The Charlotte Smith Fashion Collection Is Our New Name!

The Charlotte Smith Fashion Collection

(formerly The Darnell Collection) 

Has Moved to a New Website

click on this link thecharlottesmithfashioncollection.com to visit the new site

Fashions of Multicultural Australia Catwalk Parade

'Fashion is a common denominator among all cultures -and a catalyst for social cohesion'

www.fomaustralia.com.au

Fashions of Multicultural Australia (FOMA) is a first-ever national initiative 

that will integrate cultures and foster social cohesion 

through the universally binding industry that is fashion.

A colourful, exuberant and visually stunning fashion parade will be held at Nanda/Hobbs Contemporary Gallery in Sydney on March 10th 2018.

www.nandahobbs.com

The initiative will provide a platform for Indigenous, CALD ( Culturally and linguistically diverse) and refugee designers and trendsetters from across the globe. 

Additionally, FOMA will foster deeper cultural understanding within communities and promote cross-cultural artistry.

I have always believed fashion (and food) to be unifiers in our complicated and divisive world. 

Fashion is a visual form of storytelling. 

Fashion tells us about the designer, about the wearer, about the times in which a garment was worn, where and why. It opens a window to social, cultural, fashion, women and men's histories. 

Fashion is fabulous! 

 I am proud to join Anupam, Julie and Monika as an inaugural Ambassador 

of this incredible fashion and cultural initiative. 

 Designers included the 2018 Inaugural Fashion Parade

Inspiring stories of cultural identity from Turkey, Christmas & Cocos Keeling Islands, the Philippines,
Aboriginal Australia and Portugal

Designers from Lebanon, Pakistan, Peru, Brazil and Africa continue the global fashion story

For more information about this first-ever multicultural fashion event please go to www.fomaustralia.com.au

Roaring Twenties Art Deco Fashion Parade

Sequins, glitter, flashes of red, silver and gold heralded the annual Blue Mountains Roaring Twenties Festival held this past weekend that featured the Charleston Charity Challenge, the Long Lunch and The Darnell Collection Twenties Fashion Parade. 

In it's fourth year, the Long Lunch celebrates regional produce. 

Five courses, each provided and prepared by local producers and restaurants, matched with local wines, set the scene and got the two hundred guests in the mood for 

the annual Twenties Fashion Parade, styled by Charlotte Smith with outfits and accessories from 

The Darnell Collection. 

Six models walked the catwalk, 

under the Art Deco vaulted ceiling of the Hydro Majestic Ballroom, 

showcasing six different Twenties' looks. 

Not a sequin, feather boa or spangly headband was seen in the parade. 

Instead, daywear, sportswear, beach pyjamas, and silk robes brought to life socialites and movies stars who might have frequented Maxine Elliot's Chateau de l'Horizon, 

during an era of glamour, excess and louche lifestyles of the rich and famous told 

in Mary Lovell's book, The Riviera Set.

Garments new to the collection were seen for the first time including a stunning embroidered beach pyjama set that highlighted the exotic and the Oriental in the Twenties, as well as a new, informal fashion style introduced by Paul Poiret in the early 1900s

 and then made all the rage by Coco Chanel in the early Twenties.

Two silk kimonos, recently gifted to The Darnell Collection along with 700 other pieces, 

also featured on the catwalk. 

A rare claret coloured silk day dress, accessories with a rare ermine stole and velvet hat from Paris, also appeared on stage, as did a gentleman's sporting outfit including a linen shooting jacket and natty American-made tweed plus fours.

My co-presenter was Roger Leong, a friend, colleague and academic who is currently the Senior Curator at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney. 

His knowledge of and passion for Art Deco made him my perfect guest. 

The exuberance, luxuriousness and beauty of the 1920s is still unsurpassed. 

The Darnell Collection boasts an extraordinary number of truly exquisite pieces from this decade. Fashion is so much more - 

it is story telling about social history too.

Thank you Brigitte Grant Photography for your beautiful photographs 

that capture the opulence of the Hydro Majestic Hotel and

 the decadence of the Roaring Twenties. 

