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David Jones Winter 2010

Instant gratification was the name of the game when Australian department store David Jones launched its Winter 2010 collections with a slick runway show earlier this week. Being a major retailer, it was all about driving sales through the roof so what models wore in the show was already hanging in stores, waiting to be picked off by keen shoppers. Ker-ching!

With a label stable including Collette Dinnigan, Easton Pearson, Sass & Bide and Kirrily Johnston, it was almost like a best-of Australian fashion, with trends selected to appeal to the well-heeled masses. That meant dresses aplenty, since Australian women adore them. They came in voluminous orange silk crepe (Willow) in a nod to the ongoing obsession with bold colour, flirty baby dolls (Collette Dinnigan) with a slight 1960s vibe, one-shoulder body-con minis (Alex Perry) and floor-length liquid satin maxis: often bejewelled, and most fabulous in black and cream ombre (Thurley).

There were slight deviations though, with DJs paid-up fashion plate Miranda Kerr opening the show in a lapis Tencel halter neck jumpsuit by Bianca Spender, daughter of Oz fashion royalty Carla Zampatti and now a designer in her own right. Black pants also figured strongly with draped carrot-legs from Gorman, Anna Thomas’s tailored wool versions and leather track pants from Kirrily Johnston. A dusting of metallics for after dark gives women an alternative to black and follows a strong overseas trend for gold and bronze lames, jacquards and lurex knits. Best of show had to be the Sass and Bide finale, 10 looks from the collection shown at London Fashion Week last September which provided a snapshot of just why this label is so enduring. From the cream and ivory maxi dresses adorned with shards of mirror to the embellished black mini with the neck plate effect Kerr wore for her final exit, it was hit after hit with an emphasis on unexpected cut-outs, built-in jewellery and relaxed silhouettes.

And for the guys, expect more head to toe black and monochromatic shades as grey days and storm clouds approach; from Melton Pea coats with skinny grey denims and nipped in vests to edgy leather biker jackets a perennial winter favourite from Calibre and Arthur Galan (two labels which are getting harder to tell apart).

Being a winter show however, there was one little problem. Outside the mercury was stuck on 28 degrees so it’s going to be a while before that Akira taupe velvet jacket seems like a sensible choice.

Alicia Pyke + Tony Bannister