INVITE

Things have been a bit hectic here of late - hence the lack of blog activity. We are in the count down to Fashion Week. Under two weeks to go now......

The collection is looking amazing and I am so excited to announce that we will be holding our show at the MCA: Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney - perfectly positioned on beautiful Sydney Harbor at Circular Quay!

Above is the invitation... I can't wait!

Anon. Women - Dr Patricia Wong

Dr. Patricia Wong is a G.P. in Mackay who we had the chance to dress during our recent trunk shows there. This look here is simple, chic and professional, perfect for a day at the surgery and dinner after. I am sure this injection of style is just what the doctor ordered.

Cardi Chic

The perfect trans-seasonal addition to your wardrobe. This cardi dress is chic and versatile. The 3/4 sleeve gives the right amount of decorum and that bit of extra cover as the season cools down. Wear it as a dress or top or layer it as a coat.

Absolute Audrey

Channel your inner icon with this great dress. Our circular shirt dress available in silk and waxed cotton (shown here in putty waxed cotton) is perfect for creating your very own movie moment.

Wear it as a dress, belted with flat sandals and a simple tote and you can be riding around on a Vespa in your own Roman Holiday.

Leave it loose teamed with ballet flats, maybe a pair of cropped tights and a black turtle neck and head to the jazz clubs of Montmartre where everyone will love your sunny Funny Face.

Use it as a trench belted over a chic basic dress, throw on a pair of alligator pumps, big round sunglasses and a great clutch; grab a pastry and head down to 5th avenue at 57th street in NYC and have Breakfast at Tiffany's.

T Style

A chic take on the classic tee, our basic top in silk charmuse is the perfect base to any look. With subtle nuances designed to flatter a woman's figure - the concentration of fit is at the side of the bust holding the figure in; seams curve towards the front, drawing the eye; the back arcs gently away eliminating bra fat; this holds where it needs to hold and forgives what needs forgiving.

Team it with jeans for cool casual comfort; under a sharp suit for sophisticated chic - perfect for work; jazz it up with jewels or cinch it with a great belt. Perfect for any occasion and style.

Day to Night

So often our wardrobes have to preform double duty (with our busy lives and current economic status our clothes need to really work for us). From work to cocktails, days shopping to nights out, women need pieces that they can rely upon to conquer any situation.

Enter the shirt-dress. First appearing in the pre-war collections of American sportswear designer Claire McCardell, and entering the lexion of high fashion in the 70's with Halston's takes in ultrasuede and silk jersey. I have taken on this wardrobe classic and updated it for the modern woman in luxurious silk charmuese, freeing up the silhouette giving it a languid sensuality in its soft drape and fall.

This updated version is the best selling dress in my collection and we do it season after season. Shown here in our staple navy silk. For day give it some structure for the office by cinching it in with a great belt. Tan leather accessories keep the look classic but grounded for day. As the sun sets mix it up for a night out. Loosen the silhoutte by removing the belt and undoing the top button, the feeling is soft and sensual - almost as if you have stepped out in a sexed up version of your boyfriends silk pajayma shirt. Throw on some beads, a killer heel and a statement clutch and you are ready for a fantastic time.

The Scarf

For me the Scarf is the ultimate accessory - versatile, chic and stylish. It can add colour, texture and life to a garment. Tie it close around your neck to keep you warm; loop it casually for laid back chic; use it as a belt to cinch in your waist; over a dress, with jeans and a silk 'T' style top, under a great winter coat. The perfect finish to any look.

Inspiration / Execution

The international ready to wear collections have just finished up after a month of shows in New York, Milan, London and Paris, with designers showcasing their key looks for next season, with styles hitting stores around September. One of my favourite shows was by Dries Van Noten. The palette - inspired by the work of artist Francis Bacon - was divine; with unusual and unexpected combinations of: flesh, teal, grey, navy and conjac. A lot of these colours had been featured in my current collection and inspired me to mix the styles and colours up a bit. So if you love the look, here is how you can get it NOW.

