Models, designers, actors, bloggers and fashion editors assembled at Melbourne Central’s Dining Hall yesterday upon invitation to the flatteringly titled ‘Melbourne’s Most Fashionable Lunch’. We’re all familiar with Oscar Wilde’s assertion that “fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months” but in the midst of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, we wanted to explore the idea on a more personal level. Surely Melbourne’s most fashionable people are qualified to answer the single question: “What exactly is ‘fashionable’ to you?”
Kate Peck, model and YGAP ambassdor — “A very confident, curvy woman is fashionable; that’s coming from a skinny bitch like me.”
Dhav Naidu, beauty expert — “I always try to evade this question. Fashion is what we buy, style is what we possess. That’s my motto.”
Zoe Tuckwell-Smith, actress and ethical fashion advocate (pictured with Melissa Bergland) — “To me fashionable is something vintage, something second hand, grandma’s jewels, something made by a friend or something that has a story behind it.”
Melissa Bergland, actress — “Enhancement of assets! And I always cinch things in at the waist.”
Sarah Gale, buyer and former Project Runway Australia judge — “Individualism is fashionable. It’s really about being as authentic as possible.”
Lady Melbourne, blogger (pictured with StyleMelbourne editor, Sarah Wilcocks) — “No fashionista should be without a pair of Crocs.”
Peter Alexander, designer — “Comfort. It’s about getting the balance between comfort and fashion right. As far as the ladies are concerned the comfort to fashion ratio is probably quite skewed in one direction.”
Philip Boon, celebrity stylist — “A fashionable person to me is someone who doesn’t try too hard…but still makes an effort.”
