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Moon Chain @ dedece by Alexi Freeman & Tessa Blazey & Studio Twocan ( in collaboration ) for VAMFF 2014
In reference to the Trans Seasonal Eclipse collection the Alexi Freeman fashion label developed an installation that references the waxing and waning cycle of the moon.
The installation is made from copper plated metal chain, with the colour and materiality sitting cohesively in proximity to products currently visible on the dedece showroom floor.
The chain is hung in such a way as to create the illusion of a sphere and when viewed from different angles it will evoke the ever changing cycle of the moons transition from full to new
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Concept Design
It will be an optical wonder for pedestrians and dedece clientele.
We also see the potential in spraying some of the thicker chain fluro orange to make the sphere really pop, but this aspect is yet to be determined.
Alexi Freman’s Inspiration + Materials
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About Alexi Freeman
Alexi Freeman began his career as a fine artist.
He then proceeded to broaden his aesthetic in New York, developing a creative practice bridging art, fashion and costume, before completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Tasmania.
Having launched the ALEXI FREEMAN brand (est. 2006) in Melbourne, Freeman now lives and works in Fitzroy where he develops and produces his seasonal ranges of garments, accessories and experimental collaborations.
See http://alexifreeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ALEXIFREEMAN_TRANS-SEASONAL13_PYTHON.pdf
Recent achievements include being named as a finalist in the Powerhouse Museum’s Love Lace Award, selection by the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival to present his collection at London Fashion Week, and a commission from The Australian Ballet to design costumes for their 50th anniversary Infinity season
Alexi Freeman is a women’s wear fashion brand.
The atelier is at Level 2, 45 Chapel St, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3065.
About Tessa Blazey
I am fascinated with the natural forms of minerals.
The structures of these minerals are extraordinarily beautiful – they often grow in very pure geometric forms that look artificial or manufactured.
Many of them evoke a form of miniature architecture, like tiny buildings or fictive cities.
I previously practiced sculpture and interior design and was very fond of the miniature scale of model making so the transition into jewellery seemed a natural progression.
I feel very privileged to be practicing jewellery now.
Having studied Sculpture (RMIT), Interior Design (RMIT) and Jewellery (NMIT).
Blazey now works exclusively as a jeweller from her Melbourne studio.
Blazey has shown her work extensively both nationally and internationally and is represented by Pieces of Eight gallery.
Blazey also lectures in Interior Design at RMIT on an ongoing basis and is a recent recipient of the ArtStart grant from the Australia Council.
Her work is represented in the collections of The National Gallery of Australia
About Studio Twocan
Studio Twocan is made up of emerging creative duo, Maddie and Becc Sharrock.
The Studio Twocan sisters ( Maddie and Becc Sharroock ) have shared a life-long interest in creativity.
Becc has a career within the graphic design realm, and has worked at various prominent design studios.
Maddie holds a keen interest in fine art and production, making and exhibiting work.
Embarking on collaborative projects to highlight the power of shared skills and knowledge, their works achieve an innovative link between design and art production.
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“In dad’s she using granddad’s tools.
Commencing construction of installation with Alexi Freeman”
About Windows By Design
Embark on a visual treasure hunt through the city as designers and retail stores team up for Windows by Design.
Rediscover Melbourne’s retail heartland as Windows by Design transforms the city into a stylish landscape of artistic installations
A selection of the City of Melbourne’s most iconic stores have collaborated with leading Australian creatives to transform their windows. Take an inspired walking tour up streets and down lanes to each store for the quintessential Melbourne experience.
About VAMFF 2014
The program for the 2014 Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival has been revealed, and once again has quite a consumer focus.
Over 100 designers are taking part in this year’s event for runway events and showcases.
The core program of runway and business events take place from Monday 17 – Sunday 23 March, while the cultural program for VAMFF will carry on for the full month of March.
