Last Wednesday evening, the Mission 65 Fashion event for Prahran Mission went off with a bang! The show was a total sell out with people still turning up at the door vying for a space to see the show. Created as a fundraising event to assist people living with mental illness, it brought together top designers, stylists and fashion students in a time honoured tradition of philanthropy meets fashion. It was an honour to show with Jenny Bannister, the incredible team at Madam Virtue, Anthony Capon, Kim Kniepp, and Philip Boon amongst others.

This year the Mission turns 65, as does the House of Dior; and so it was that a parallel was drawn and inspiration for the evening began. In 1947 as the world was emerging from a time of darkness and austerity, fashion was rediscovering the spirit of celebration and was once again used as a tool to lift the spirits. As a contributing designer my brief was this – to take garments found in the Prahran Mission Op shop and in the spirit of the  Make do and Mend, re-create them into a 1940′s styled master piece with a slightly modern twist.

I wanted to create something that not only looked good, but as much as possible mirrored the quality techniques used in garment construction. Choosing fabrics of the best quality and producing an outfit that would last 65 years. After finding my muse, I went on a hunt to uncover the materials I’d need. And here is a look at the process of creation.

After two days sourcing, one day of cutting and machine sewing, then another 14 hours of hand sewing to perfect the trim; it was ready for it’s close up!

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A BIG thank you to two wonderful bloggers Fashionising and Business Chic who had my back on the photo front for the evening. Please do visit their blogs to see and read more about the evening.

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As you’ve probably figured by now, the inspiration for this piece is the late 1940′s woman’s Western Suit look – particularly inspired by to good friends of mine who are masters of this craft and converted me heart and soul. The Western look was very much in vogue right throughout the late 1930′s to the late 50′s and still has a strong following today.

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I wanted to create a chic ensemble that could be worn as separates or a as a whole for this intensely beautiful look.  The blouse hidden underneath is  sheer red georgette with self rose print. It is collarless and has puffed mutton sleeves that taper to the elbow. I finished it off with vintage red flower glass buttons and a removable blue neckerchief.

The hat is an original Velveteen black structured beret (another op shop find), which I custom trimmed with vintage pieces from my own stash, including the veil with it’s beautiful soft texture.

The jacket and skirt are both fully lined and in wool, and the skirt has a red velvet ribbon trim woven through the scalloped hemline. ( I should note that on me the hem comes nicely below the knee but on my gorgeously statuesque model was rather shorter). From my own stash I added the vintage trim – silk cord and woollen pom poms. The doilies came from the Mission op shop and were just the right thing to add more colour and shape. The snoods did indeed come from my personal stash, but finished off the look perfectly.

Not only was I honoured to create this piece for the event, but I was also Director of Hair & Makeup, ensuring a cohesive vintage look all around.  I wanted to keep it a simple 40′ flavour, without any of the high fashion interpretations so often seen on the catwalk. To me, I felt that each model should shine in the outfits; a radiant version of themselves to echo the tones of celebration for the evening. So yes, as you flip through the images of the evening, you will no doubt recognise my finger prints on these looks.

On one hand it was totally exhausting doing all this, but on the other a totally revitalising and reinvigorating experience. Breathing new life into old garments like this opens up a whole world of possibilities for your wardrobe.  Yes, it is time consuming, but it expands your imagination onto new horizons and goes to show that style doesn’t take a whole lot of cash. The Make do and Mend philosophy of the show was something that I was indeed academically familiar with, and while I’m always restoring my vintage garments, I’d never taken the principle to these lengths. The world of possibilities is endless…