With my co-presenter, Senior Curator at MAAS, Roger Leong

A rare robe with a pattern and colours so iconic of the 1920s

So perfect for a stroll down the boulevard in Cannes

A rare day dress with Bakelite buttons in an Art Deco pattern

A stunning embroidered Beach Pyjama set and a rare silk beach bag

Plus fours and a linen shooting jacket make for a sporting 1920s' day

A pretty silk day dress and Egyptian silk long vest, cotton parasol and Bakelite driving goggles suit a Poirot heroine

1920s accessorising

A rare and very delicate ermine stole and a beautiful hat with a brim made of golden lace

A pop of colour in the 1920s

Photographed in the opulent Cat's Alley at the Hydro Majestic Hotel

Lounging in silk 

The Darnell Collection grows with major fashion donation

This was the adventure I just had - 

to collect an important fashion collection recently gifted to The Darnell Collection. 

A rare Victorian bustle skirt. Silk satin, synthetic dyed fuchsia colour

Whoever would have thought that custodianship of 

one of ten significant private fashion collections in the world 

would take me to wild, remote and pristine Bruny Island, off the east coast of Tasmania. 

Marion (who passed away last year) was a collector of great taste. 

Her preference for outlandishly extravagant Victorian garments, delicate 1920s clothes, 

and designer garments from the Fifties through the Eighties, 

including Mme Gres, Jacques Heim, Emanuel Ungaro and Pierre Cardin, 

along with accessories including crocodile handbags and fringed gloves from the 30s, 

fur stoles from the 50s, and diamanté-decked mules from French designers in the 60s, 

created an intriguing and rare collection of fashion history.

Mme Gres, Guy Laroche, Emanuel Ungaro and other labels stacked on the bed waiting
to be packed into enormous suitcases

My journey to the Tasmanian collection included
a train, plane, rental car, ferry and then a one hour drive on the only road on the island - dirt -
with glimpses of azure blue seas, pine covered hills, white lighthouses, and no one else on the road!

I arrived at the house, perched high on a cliff overlooking one of the most beautiful bays on the island, and was practically blown into the entrance of the magnificent house, filled with antiques,
to discover what had been gifted to my collection.

A beautiful mauve, emerald metallic thread and velvet 1920s evening coat

Marion's collection was stored in pristine condition, quite a feat living on an island, so everything I emptied from the drawers of mahogany chests on chests, wardrobes and chests of drawers 

were in immaculate order. 

With ABC Classic FM radio playing in the background, I packed up 5 enormous suitcases in rhythm to Bach and Mozart concertos. 

700 pieces (141.67 kilos) later I drove off, back down the two kms dirt driveway 

to the chained gate through which I drove before it was locked up again, 

and headed back to the ferry and then on to Hobart where I stayed the night 

before flying back to Sydney the next day. 

Now, not only have I added an extraordinary fashion element to The Darnell Collection, 

but along with this gift I can also add the evocative story of the setting in which I found myself, 

the adventure of getting there and back, and of course, most importantly, 

the story of Marion and her devoted husband Terry.

The Darnell Collection is a collection of fashion. 

BUT it is more than that. 

It is a collection that tells social history and women's journey's through fashion, 

and Marion's story is one of dedication, passion and pride. 

I feel very lucky to include this treasure with mine. 

This is why the Darnell Collection is unique in the world.

The view from my hotel room at Alonha, Tasmania

Mahogany chest on chest filled with Marion's collection, beautifully stored in acid free tissue.

Elaborate silk thread embroidery on a silk kimono from the 1920s

Olivia modelling this stunning 1920s house robe

Marion looking demure and young in the early 1940s

Another breathtaking Bruny Island view as I drove to the collection

Vogue Australia Features The Darnell Collection

In her story, Night Shift, featuring The Darnell Collection, Alice Birrell, Fashion Editor, Vogue Australia, focused on the shift in what people wear when they dress up and how 'dressing-up' events have changed in the past 100 years.

It's all about the flouncy flamenco-esque ruffles down the back of this dramatic dress 

by Oscar de la Renta. 

