MBFW Australia: Camilla and Marc bring the female fury

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 14, 2018

On Sunday night, Sydney fashion duo Camilla and Marc went full female fury for the opening of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, sending out a Resort 2019 collection that captured the zeitgeist of the contemporary fashion industry: female empowerment.

Outside the Royal Hall of Industries in Moore Park, the rain fell heavy and hard, but inside, a barren desert was staged: quasi-Australian Outback with Uluru-esque boulder stones, and strongly Martian, or otherworldly, with 60 tonnes of red sand dumped and spread across the giant room, underpinned by a massive white sphere suspended from the ceiling.

But really, the message was clear from the opening look of the Camilla and Marc show: the future is female.

Strong, but exaggerated silhouettes were sent out under the veteran brand's signature tailoring. Models bashed the sand in Barbarella boots and ankle ones too, intervened by cerebral evening wear with bell-sleeves and high necked gowns celebrating the feminine demeure.

Shimmying laser cut tassel skirts and liquid latex tops added textural toughness to the brand's new transeasonal line, which fought well -- in the name of Resort -- with the layering casual pieces; natty shirting in exquisite fabrics could be found with the occasional relaxed sportswear pieces.

As for colour, green dominated to show, from moss green, to military-inspired khaki, to shimmering emerald lamé. Neutrals -- beige, black and tan, also major hues.

On their official return to the Australian fashion week circuit after a five-year hiatus, coinciding with Camilla and Marc's 15th fashion birthday, brother-sister duo Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman's Resort 2019 collection explored themes of “light, reflection, boundlessness, strength and boldness," according to show notes.

More than 600 people attended the show, including international buyers and media, and celebrities including actress Elsa Pataky, wife of Chris Hemsworth.

Some 90 designers will showcase Resort 2018 collections to buyers and editors in Sydney this week from May 13-17.