Anon. Women - Nella Sologinkin

Last month I featured Loren Sologinkin as my Anon. woman. Today it's her mum's turn. Nella is such a fantastic embodiment of Anon. Women, she is successful in her life and work, she is confident and has great style. In the collection we do three sizes that cover from an Australian size 10 through to a size 18, we believe in dressing real women, the collection isnt about plus sizes its about real sizes and I find we sell as many size 1's as we do 3's. The clothes are designed to really flatter a woman's figure, holding where she needs to be held and forgiving the areas that need forgiveness. Nella is a great example of a woman who is not a stick looking great in the collection. Here she is wearing our waxed cotton circular shirt dress in navy as a trench over our navy waxed cotton funnel neck dress. The sweep of the coat is so dramatic and chic, I love how it brings out the inner Diva in Nella. As I keep saying what ever you wear make sure you wear it with confidence and style - 'OWN IT', love your self in it and you will look great.

Wrapped

There has been a lot of discussion in the fashion media about what women are after from fashion in light of the current economy. The overwhelming response I have received is that women want a sense of value. Value in terms of wear, quality, luxury, style and longevity. If they are going to spend their money they need to get mileage out of their clothes, pieces that will do double duty for them, that they can wear all day every day, from work to the weekend, day to night. Featured here is our silk wrap dress. Cut in a luxurious silk charmuese, this dress can be worked in many different ways: from a classic wrap to a soft and flowing cardigan; wrapped and tied around the body. Mix it up and play with how you wear and tie it to get multiple wears and styles - great value from this one timeless piece.

Countdown

I have been offline for the last couple of weeks, touring the country doing a series of trunk shows. As I wrote about earlier, these events present such an exciting opportunity for me to meet and interact with the women who buy and wear my clothes. It is really thrilling for me to witness the transformations of women dressing in my collection, to see women standing up straighter and taller - feeling good about themselves. It was a great experience and I would really like to thank all the wonderful people i encountered on my travels, the women who enjoyed and appreciated the sessions i gave and to the people who made it all possible for me.

I am back now in Melbourne with under two months to go until the release of the Spring Summer 09/10 collection at Australian Fashion week. On my return i received the production samples for approval, checking for cut, fit and finish. After making notes and adjustments the pieces now move into the next stage; fabrics and colours are approved and the final show samples go into production. The collection is looking fantastic - I am delighted to see the development and can't wait to share it with everyone. As the clothes comes together we are also developing accessories and pulling together the total 'look' of the collection.

While the styles all come together so to does the process of putting together a show. I am so lucky to be working with the amazing Lisa Smith from Agent 25 who is helping with our PR and helping to organise the show.

In other news check out this months Virgin Blue inflight magazine to see our fantastic magenta cowl dress.

Tips and Tricks - Salt and Vinegar

Salt and Vinegar - not just a great combination on your chips but useful ingredients in looking after silk.

Salt: A great tip if you have darker colours is in the first wash to help 'stay' the dye.

Vinegar: Wanting to add some luster back to your silk - put a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle.

Anon. Women - Icons: Ines de la Fressange

Ines de la Fressange is a French model, designer and taste-maker. She came to fame in the 1980's as the face of Chanel and muse to designer Karl Lagerfeld. After parting ways in 1989 with the house, supposedly due to her decision to lend her likeness to a bust of Marianne, the ubiquitous symbol of the French republic - Lagerfeld reputedly condemned her decision, saying Marianne was the embodiment of "everything that is boring, bourgeois, and provincial" and that he would not dress up historic monuments - Ines went on to launch her own collection of chic and stylish clothing and accessories. At 51 she recently appeared on the catwalk at the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture show in Paris. For me it was great to see a real woman on the catwalk, someone who could and would actually buy the creations being shown - rather than a 16 yo coat hanger with no life experience, no knowledge of what it is to wear these clothes and no relation to the women who will be buying them. I love the effortlessness of her style, her ability to look chic in jeans and a T shirt. She is such an embodiment of the modern woman: mother, partner, business woman. She does things with style and grace, fashion never interfereing in her life, intead simple classics expressing her immaculate taste, her grace and ease.

Trunk Show

Trunk shows are a great way for me to get out and meet my client base. Here I present my current collection, showing women how the collection works; how they can build a wardrobe out of a carefully edited selection of pieces; as well as tips and tricks on styling and wearing the clothes. Its a great personal interaction, women get to chat to me, the designer and get professional advice on what is going to work best on them; and I get direct feedback, seeing how different styles and shapes work on different women, what they are responding to and why.

