MBFW Australia: Dylan Cooper Spring/Summer 2013

It is hard to describe the excitement you experience when seeing your first fashion show, so much more so when it is the designer’s debut collection as well. And it was quite a bold debut at that.

What struck me immediately upon walking into the small, black room in which the collection was held, was the overwhelming variety of colour and prints.

I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with the designer himself. After asking what had inspired him, he answered that it was a combination of everything. Having landed an overseas trip to London, Paris and New York as part of his prize for winning Project Runway Australia 2011, the images he collected of his travels were what formed the basis for his prints.

Capturing both a refined sense of subtlety and a quality of fun, Dylan Cooper was able to realise what he himself heralds as Australia’s greatest contribution to the international fashion community; a freshness and unique point of view, particularly in the way  we wear and mix colour. This uniqueness, he says, is something that comes from Australia’s detachment, in many ways, from what happens in the northern hemisphere and helps to create a more interesting and diverse global fashion story.

The freshness of the show was unmistakable. As was the vision it projected of a women who is sophisticated, if not a little rebellious as well. Overall, both the designer and the garments created a very charming show and will most definitely make their mark on this Fashion Week and hopefully many to come.

Written by Georgia Lourandos