FabSugar

Australia: A Romantic Wardrobe, Part II

FabSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:22 -0800

Did you happen to go see Australia this weekend? If my first words with costume designer Catherine Martin didn't pique your interest maybe these will. Some specific items of clothing stood out to me in the film - notably the colors of Lady Ashley's clothes, her belts, and her red Chinosierie dress. Here's what Martin had to say about those standouts.

I noticed she wears a lot of blues and browns. The film is so visually arresting how did you factor in the color of the clothes with the beauty of the movie?

"I had another collaborator, Mandy Walker, who is the Director or Photography. Baz, Mandy and I looked at a lot of color photography from that period and we started talking about exploring a palette out of the photography. We had a broad palette that encompassed all the colors from the film. What’s interesting about the color photography from the period, it meant a lot of mixed tones that got really close together, you have a monochromatic base. From that we developed our own color theory.

For the arrival suit, it wasn’t the ideal color choice, we made her blue and white because it was the most unlikely, it clashed with the environment. She was a totally different alien person to this place. And as the movie progresses her colors are references to Australia and become much stronger, she becomes part of her environment."

To read the rest, read more

I noticed throughout her transition in the movie, she has a fondness for belts. Everyone wore belts. Was that more fashion or function?

"It’s a combination. The style was wearing two belts, a belt to hold your pants up, and a hobble belt, which helped you capture horses, tying their legs together so they can’t run away during the night, which some of the stockmen wore. Looking over the beautiful leather accessories and sportswear of the 1930s, there were some beautiful belts, notably made by Hermes and various other designers of the period. I think they’re a fantastic accessory; I love how it defines the waistline, pulls the outfit together. I really was a fan of the belt in this film."

I love how it also defined Nicole’s tiny, perfect waist. Even at the end of the film, she still looked put together.

"Yeah, it’s sort of a no nonsense thing. You feel definite in some way."

Tell me about the red Chinosierie dress. And the pink one. What a unique choice.

"Those two dresses. Basically, Lady Ashley loses all her clothes at one point. Baz said the challenge was: What is she going to wear when she gets to town, all her clothes have been trashed. We were looking in the contemporary newspapers of the day. And in the Northern a lot of Chinese tailors would advertise their manufacturing skills and that fact that they could make clothes in a very short space of time.

Darwin is closer to Indonesia than any other city. You had a very big Asian influence at the time, and a very important Chinatown. We made a back-story in our minds that Sing Song, who was the Chinese cook, would have had a coven who comes from Shanghai to Darwin and he would have a tailoring business. And Sarah would go to that business and get her clothes made. There was a big fashion amongst Asian people, which was a problem with the Nationalists of the time. In reality, she would have gone to a Chinese tailor."

The red dress was the standout dress of the movie, of the party. I love how it gets rained on, but she doesn’t care.

"Yes. The one good thing about silk organza is it responds to the wet."

View 15 Photos ›

Source

Australia: A Romantic Wardrobe, Part I

FabSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:22 -0800

Today, the highly anticipated romantic adventure Australia, directed by Baz Luhrmann, releases. I had the opportunity to preview the film, in all its romantic glory, as well as to speak with the costume designer, Catherine Martin. We also had a fun fete at the San Francisco Ferragamo store, in honor of Lady Ashley's shoes in the movie - all designed by the Italian fashion house. Two styles of limited-edition shoes were reproduced from the movie and are being sold at Ferragamo stores; 950 were made, and the San Francisco store is selling 120 of them.

There's so much to share, but I was really excited to see this film and speak with Martin. I am a huge Baz fan - I own both Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet - and as you may or may not know, Martin and Baz are married. Call it a cinematic match made in fashion heaven. No wonder the stories Luhrmann tells resonate so well: They are visually and emotionally epic. To hear what Martin had to say about Lady Ashley's wardrobe transformation, her kooky spyglasses (loved these), and the Ferragamo shoes, and to see lots of Australia eye candy, read more.

Can you talk about the transition of Lady Ashley’s wardrobe throughout the movie?

"Baz really focused on Lady Sarah Ashley’s wardrobe and the revealing to the audience of her change. Eighteen months before we starting rolling film we went to Nashville and met with Nicole. Under Baz’s instructions, I had designed and brought a whole bunch of costumes that polarized her before and after. We could explore what worked and what didn’t work. I brought a version of the riding suit, and the arrival costume, to try and find the dynamic of before and after."

So you had to really plan ahead?

"Yes, Baz is very detailed and demands a lot of research and back stories you need to discover and work on. And it takes months; we had a preproduction of about eight months and we were working with 2,000 costumes. That’s how long it takes."