I am about to go on another round of trunk shows, starting in Brisbane then traveling up to Bundaberg and Mackay. Listed below are the dates:

Brisbane: February 26 and 27

Bundaberg: March 1, 2 and 3

Mackay: March 5 and 6

For more information or to make an appointment contact me on ben@anonwomen.com or p: 0408 690 134.

Things of Stone and Wood

I have been really inspired lately by combinations of grey and brown that have been featured on the Sartorialist's blogspot. I think its such a beautiful natural palette - things of stone and wood. I love the idea of mixing up shades and textures - here the lustre and drape of a silk trench with the crispness and polish of a waxed cotton shift dress. Accessories in leather, wood, suede and croc. add extra depth to the look.

A Diary of a Dress - Toiling and Fitting

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first piece following the creation of this custom made dress. Today we pick up at the toiling and fitting stage. A toil is a prototype of the dress usually made in a calico or muslin of similar weight to the intended final fabric. Here we test the proportions, fit and finish of the dress. After toiling, the dress was then fitted to the client Jax. Adjustments were made to the placement of tucks and drapes and the general fit and proportions - Jax is only about 5ft tall so placements needed to be moved up to keep the right balance and proportion on the dress in relationship to her body. All the changes are marked on the pattern and now we wait for the fabric to be delivered from my supplier so the final dress can be started.

Stay tuned for more . . .

Anon. Women - Loren Sologinkin

Meet Loren Sologinkin, Loren is a young hairdresser – recently tagged by Michelle Sewell, publisher of Australian Hairdressing Journal, as one of Australia’s brightest up and coming hairdressing talents.

Loren has great confidence and personality; she really expresses this through her use of ‘statement’ accessories – like this buffalo horn beast plate, which she has worn over our Shirtdress.

Take a leaf out of Loren’s book and see how you can change the attitude of really great classic styles with cutting edge accessories. The key here: no matter what you wear, OWN IT.

In the Navy

As I was putting together this post, I was thrilled to receive the latest issues of Shop Til You Drop Magazine featuring my navy silk ‘Pull-on’ Pants - in it their Micro-Trend section ‘In the Navy’.

For me though, navy is more than a trend. The colour is actually core to the philosophy and development of my label. While black is seen to be the standard colour of fashion, turned to by women around the world as a safe and slimming option, I put forward a different (though certainly not new) proposition – navy. Like black, navy has the same safe and slimming aspects; more than black, navy does actually go with everything - from darks and neutrals through to brights and colours. While black can have a tendency to make colour ‘cheap’ navy allows it to sing. While black can be hard against the skin – especially as you get older – navy softens. For these - among other - reasons it’s the colour I choose as the backbone to every collection. Season after season it is always there, continuing to work with the pieces you already own from me and the pieces you will continue to acquire, continuing to work for your life and style.

And if you need any more convincing about the value of navy – Ines de la Fressange (the French model and style icon), in a recent book on opinions of style by some of the worlds top taste-makers, chooses navy as her favourite colour – ‘because it looks good on everyone’.

Oh and just in case you were wondering – yes, you can wear navy and black together – tres chic.

Autumn Winter '09 Preview

Last Monday I shot the new look book for my autumn / winter ‘09 collection, in preparedness for delivering the collection in March. Here is a sneak peek.

The looks were shot in my apartment / studio by photographer Alexander Edwards. Alex is a good friend of mine, he has a back ground as a film maker and has just started to develop a career as a photographer with a successful first exhibition of his work as part of Melbourne’s Midsumma festival. The model is Sharon Willis.

I really love the beautiful use of light, and think the photos capture the elegance, ease and style of the collection.

Stay tuned for more over the coming months.

Crazy for Krasner

One of my favourite works at the NGV here is Melbourne is the Lee Krasner work – Combat 1965. Krasner was the wife of fellow artist Jackson Pollock. It was not until well after his death that she received the attention she deserved as an artist in her own right.

I love the feeling of energy and movement in this work. It is, to me, like a dance happening across the canvas - bold sweeping gestures full of power and emotion. I get caught up in the motion and energy of the piece. I want to dance in front of it leaping and twirling to the strokes of paint.