The cultural program consists of exhibitions at MUMA, Craft, Heide, and NGV for Melbourne Now; talks ranging from the narcissum behind the selfie, to history of high heels, to crowd funding fashion events; workshops in modelling, painting & embroidery, and fashion & law; online content, such as podcasts and online clothing swaps; and other activities revolving around fashion through art, design, film, and pop-ups.
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PREMIUM RUNWAYS:
All premium runways are held at Central Pier, Docklands.
Tuesday 18 March, 7pm- Runway 1, Presented by Miss Vogue: Bassike, Christopher Esber, Josh Goot, Maticevski, Scanlan Theodore, Strateas Carlucci, Willow.
Tuesday 18 March, 9:30pm – Runway 2, Presented by InStyle: Aurelio Costarella, Easton Pearson, Hardwick, Kate Sylvester, Megan park, Rachel Gilbert, Trelise Cooper, Thurley.
Wednesday 19 March, 9:30pm – Runway 3, Presented by frankie Magazine: Alpha 60, búl, Dorota, Gorman, Jolet, Kuwaii, Leonard St, Livia Arena.
Thursday 20 March, 7pm – Runway 4, Presented by ELLE Australia: Bianca Spender, camilla and marc, Ginger & Smart, Kahlo, Life with Bird, Michael Lo Sordo, YB J’aime.
Thursday 20 March, 9:30pm – Runway 5, Presented by Cosmopolitan: Cameo, Finders Keepers, Keepsake, Jaggar, Rodeo Show, Talulah, Wild.Horses.
Friday 21 March, 7pm – Runway 6, Harper’s BAZAAR: Alex Perry, Arthur Galan AG, Carla Zampatti, Ellery, Lui Hon, Sass & Bide, Yeojin Bae.
Friday 21 March, 9:30pm – Runway 7, SHOP Til You Drop: Alice McCall, Bec & Bridge, Limedrop, macgraw, Secret South, Shakuhach
Tickets are on sale here … http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=VAMFF14
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Press Coverage
Via ArtsHub
VAMFF brings culture and fashion to the runway
By Troy Nankervis
Sunday 2 March, 2014
The Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival features a breathtaking cultural program of over 100 events this March.
VAMFF brings culture and fashion to the runway
Model Amy wears Alexi Freeman and Tessa Blazey dress to mark the collaboration between Alexi Freeman, Studio Two Can and retailer Dedece as a part of Windows by Design. Image by Jo Duck.
An inspiring cultural and events program supports the 2014 Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF) this March with a focus on creating a stimulating conversation between business, retailers and consumers. ‘The program is substantially bigger than it’s ever been which is terrific,’ said Festival CEO Graeme Lewsey.
The VAMFF cultural program celebrates fashion, beauty and creative business with events for consumers as well as the industry. ‘There are over 100 events in our cultural program which is a fantastic outcome. We’ve taking events that are far beyond just the runway show and really making sure that fashion is both reaching consumers and influencing the thought leaders,’ said Lewsey.
Lewsey hopes that the VAMFF program will create dialogue and intrigue for all visitors to the festival, and the broader consumers of fashion at large.
‘It really puts VAMFF ahead of other fashion initiatives because of that reason. We’re creating a curated fashion event for the public, as opposed to putting a fashion event or a typical fashion event targeted to industry. Our vision is the polar opposite. It still maintains integrity, a world class stage but keeping it accessible.’
‘I love the concept of design existing in everyday lives. The great thing is just the real passion for celebrating creativity, which is what the festival is built on. It really is the DNA of the festival and embracing a real curated schedule of events,’ he said.
With a renewed focus on the visual arts, workshops, online content and other events, the 2014 VAMFF cultural program is backed by Australia’s leading public institutions, not for profit and commercial art spaces alongside creative individuals to offer a diverse range of free and ticketed activities.
Lewsey said that the festival team have worked hard to create a program addressing the big challenges facing creative small business. ‘We wanted to create the best possible platform for creative industries to shine. Creativity is subjective and that is part of its brilliance. Fashion, runway shows and all our cultural events are no different,’ he said.
