Formed in 1992 by Melbourne designer Melma Hamersfeld through the design experimentations of transforming stretchy material, Metalicus has long since become a staple of most fashionista’s wardrobe. As such, it was with excitement that I joined in the throng to see what we would be wearing this coming season from the label. Spotted amongst the crowd were the sister act, uber talented musicians / DJs and L’Oreal Ambassadors Nervo looking effortlessly glamorous.
Groove Armada’s ‘Oh My Gosh’ welcomed the models onto the runway with the the parade commencing with the brands high performance sportswear range Move. Featuring extremely wearable jogging jackets, tee’s, jogging shorts, leggings, singlets, pants and more, the thing that struck me first was the use of color! It seemed that a burst of sunshine had been thrown into the Melbourne wardrobe staple of black, grey and more grey.
Red, yellow and pink added gorgeous color and movement to the range with singlets featuring cut-out circles at the back, sure to bring relief to any exercise fanatic who knows just how hot getting sweaty can be. In particular I loved the pink stretchy jogging jackets which looked like they would be perfect for relaxing or exercising.
Perhaps my pick of the sportswear range were the black knicker bockers (referred to as Song Fold Over Pants in the Metalicus brochure) which just looked so comfortable and stylish. This item truly translates across style and would work easily with a pump and cute Tee to meet the girls for brunch. Shoes were by Lacoste and a particular silver pair caught my eye as being particularly special.
The lights dropped much to the chagrin of the photographers pit with one yell heard above the music of ‘liiiights!’. Soon enough it was onto the second half of the parade with the Metalicus Women’s Collection beginning with an array of dresses and again the use of color was evident. Bright colors were layered into outfits with orange and pink a stand out. A gorgeous beanie came down the runway with a flower on the side that I could see many a Melbourne fashionista enjoying through Winter.
Current trends were acknowledged with two ruffled skirts looking particularly pretty and comfortable. A stand out for me were the colored, patterned and textured tights which came down the runway in an array of styles including small check, tartan, aqua and yellow along with grey’s - both dark and lighter. A long sleeved jacket in grey was gorgeous as was a purple maxi dress with zipper detailing at the neck. Cut outs were again a feature as was the clear eighties inspiration with a hot pink and white lace party dress standing out to me. A corset dress in steel grey was super sexy whilst the use of stripes made this collection seem to appear appealing to a cross selection of ages. This possibly was reflected in the audience which saw a mix of generations enjoying the collection.
The use of stripes was particularly interesting with a wrap dress featuring horizontal stripes at the back moving into diagonal at the front with buckle. A yellow bodysuit was particularly pretty as was the blue cardi.
The models featured natural hair and makeup as one would expect for a sportswear range and women's collection which focuses on comfort. Spotted on the runway were the exquisite Lucy McIntosh (who is surely Melbourne’s hardest working model) along with Samantha Downie of Australia’s Next Top Model (2008) fame, who always looks stunning. The finale saw all models congregrate on the runway in a houndstooth inspired batwing mini dress (stunning!) teamed with a different pair of colored tights each. Sky high heels by RMK were a feature as the girls formed a group to then cascade off the runway.
All in all, I really liked the collection, I felt it was transgenerational, interesting and made great use of color – something I am a fan of in general. With most of the range under $100, I could see many people enjoying this collection, whilst getting a lot of wear out of it.
For more information or to start shopping the collection visit Metalicus.com.
For more information of the rest of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival visit the LMFF website here.
Photography by The Contessa for AskBronny. See The Contessa's Street Style snaps from the parade here.