Those kooky glasses Lady Ashley wore cracked me up. Where did you find those? And the mosquito net?

"In the script it said she wears spyglasses. And I said, “What are spy glasses?” There were travel logs written in the period about a woman wearing spyglasses. They were these glasses people wore to protect themselves from flies, which is also why she’s wearing the net. This is a classic design from the period. We made one slight alteration. Originally we thought they would be dark glasses but it was such a shame to not be able to see Nicole’s eyes. We swapped the glass for clear so you could see her reactions, which are so colorful and charming. The first pair were original period glasses we bought off the Internet, they were actually vintage and we had thickened them in our model workshop."

We had an event at the San Francisco Ferragamo store and I know Ferragamo designed the shoes for Nicole's character. How did all that come about?

"Footwear is always very difficult. To me a shoe really makes an outfit. But you have to think about practicality, too. They need to be comfortable. It’s preferable for them to be made to measure. Ferragamo seemed like an obvious partner; they have made shoes for aristocracy, royalty, and movie stars. And they had an enormous archive of shoes. They were groundbreakers and I thought what a great collaboration. It was fantastic - I was able to work with the designers, look back at the archives. And we could make changes and were eventually able to come up with a fantastic wardrobe of shoes for Lady Sarah Ashley."

What about Hugh's rugged shoes?

"Hugh’s were made by R.M. Williams, a traditional Australian bush outfitter. They made all the footwear for the stockmen and Hugh."

We couldn’t actually see the shoes she was wearing with the Chinoiserie red dress. I must know: What shoes was she wearing underneath there?

"Panne velvet sandals, they were a beautiful green gray. We used chagrine, which is stingray leather, which was very fashionable in the 1930s. Ferragamo has done a version of the shoe, in both black and red, as a limited edition. They are absolutely beautiful. From their inception, Ferragamo has always used exotic and textured shoes. There’s also a beautiful pair of Mary Jane’s, we used a wonderful raffia macramé, which was another one of Ferragamo’s signature looks.

View 15 Photos ›

Source

Fab Finding Follow-Up: Love Me Down Under

FabSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:00:22 -0700

It's honeymoon week in Sugarland so I told you to make believe you're going down under to Australia with your new hubby. You'll be doing a little bit of everything - hiking, clubbing, shopping, sightseeing - so you'll need a well-rounded collection of clothes. But don't forget it's Winter there now so try to stay away from hot-weather items.

I started you off with this Abas Metallic Passport Cover ($35) because you can't let your passport go on vacation looking drab. Let's see what you all came up with!

Look # 1, created by annebreal, is romantic and sweet. It's a honeymoon, after all!

Abas 'Metallic Wave' Passport Cover ($35) \| nordstrom.com, down under \| teamsugar - Women's Social Network & Community.	Nanette Lepore 'Main Squeeze' Coat - - Nordstrom
Bluefly - Women's Designer Clothing, Apparel, and Fashion at Bluefly.com - #300736501 - Paper Denim & Cloth vintage 3 year 'Brid	Bluefly - Get Great Discounts On Designer Tank Tops And Camisoles At Bluefly - #2143164 - Clu pink pleated jersey babydoll top
Kate Spade Shoes Jory Metallic Snake Ballet Flat - shopbop.com	Nordstrom Crystal Collection Wrapped Hoop Earrings - Earrings - Nordstrom
Bluefly - Women's Designer Handbags and Accessories at Bluefly.com - #300342901 - Fendi natural nappa 'B.Mix' large tote	Stella McCartney Sunglasses Aviators - shopbop.com

To see the rest, read more.

Look # 2, created by WhiplashGirlchild, is the ideal way to keep warm. Plus, I love the boomerang earrings!

Emilio Pucci Chunky knit cape \| NET-A-PORTER.COM	: Essential cotton long-sleeved T: Tops \| Gap
J Brand 912 Skinny Jean in Bayou Wash @ Singer22	UrbanOutfitters.com > C2 Leather Bootie
Linea Pelle Discount Apparel: Cluster Stud Jean Belt in Black - LabelSpree	Hogan Woody Media - Neiman Marcus
Tom Ford - Claudia Sunglasses - Saks.com	SHOPINTUITION - Be.True Boomerang Earrings in Gold	Abas 'Metallic Wave' Passport Cover ($35)

Look # 3, created by kendallina, is Fab because it incorporates heavy layering. If it gets warm, just peel away the layers.

Come Fab Finding With Me: Love Me Down Under

FabSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:00:22 -0700

It's honeymoon week in Sugarland so make believe that you're going down under to Australia with your new hubby. You'll be doing a little bit of everything - hiking, clubbing, shopping, site seeing - so you'll need a well-rounded collection of clothes. But don't forget it's Winter there now so try to stay away from hot weather items.