Model Ash wearing Leonard St interacts with the Windows by Design collaboration between Amy Wright Wunderplant and retailer Leonard St. Image by Jo Duck.
This year’s theme of See.Feel.React also shatters past misconceptions of the festival as being inaccessible to non-industry visitors. ‘We went into curating a program that was full of enormous creative integrity and making sure that everything we do really is accessible to consumers,’ said Lewsey.
Lewsey hopes that visitors to the festival will embrace this motto and follow their curiosity to discover some of the fantastic VAMFF events on offer. ‘One of the themes coming out strongly around the world was the notion of business keeping consumers engaged across multiple senses. It’s a really simple motto, which says come to the festival to see, feel and react.’
Following a successful debut last year, the Fashion Film Series returns to celebrates fashion in all forms with a collection of short fashion films created by the country’s most talented filmmakers. ‘It’s important to recognise filmmakers, short films and visionary treatments that have a really great conversation with fashion, and to also enable young filmmakers to feel encouraged to keep making these fantastic films,’ said Lewsey.
Presenting partners Emporium Melbourne and RUSSH, with the support of screening partners ACMI, Fed Square and Val Morgan has seen a competitive applicant pool, with the recent top 10 entrants selected and announced by an esteemed judging panel.
Sequence: Breathing, directed by Lorin Askill and produced by Olivia Hantken has been selected to be a part of the Fashion Film Series.
Among the Fashion Film Series program is Finnigan where filmmakers Jarred Osborn and Julian Lucas have embraced imagery from nature to captures the minimalist essence of the Finnigan swimwear range, with slow booming sounds from musician Hayden Calnin.
Infini by Elli Ioannou features the choreography and performance of Dru Blumensheid, who wears clothing by Material by Product, Robyn Black and Karla Spetic. While the static cinematography pays homage to Andy Warhol, editing techniques such as repetition, long takes and the manipulation of time reinforces the connection between performance, self-expression and fashion.
The moving image does not have a monopoly on promoting fashion. Windows by Design identifies store windows as one of most effective fashion billboards during the festival.
Presented by City of Melbourne, the initiative pairs leading Australian creative with some of the City of Melbourne’s most recognisable brands and stores to transform their retail windows into a stylish landscape of artistic installations for the month of March.
‘We really try to encourage retailers to embrace the festival but also encourage collaboration. Three years ago the festival came out with a theme very much around collaboration as the future success of the industry,’ said Lewsey.
‘Windows by Design is a legacy of that thought process and is a way of getting collaborating artists to work together and produce really stimulating windows.’
Among the designers taking part in the program is Christopher Esber, who has partnered with David Jones to bring his modernised take on feminine dressing to the public. ‘Christopher has worked with David Jones but it’s more than just the textile and cut of his designs. It’s his whole vision and collection,’ said Lewsey.
The VAMFF Offsite Runway Series features new works by Nixi Killick
VAMFF also caters to the independent sector of the fashion industry. In the Offsite Runway Series, a series of solo pop up shows styled across Melbourne reinvents the runway to support the unique creative visions of participating designers including Nixi Killick and Viktoria + Woods.
‘There are some very independently spirited designers and brands out there that don’t necessarily want to conform to the bigger showcases. We wanted to embrace that and one of the ways to do that is to let them go on their own journey and capture that within the program as one of the events,’ said Lewsey.
Indeed it is the independent self-produced events within the VAMFF cultural program that have often proved to be the most successful. Lewsey remembers a runway event held by Pageant at last year. ‘It was so different and a huge success. It’s really important during the festival that we can accommodate that,’ he said.
‘We’re not building a runway show for the sake of it. We’re carefully curating it and it’s no different to a museum or art gallery. We’re building a program that we think is relevant. That’s one of the most thrilling parts of VAMFF, that evolution of the festival each year.’
