It's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia time again. What does that mean to the lay person like you and me? Not a whole lot. Well, not right now, anyway.
Fashion Week is when all of the designers showcase their wares for the next season to both local and international buyers in the hopes that the retailers they represent will purchase and stock their ranges. This year sees the shows pushed back to mid May as opposed to April to align with international buying cycles which designers previously missed out on.
So essentially, it's all the clothes and trends we will see in the stores come September (or a more wearable iteration thereof). Not surprisingly, local high-street brands and online boutiques somehow miraculously have very similar trends in-store the next season, too, so maybe they're 'inspired by' what they see.
It's also a chance to catch a glimpse of which beauty trends will be big for the following summer, and it's prime time for socialites and influencers to frolic in the front row.
While the whole experience can be a bit wanky (you can imagine the air kisses and ensemble critiquing), from a commerce point of view it's big business for Australia.
Anyway, back to the fashion.
Toni Matičevski was the first cab off the rank when he officially opened the 2016 of MBFWA on Sunday at Sydney's Barangaroo. The Melbourne based fashion designer is debatebly one of our best, with the likes of Kimmy K, Beyonce and Leighton Meester wearing his signature theatrical silhouettes.
Jennifer Hawkins, Elyse Knowles and Isabelle Cornish were among a slew of celebs who were in attendance, dressed in Matičevski, while Australia's very own Victoria's Secret model Bridget Malcolm was special guest.
The show itself was true to the Matičevski aesthetic, though with a lot more edge. Initially a palette of black, white and very pale grey, the show progressed with the introduction of a soft baby blue and statement margarine yellow.
Models wore sky-high platform stilettos from Casadei, though arguably more eye-catching than the garments were the accessories. Ryan Storer created an array of jewels, including a necklace come handcuffs, not to mention the crystals some models had in their mouths (just looking at them was enough to trigger the gag reflex).
"Unapologetically sexy, she knows that the distorted, even sinister darkness within yields the most powerful kind of clarity. Suspended and weightless in a world of cosmic, untold layers, she causes an undeniable ripple in the delicately woven matrix around her," read a press statement from Matičevski in reference to the Resort 17 'girl'.
The later dates for fashion week meant that Matičevski could show a brand new collection, whereas in previous years his Australian show was a version of what he'd already shown in Paris.