I'll start you off with this Abas Metallic Passport Cover ($35) because you can't let your passport go on vacation looking drab!

Let's go Fab Finding. Be sure to come back and tell me your Fab Finds are up, or just tag your Fab Finds with Down Under.

Now, you can build outfits by creating a list of clothing items. We have everything you need to build outfits, and you can use your Fab-Find bookmarks, too. This is an even better way to put together an entire outfit when you are completing your Fab-Finding missions.

To learn what a Fab Find is and how to make one, click here. For a more detailed explanation of bookmarks from geeksugar click here.

To see some of my favorite online stores, read more

Active Endeavors
Banana Republic
Bluefly
eLuxury
Jildor Shoes
Live Natty
Neiman Marcus
Net-a-Porter
Pink Mascara

Glitterati: Polli

FabSugar — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:00:22 -0700

Maja Bartlett and Tess Lloyd met in 1999 while studying Industrial Design at University of Technology in Sydney. Ever since, the partners have been collaborating on the designs that make up Polli. Their interests lie in sustainable design, craft culture and fashion. The folding methods used in their products are reminiscent of Japanese and Danish paper designs.

The Australian brand doesn't just create earrings, pendants and brooches. They also sell bags and home products like mobiles and jewelry stands. Casasugar would surely be a fan too.

Go here to purchase Polli jewels, ranging from $45 to $60.

To see more from Polli, read more

View 10 Photos ›

Fab Flash: Model Too Young For Aussie Fashion Week

FabSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 04:50:22 -0700

She was set to be the face of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week in September, but now Melbourne City Council is saying that 15-year-old Claire Quirk is too young. Councillor Fiona Snedden objected to the choice of such a young girl: "I have a fundamental issue about this. There needs to be a time when we stop and say, 'Is it wrong to have models this young?'"

The Australian Fashion Council supports the restrictions on models younger than 16 working at big fashion shows, saying younger teenagers were ill-equipped to face issues such as sexualisation, alcohol, and rejection. This move follows the recommendation last week by the British Model Health Inquiry that models under 16 be banned from London Fashion Week.

Source

Designer Spotlight: Emu

FabSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:50:22 -0800

Did you know the emu is Australia's national bird? I bet PetSugar does. Emu Australia is an Australian-based sheepskin footwear brand inspired by the bird's exceptional resourcefulness - it lives on little food and water in the desert. Founded in '94, the company provides stylish sheepskin boots, slippers, flip-flops, and sandals. But it doesn't stop there. It also has a line of apparel made of merino wool and sheepskin. Jackets, ponchos, beanies, gloves, and scarves are soft and everyday-wearable. I'm jonesing for this desert-chic look, crochet sweater, fuzzy boots, et al.

See more cozy Emu goodies.

Cate Blanchett Helps Vogue Australia Celebrate 50

FabSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:00:22 -0700

What better way for Vogue Australia to celebrate its big 5-0 than to have Cate Blanchett on its cover. Or rather, covers. The Aussie actress graces not one, but four, covers of the September issue, which is 360 pages. London-based illustrator David Downton drew all four stunning portraits. I thought Cate was stunning in photos but she's even better animated!

The highlights of the issue? A 10-page spread of swimsuits created exclusively for the edition by Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Dolce and Gabbana, and more, and a 28-page editorial featuring Aussie models Catherine McNeil and Abbey Lee Kershaw. Sounds like a collectors item to me.

To see the other covers, read more

View 2 Photos ›

Source

Which Nicole Kidman Australia Look Is Most Fab?

FabSugar — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:12:22 -0800

First of all, I highly recommend you watch Australia this weekend. And read all about what costume designer Catherine Martin had to say about the film's Fab wardrobe. Now that I got that off my chest, back to fashion. Nicole Kidman was all about sophisticated glamour during her Australia movie promotions. From delicate feathers to sequins, the seasoned actress reigned in her exquisite choices. My pick is Nicole in Dries Van Noten's shimmery frock - but that's just me. Which look do you prefer?

Source

Love From Australia Suede Over-the-Knee Boot: Love It or Hate It?

FabSugar — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 04:00:22 -0800

UGG boots are bulky enough with all that thick shearling, but when you add ribbons and more height, it's just too much. I can't see myself, or anyone else for that matter, pulling off Love From Australia's Vixen Suede Over-the-Knee Boot ($400). In Antarctica they might come in handy, but I'd choose cold over tacky any day. Are you with me?

To post your selections go to the Love It or Hate It? group. And if you want to learn how to do a blog post click here.