together, who wore creations that would have pleased Marie Antoinette very much. But not just her, even I, who normallywouldn’t be attracted to such girly attire and rococo inspired setting, was mesmerized by the sight of them!

I'm sure this dress would have enchanted my soon-to-be-bride friend Leyla as well!

Istanbul Fashion Week: Day 4 Bahar Korcan

Listen

I took a step without knowing the name
Can’t see.
Broken lenses got mixed with the sand
Too much light, too little existence
Stop!
Turn to yourself
Open your soul to the universe
Listen!
Listen to every speck around you, every soul on a leaving journey
Close your eyes, listen!
Listen to the air
Listen to the soil
Listen to the time
Listen to the game
Discover the end

I rarely get a seat that good so I tried to take as many pictures as I could focusing on details. Bahar Korcan's show was quite different to the ones I attended so far beacuse it also involved a light show and a performance by the rapper Fuat.

I don't see myself as qualified enough to make profound statements about fashion and it's deeper meaning so you take from it whatever you want to. A couple of days earlier though I attended a panel at which the designer herself said that she had a rather critical approach to fast fashion and consumerism and wanted to remind people to slow down, "turn to themselves"and only surround themselves with things they really love as opposed to being insatiable. Even if I didn't like the creations that much (the details were intriguing though) I liked the theatrical touch of this show.

Jewelry shopping in Istanbul

I often get asked where I buy jewelry in Istanbul, mostly by people who are soon about to make a trip there and want some information about it. Well first of all, I'm not a local and my taste might not be yours but when I'm here I tend to look for "exotic" pieces, be it rings, necklaces or whatever.

The variety here is truly amazing: you can find everything ranging from historic Ottoman designs to traditional yellow gold, diamonds or other precious stones to contemporary pieces in silver. For a quick jewelry fix I mostly reach out to silver or gold-pleated ones but to be honest, mostly mine are just metal. If you take them off when washing your hands and don't spray perfume on your necklace you can keep them for quite some time.

So where should you go? The one place with the largest variety is probably the Grand Bazaar, which by the way is the world’s oldest shopping mall, having been established in 1453. Since it's a touristic hot-spot the prices are higher than somewhere else. The bazaar is so large that you probably won't be able to enter every street of it but once you get out of it the street east of the bazaar on the way to Sultanahmet is also lined with jewelry shops.

The Egyptian (Spice) Market also has several jewelry stores but I mostly buy mine in the streets surrounding the Spice market. But be aware that there are also many stores who only do wholesale. If all that fails, you probably end up at one time or other on Beyoglu's Istiklal street anyway so you might as well shop there...

'Bro Tie Night' now with ACP & RSFF!

A well rounded night indeed. Nyc & I started out at a floor talk at the Australian Center of Photography (ACP). While not my Fav talk I have attended at the ACP it was as usual informative & I particularly enjoyed hearing about Robyn Beech's experiences as to how she went about creating her iconic 80s photographs with Make Up Artist Richard Sharah.  The front gallery is full of Robyn's wonderful and familiar work and as such, its a little confronting to hear her say, "I never got booked for a job because of this work". Or something just like that.

The current line up also includes "Zeitgeist Becomes Form German Fashion Photography 1945 - 1995". For those of you who have only experienced photography in the digital age this is a must see show. Well the whole lot is must see, tomorrow is the last day so go go GO!

After the talk we headed down to the Sydney Town Hall for a drink at the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival & shot the last runway show of the night. Once again I only had my little G10 on me but it seems to have been more or less up to the challenge though I will let you be the judge of that. Although these are the same frocks from Fashion Week in July it was my first time seeing them in the flesh & there was some lovely pieces on offer from the designers.

After all that excitement it was time to retire to a bar and debrief the evenings events. We nipped just around the corner to Hotel Sweeney's on the corner of Clarence & Druitt Streets which if you can believe it I have never been in before.

So over a couple of beers and the sweet music of a road-saw cutting through the roadway on Druitt Street we discussed the awesomeness of the show at the ACP. Clients and money LOL! How well Sam Harris is doing as a model & the T&C on the Chic Models website...

Then out of the darkness of the night and through the pub doors strolled a posse of terribly well dressed Gentlemen in Dinner Suits & Bow Ties. It was a little like being plunged into an episode of Brideshead Revisited; only everyone had grown up and moved to Australia! My friend David Gofton used to say, "Culture, you want Culture, just go down to the TAB, theres plenty of Culture down there". And so it was and we were in the thick of it, Aussie culture, no longer the European Culture so many seem to hunger for.

Of course if you want a serving of Australian and European culture, be quick and catch the last two days of the show at the ACP in Paddingtion. Its well worth the effort.