book it

mitchell oakley smith's stunning 'fashion - australian & new zealand designers' has just been released and is groaning with sumptuous images and beautifully written interviews with leading australasian designers - children of vision faves material by product and gary bigeni are both featured as well as my own label jimmy d... yay!

the book is widely available through retail stores and galleries through out new zealand, australia, and internationally, including such prestigious locations as the tate in london and centre pompidou in paris - alternatively grab a copy here.

jersey girl

 as mentioned the first drop of gary bigeni for spring/summer has made it's way through the door - yay!! and arghhhh it's amazing! tricky pattern cutting manifests itself in liquid silk jersey dresses in magenta that cowl languidly on one side, super fine knits and open jackets feature sleeves that travel continuously around the body, silk singlet dresses feature heavy metal zips on one side, and double dresses can be worn in an endless number of ways.

ah-may-zing.

instore now, and online soon!

we are beside ourselves!

Beside Ourselves from Nick Waterman on Vimeo.

we love a good fashion video - they're the new catwalk dontcha' know?? for spring/summer gary bigeni collaborated with filmaker nick waterman to create this darkly abstract video 'beside ourselves' - also the title of gary bigeni's new collection, which incidentally has just arrived in the country. it should be making it's way through the door any second, so until then, watch this video and check out the drapey, billowing forms that gary does so well - we'll post pics of the new delivery as soon as! enjoy.

press up's

the latest fashion quarterly (new zealand's vogue equivalent) is out now - and is looking miiiiighty fine!! the gary bigeni 'alban top' features in the 80's sportswear shoot 'sporting chance' - and if it grabs ya' we still have one or two left instore...

thanks fq!!

aussie fashion week - the year of the shoulder

swine flu jokes, balmain inspired shoulders, slipping and/or falling in precarious heels, leggings as pants (mostly by attendees at the shows not so much on the catwalk), twittering front rowers, boys wearing spray on jeans and deep v necks revealing waxed and spray tanned chests, and uh, did i mention shoulders?

luckily for us our labels are a little more 'left of centre' than all that, and i may be biased but i think romance was born, tv, and gary bigeni produced the strongest collections of the week - leaving behind obvious trends and any notion of the dreaded 'recession' dressing.

romance was born

an under the sea granny's tea party was the inspiration behind the madness that ensued at romance was born. a tea party that included oysters (printed on silk satin and georgette), clams (inspiring clam shaped panelling on dresses) and an array of pastries (one girl literally wearing a lamington??). girls seductively wriggled and writhed on the catwalk ending up being part of a huge tableaux in front of an incredible floral centre piece with neptune plucking away at a harp. it was uplifting, eccentric, and suprisingly wearable and not a balmain marching jacket in sight. favourite look? the pamela anderson meets lady bunny mermaid girl. what recession? swine flu? never heard of it.

shoulder emphasis rating = 4/10, shoulder pads were evident, but they are used externally, and in some pieces used to pad hips, or dyed to create mollusc like shapes.

tv

tv's collection 'army dreamers' boomed into life with bob marleys buffalo soldier, with girls stomping down the catwalk in punched suede dresses, a sexy jungle print, and pieces with utilitarian closures such as knots, twists and ties. it felt a little 80's (with coloured denims, and tapered pleat front pants) a little glamourous (with floor length jersey gowns) but all with a deliberately off-kilter tv vibe.

my favourites were the supersized perforated kaftan, geometric knits, and jersey dresses. 

shoulder emphasis rating = 5/10, there were shoulder pads giving some jackets and dresses an authentic power dressing look, but they are removable.

gary bigeni

ok, so my catwalk photo's of the gary bigeni show sucked, but i'm not vogue.com.au ok?? gary's show was a concise meditation on drape, volume and form, zips allowed garments to split apart, giving a harder geometric element to the organic shapes he's known for. there's still the tricky pattern cutting where dresses snake around the body with few seams, but there's an ease to the whole look. favourites? long line silk georgette pieces with side zips, a knit jumper with joined arms with tiny rib holes on the elbow for your arms, and some killer draped one seam black dresses. super clever stuff!! but when is he going to do men's wear?? i want one of those joined sleeve jumpers!!

shoulder emphasis rating = 0/10, not a shoulder pad in sight

and that's a wrap guys!! i'm exhausted and fashioned out - but there are some new exciting finds that i'll tell you more about soon... i'm off to wax my chest...

you scared the bigeni out of me!!

gary bigeni is a talented young man. i first remember spotting gary's pieces in a showroom on my first trip to sydney for fashion week about 5 years ago and could never quite shake the image of his cleverly sculpted jersey dresses in deliciously bright colours, so i'm super happy we are able to carry his label in our store.

since that first time i spotted gary's clothes he's been a busy boy, working as josh goot's right hand man (i imagine they bonded over their love of jersey), and most recently has been nominated as a finalist in the woolmark awards that one of our other designers romance was born just won.

oh, and it's gary's birthday today!! happy birthday mr!

following is the world famous children of vision interview...

name: gary bigeni

right now the time is: 9.58pm

and where about’s in the world are you?: i'm in sydney, australia

date of birth: 25/03/1981

label name: gary bigeni

year label started: 2004

my new collection is entitled: floating under water

concept/motivation behind new collection: my collection is based around the deep blue ocean, crashing waves, silent lakes and moving waves. i wanted to create the movement of these element in my collection through twist and drapes.

the ultimate gary bigeni lady or gent is: someone who love classic with a mordern edge. desire quality garments and has a fresh approach to fashion.

what do you know about new zealand? it is cold, and they have great clothing. xo

complete this sentence, i had a vision and my vision was… to create a collection that is inspired by fluidity and free movements. To make obstensively simple pieces that are infact so complex in design and construction that they can be transformed into different configurations dependant on the wearers whims and desire.

thank you.

gary bigeni's first drop for autumn/winter is in store now.