Fashion Garments

THERE’S not a lot you can do to jazz up a pair of pyjamas, but sleepwear designer Peter Alexander gave it his best shot yesterday at the first of Spring Fashion Week’s free City Square shows.

A breathy French backtrack and model in ribbon-trimmed nightie and Eiffel Tower ”hat” kicked off the collection of lace-trimmed, sequinned and floral print nighties, pretty satin capelets, silky draped short sets and Alexander’s signature, roomy patterned pyjama pants with slim sling tops.

A raucous finale of the 1950s Happy Little Vegemite song closed the show on a group of sparkling sleepwear inspired by the black stuff and accompanied by two other Aussie icons, Bananas in Pyjamas, B1 and B2.

Spring Fashion Week traditionally cranks into full gear on day two and last night Melbourne Town Hall’s beauty room and VIP bar for ticket holders opened for the first Designer series shows running nightly until Friday.

Dhini Pararajasingham was among the initial group of designers, including Gary Bigeni, Lui Hon, Materialbyproduct and Flannel, selected for their sophisticated aesthetic and original interpretations of current trends.

”This is an important show for me because it’s the first time consumers will see this collection,” said Pararajasingham, who regularly shows at Australian Fashion Week. Deliveries of her eponymous spring collection begin later this week.
The Peter Alexander sleepwear show as part of Melbourne Fashion Week. Click for more photos
Peter Alexander at Melbourne Fashion Week

The show’s 10 collections highlighted spring’s strongest trends including digital prints in sharp graphic and mottled patterns, silky fabrics drawn into complicated drapery, and stiff, thicker fabrics cut and sculpted to create unusual silhouettes away from the body.

Also emerging as key trends were accessories including fat-cut crystal jewellery, particularly necklaces, and platform stiletto shoes and sandals in flesh tones that create the optical trick of longer legs.