The film features a wardrobe worthy of Gatsby himself, designed by double Academy Award winner Catherine Martin, of such famed work as Costume Design on Moulin Rouge. Partnering with Brooks Brothers, the fashion emporium was a natural selection to produce the film’s costumes due to its reputation of fine menswear but also due to the connection with F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, who was a life-long customer of the fashion house, specifically mentioning the boutique by name in many of his writings. Martin describes Fitzgerald’s reference to Brook Brothers “as a representation of the ultimate gentleman’s purveyor of fine clothing to the American man of distinction.”

Many of the 500 costumes used in the film were inspired by archival images from previous Brook Brothers collections and this connection created an authenticity that can be seen throughout the film’s extensive wardrobe.

To celebrate the release of the movie, Brooks Brothers have created a modern re-interpretation and produced a sleek menswear collection for the ultimate gentleman.

The range is a definitive nod to the roaring 20′s and as such, features beautifully tailored three-piece suits, collegiate blazers, preppy ties and boat hats, the combination creating an elegant look that will be sure to impress for those gentlemen who are confident enough to don linen trousers, bow-ties and wingtip shoes.

Check out the full collection here.

And if you haven’t seen the trailer for The Great Gatsby, watch it here! For those muso’s out there, it has a fab cover of Happy Together by Filter, worth watching for that alone.

Image Source: Brook Brothers

Synonymous with stylish men’s and womenswear, suiting and fine shirts, shoes and accessories, the Arthur Galan AG brand celebrated a long haul of 15 years of existence amongst the excitement of the closing L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Graeme Lewsey, CEO of the LMFF announced a career well had and a bright and exciting future ahead of the man and the label whose reputation as some of the finest and most fashion forward of male and female corporate and clean-cut casual needs well exceeds it.

With a target market all of its own, a price point that sets the brand well apart from its competitors and a brand story that makes becoming a familiar face around the numerous Arthur Galan AG outlets both stand alone and Myer department store concessions more than expected, it’s no wonder the anniversary was so well received.

The editor of GQ Australia, the seemingly elusive Nick Smith made a presentation alongside Arthur Galan himself, touring the fact that for the same fifteen years that Nick and Arthur have been in the business, both have shown each brand the support and encouragement respectively, that has shot them both skyward.

It’s been fifteen years of success for Arthur Galan AG, with nothing but a brighter and grander future ahead of it.

A cliched old expression and a stereotype that for all intents and purposes is not necessarily the norm.

However, come about winter and the city does undoubtably stoop into a black abyssal state, reminiscent of olde worlde England and the masculine cityskape of old London town. That’s what allures so many to the style of Melbourne.

There are so many labels that cater to – not specifically – this annual one-and-a-half season-long trend of black adornments and wardrobe choices that many make. The likes the Et Al, Saxony, to a degree Saba amongst many others all make their own headway in collections of all or predominantly black pieces. It certainly targets a specific audience.

Saxony for example is one such label addicted to the black shade, with an emphasis on the artistic qualities of not only that, but the allure of it and the variety of looks both casual and chic that come from black.

It’s this artistic quality of the clothes, its structured draping yet simultaneously figure-hugging quality about each and many of the pieces that have made them such a formidable force in the male and female mysterious fashion market.

Mystery they say, drives curiosity. That must be one of the reasons Saxony performs so well.

In order to speak further to their collections’ target market and simply the public in general, Saxony’s recent inclusion of such local artists as Lisa Roet who is displaying her work in Chadstone, Victoria and Chatswood, NSW stores add scores to the label’s vivid personality.

Inspired by the primal simplicity of apes and humans, stemming from the interactions of the Jewish-Nazi conflicts of World War II, Roet developed a colleciton of ape and chimpanzee-inspired works that aim to capture the jarring similarities between primate and human and turn the outward-focused lense of observation around onto those who enter any Saxony store and admire her work.

