There’s so much more to VAMFF, or the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival , than what happens on the runways.
Sure, as Australia’s largest fashion event, a great deal of VAMFF’s grandiose appeal is found in its commitment to celebrating the greatest fashion of the moment live and in the round. VAMFF, however, also offers audiences a remarkably diverse Arts and Ideas program that is well worth immersing yourself in – one that extrapolates on many of the themes that are shaping the industry in ways both largely evident and often nearly imperceptible.
‘Innovation’ is the central thrust of the exhaustive VAMFF Ideas program on offer; many of the events included therein engage with ideas of sustainability, the changing role of technology and evolving attitudes toward gender roles, with some events often taking place at the intersection of all three. Likewise, the VAMFF Arts program seeks to survey the state of an industry caught in a perpetual state of flux that finds it constantly shifting between perspectives both past, present and future.
Below, swipe left to take a look at six must-see major exhibitions and affiliated talks taking place as part of VAMFF.
Official VAMFF proceedings begin March 1 and the Runway program will come to a close with the GRAZIA x VAMFF Runway Show on Saturday March 10. We’re staging the festival’s closing show as an homage to the work of Australia’s most covetable contemporary designers, as seen styled in the pages – both on and offline – of GRAZIA, and you’re invited.
Tickets for the GRAZIA x VAMFF Runway Show are limited and available to purchase now. More information on the show, Runway 7, is available here .
Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait
As a paragon of style and a musical icon nonpareil, Amy Winehouse requires no introduction. As a Jewish Londoner descended from Belarusian immigrants, less is perhaps known. A relatively new exhibition Amy Winehouse: Family Portrait , now in its final month at the Jewish Museum of Australia, sheds unprecedented new light on the private life of the late musician through amassing deeply personal objects borrowed directly from the Winehouse family. Curated and staged in conjunction with the Jewish Museum London and Amy’s brother, Alex, and sister-in-law, Riva, the show includes remarkably intimate insights into the artist’s Jewish roots, family life, adolescence and nascent years through assembling her personal belongings, guitars, family photos, record collection, and iconic outfits.
Jewish Museum of Australia, St Kilda, Tuesday – Sunday, March 1 - 18, Ticketed. More information is available here . You Can't Do That
Australian fashion’s trailblazers are the subject of You Can’t Do That , an exhibition that celebrates those whose contributions have furthered the industry both here and abroad. Included amongst those iconoclasts are designers like Prue Acton, whose work is central to the Australian youthquake of the late 1960s and who is credited with creating Australia's first international celebrity brand, and the former Bosnian refugee turned supermodel by way of Melbourne, Andreja Pejić.
The Melbourne Museum and its exhibition will also form the nexus for conversations around local responses to fast fashion, through exhibiting the work of six local designers and an evening of conversations exploring the measured growth of the slow fashion design movement with a uniquely Melburnian perspective.
Melbourne Museum, Carlton, March 2 – July 15, 2018, Ticketed. More information is available here . Guo Pei's Legends Collection
A great deal of VAMFF’s appeal lies in the instant gratification of a ‘see-now, shop-now’ experience. But for those fans of fashion for whom an unattainable fantasy forms a great part of its charm, look no further than Guo Pei’s Legend collection exhibiting now as part of the NGV’s inaugural Triennial.
The Legend collection was inspired by a visit to St Gallen, a small town in Switzerland, where the designer visited the studio of haute couture fabric manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer and the Cathedral of Saint Gall. As part of VAMFF, the NGV will host a panel discussion dissecting this incredible body of work, which in itself is an unmissable attraction almost in its final month of showing.
NGV Australia, Melbourne, until April 15. Discussion takes place March 3 at 1pm. More information is available here. Marimekko: Design Icon 1951 to 2018
Finland’s premier pop-art textile practice, Marimekko, is the focus of Design Icon: 1951 to 2018, an exhibition opening March 3 at the Bendigo Art Gallery. The mid-century icon has established a fashion practice that has transcended decades on the strength of its bold screen prints emblazoned across ready-to-wear and homewares. With its name literally translating to ‘Mary dress’, Marimekko’s founding ethos is deeply embedded in a spirit of women’s liberation that feels as pertinent today as it did in 1951.
The exhibition traces the development of the brand and its signature textiles, with a focus on the individual designers from whose designs an internationally beloved brand was born.
Marimekko: Design Icon 1951 to 2018, Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, March 3 – June 11, Ticketed. More information is available here. Scan, print, wear
Iris Van Herpen is in a league of her own. The Dutch couturier’s haute take on 3D printed garments consistently requires that we consistently appraise the relationship between fashion and technology anew. Her ground-breaking work in textile innovation is celebrated in an installation of works showing as part of the NGV’s inaugural Triennial .
On Sunday March 4, Van Herpen’s Dress (2011) designed for Icelandic singer Björk to wear during her 2012 Biophilia tour, will be the conduit to a discussion of the ways in which emerging Australian designers are being inspired by science and technology to reshape fashion’s future.
Iris Van Herpen at NGV Triennial, Melbourne, Until April 11, Discussion takes place Sunday March 4 at 1pm. More information is available here . HERMÈS AT WORK
An emphasis on the concept of artisanship – the mark of the maker, if you will – is a relatively recent phenomenon in the grand tradition of marketing. At Hermès, however, the craft of the artisan is and has always been central to the story of the house since its origins in the early 19th century. That integral sense of craftsmanship is central to Hermès: At Work, a travelling exhibition arriving in Melbourne on March 8.
At Work celebrates craftsmanship at its finest, examining how the hand of the artisan transforms exquisite materials ¬– chiefly, leather and silk – into luxury goods beyond measure. The exhibition also presents visitors with the chance to meet the artisans of the house and witness first-hand the marvel of their mettle. The program also includes a number of guided tours and guest lectures.
Hermès: At Work, Melbourne Town Hall, March 8 – 17. More information is available here .
Tile image: Courtesy ©Iris van Herpen and Team Peter Stigter and NGV Australia
Cover image: Courtesy © Guo Pei and NGV Australia
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Work of art , CULTURE NEWS , vamff18 , VAMFF , Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival , Events , Exhibitions , MELBOURNE , Iris van Herpen , Bjork , Amy Winehouse , Hermes , ART , fashion , music , Guo Pei , NGV , National Gallery of Victoria