I am extremely grateful to have had the honour of working with the fashion designers, models, venue managers, sound engineers and lighting sculptors that brought the vision of ‘Wrapt in Nimbin Aquarius Fashion Show’ to its glorious fruition.
The show was initially staged at the Bush Theatre on the 14th May (thank you for the wonderful venue David and Kaz!), as part of Ellis D Fogg’s Lightshow, and then replayed at the Tuntable Falls Community Hall on the 20th May. I enthusiastically shout out a big thank you to all the wonderful people who made our “penniless” and “venueless” show possible.
Thank you to our guiding star, Linda Jackson, for accepting my invitation to participate as a mentor in our show. Linda guided us gently “on how to and what not to do on stage” while encouraging us to allow the show to freely evolve. She graciously responded to my heartfelt request to participate as a designer by presenting the exceptional “Waratah Wedding Dress” in our show.
The presentation of Linda’s exquisite Rainbow Collection was one of the highlights of Roger Foley’s (Ellis D Fogg) mind-bending lightshows at the Bush Theatre on 13th and 14th May. The garments’ fluorescent rainbow colours were brought to vibrant life under the magic wand of Ellis D Fogg’s UV lights. A moment of perfection!
This remarkable synthesis of Roger’s lights and Linda’s designs was the result of over 30 years collaboration between the two artists, who also happen to be two of Australia’s most iconic creative spirits.
So our fashion show became part of Ellis D Fogg Lightshow and not the other way around. Roger casually observed that models need a stage, and then kindly went on to provide us with not only a stage but also included us in his lightshow and the show’s promotions. Thank you and thank you again, Roger!
The Wrapt in Nimbin Fashion Group are truly grateful — we are no fewer than 24 models and nine designers — and deeply appreciative of your generosity, patience and professionalism, and the way you handled our show. The vibrancy of colour and mystique your lights wove around our models directly shaped the magic of the event.
Many thanks also to all your crew, particularly the fabulous MC Ms Edwina Blush and your rock-steady sound engineer Ritchie.
Thank you to Tuntable Falls Community for inviting us to stage our collection in your beautiful hall and for such a warm welcome. What an extraordinary and joyful occasion it was for us all to be part of!
Much gratitude to the talented Tim Tonkin for providing and organising the lights (and event); to Wompy for providing the music technology; to Biskit for stepping up to be the MC; to Peter Walker for putting the music together for our shows; to Jeni Kendall who helped with more than suggestions — this show happened because you dreamed it; and to Paul Tait who came to our rescue at the last minute at the Tuntable show to capture it all on film.
To Gill Jones, my ‘Wild Skin’s’ partner — big hugs and thank you for your amazing networking capacity and experience in fashion. Without you and Marilyn Smith, this unique and fun experience would not have happened.
Thank you also to my fellow local designers Myfanwy Stirling, Christina Chester, Honey Joy, Polly Stirling, Gill Jones, Zlatka, Marlene Roerich and Bobbin Joy. Your wonderful designs were truly the nucleus of the show.
And lastly, to the beautiful models who graced the stage with poise and panache.
Last but not least, much gratitude to the Nimbin Artists Gallery for their generous donation.
What is clear is that local fashion design needs to be shared. We are looking forward with excitement to our next yearly fashion extravaganza!