Admittedly a rousing sight in Chadstone’s outlet, the label’s assimilation with artists whose stories are as strong as the allure of Saxony’s collections; they’ve got a good thing going on.

If you’re thinking the name sounds familiar, you’re right. Chris Pierucci comes from fashion royalty, with Pierucci Men’s Outfitter the latest offering from this seriously talented and fashionable family.

Influenced by the “one stop Gentlemen’s stores” from yesteryear, the store stocks a carefully curated range of local and international menswear labels along with suits, shirts and ties from their own label.

As well as the very finest in menswear, Pierucci Men’s Outfitter have also recently introduced Made-to-Measure – perfect for the gentleman in your life who wants and expects the very best. Think hundreds of luxurious fabrics to choose from, along with perfect tailoring and professionalism.

Along with the amazing clothes and accessories on offer, the carefully curated curio’s around the store makes for visual merchandising heaven. Think crisp shirts filling a hardwood case, men’s toiletries displayed in old medicine cabinets – this store has serious style with a very apparent sense of humour and whimsy.

I was also lucky enough to browse through the store while sipping a cheeky bespoke cocktail (okay, cocktails..) from the team at Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey. I’m not normally a whiskey drinker, but this charcoal mellowed tipple could turn any gal!

Want to know more?

Visit their website here (where you can also shop online), or check out their Tumblr for inside peek of what makes Pierucci Men’s Outfitter tick.

xoxo, Prue.

Pierucci Men’s Outfitter

534 Chapel St, South Yarra, VIC

+61 3 9827 1666

At the end of this year, yours truly, together with the rest of the graduating class of 2012, will present to the public and industry, our major honours projects that we have been working on for the entire year. We have poured all our energy into these major works and we are so close to being able to showcase them.

As part of the final year course in Fashion and Textile Design at UTS, each student is to take on a major work for our honours year. Students can choose between creating a womenswear or menswear collection, a textile-based project or a media-based work. We are encouraged to push boundaries and stretch ourselves to create works that are interesting, engaging and innovative.

A graduate showcase isn’t a small venture. Each year, the design staff and students of UTS brainstorm different ways to fundraise, so as to help us create a fantastic night to showcase our works to the public. And this is where YOU come in.

We have set up a Pozible account here and once you click on the link, it will take you to the UTS Future of Fashion Showcase page. You can donate to our account by clicking “Support Project” and help us towards our $2000 goal. This money will go towards the funding of a professionally designed catalogue in which all of the graduate work will be published and presented to the industry.

All the money raised will ensure that we, as soon-to-be graduates, have the best possible chance of securing jobs in the fashion industry. Without our graduate showcase, we have no platform through which to exhibit our truly fantastic work to the people in the industry who have the power to shape our careers.

At the time of writing this post, our Pozible account has raised $751. This means we need another $1249 to reach our goal. So if 250 people read this post and each donate $5, we will reach our $2000 amount. And if more than 250 people donate $5 each, we will exceed our goal and be able to put the money towards other aspects of our showcase.

So please, I implore you to dig deep and help support a fantastic cause!

Love, your almost-graduated-sleep-deprived-fashion-lover-and-UTS-student-and-Melbourne-Girl-Sydney-Contributor,

Bec x

p.s check out this awesome video of highlights from last year’s Fashion Showcase – it’s pretty spectacular!

 * All photos from annazhu.com/blog

Topman have launched a t-shirt collection to celebrate and support British talent, which epitomises all things British.

The NewGen Men designers who have collaborated are James Long, Katie Eary, Lou Dalton, Sibling, and Christopher Shannon. Each designer has creates a tee designed around the title ‘Menswear Rules Britannia’. Their take on this title was then produced on premium white rollsleeved cotton t-shirt.

Check out the Topman video highlights and some of my fave designs:

The tee’s go in to store in Melbourne on June the 10th and will be available online at topman.com to everyone else.

Topshop and Topman
Shop 1A, 500 Chapel Street
South Yarra, VIC

Enjoy, melbgirl x