At the shoot, the models posed in the extraordinary bathroom of a Mid-Century Modern house in Clovelly, above the pristine sands of Clovelly Beach, in Sydney. 

I was interviewed in my role of a Fashion Anthropologist.

 I talked about the shift in types of gowns women choose to wear to special evenings 

as well as the huge variety of styles of garments from which we can choose today.

(The article, titled 'Night Shift', is in the December 2017 issue, page 207 - 209)

One Enchanted Evening (Affirm Press) is available from all good bookstores in Australia & New Zealand 

& from the following online booksellers: 

Amazon Australia

Amazon America

Booktopia 

My story about this dress is on page 56:

"This dazzling Oscar de la Renta evening dress is a glorious salute to Spain with its lush matador red colour, the carnation print of the silk taffeta and the glorious effusion of frills and ruffles.

Red was the legendary designer's favourite colour. He wore a red carnation in his buttonhole every day when he lived in Madrid as a tribute to the red carnations thrown 

into the bullfighting ring before each show.

A chance commission in 1950 to design a dress for the daughter of the US Ambassador to Spain wound up on the cover of Life Magazine, which led to an invitation to Madrid to apprentice for Cristobal Balenciaga. De la Renta's future as a fashion designer was secured.

This spectacular dress is worthy of being worn by Carmen Amaya, the greatest flamenco dancer of all time. Different styles of flamenco dancing convey different emotions, but they all have 'duende' - the genius to masterfully convey passion and emotion.

Without doubt, this dress conveys Oscar de la Renta's 'duende' - and his elegance and style. 

Australian Women's Weekly photo shoot for my new book, One Enchanted Evening

Only for very special reasons do I allow models to wear gowns in 

The Darnell Collection, but I felt a feature of my new book, 

One Enchanted Evening, 

in Australian Women's Weekly, was a wonderful opportunity 

to bring a selection of dresses to life. 

There are some dresses too valuable or fragile to allow to be worn, 

but there were plenty of others from the book that made choosing difficult. 

I also had to pick garments that suited the three models' individuality, 

who were also 6 foot tall. 

I always enjoying transforming modern women (and men) into another era. 

For this shoot, we were working with garments 

from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 2000s. 

All very different moods, dress silhouettes, hair and beauty styles, accessories. It was an exciting challenge. 

In the end, I went for dresses that either had stories personal to me 

or designer/decade histories I thought would highlight 

the diversity of stories (and fashion) in my book.

Age, Colour and Fabulousness Celebrated on the Gold Coast

As part of an expansive public programme to coincide with the major Conde Nast sourced fashion photography exhibition, 'Coming Into Fashion' at the Gold Coast City Art Gallery, 

a series of talks and events have been held at the Gallery precinct. 

Of particular interest was last weekend's The Fashion Forum, created by author, Alison Kubler. Fashion leaders and creatives were invited to speak in front of an audience 200 strong. 

Ari Seth Cohen, author of Advanced Style; Deputy Editor, Vogue Australia, Sophie Tedmanson; Brisbane based demi-couturier, Gail Sorronda; and I - custodian of The Darnell Collection.

Ari's respect for and commitment to Age and Style set the tone. Alison lead the four In Conversations with leading questions that engaged the speaker and the audience. 

Everyone dressed to the hilt and celebrated this unique and thought-provoking forum.

I flew home to the Blue Mountains recharged, empowered, and upbeat. 

Surrounded by the most fabulously dressed women on the Gold Coast.
'Ari's Harem'!
At the luxurious Palazzo Versace Hotel

Alison Kubler, Host and Presenter of The Fashion Forum and Tracy Cooper-Lavery, Director Gold Coast City Art Gallery,
and Ari Seth Cohen, author of Advanced Style and 

Wearing a gold lame full-length cape by Danica of Double Bay at The Versace Palace Hotel,
enjoying Afternoon Tea with Ari Seth Cohen

At The Fashion Forum at the Gold Coast City Art Gallery
with milliner, Meredith McMaster and Women in Racing CEO, Jennifer Bartel

Age has no boundaries!! Neither does dressing as an individual!
With Mary Baynard, Sara Jane Adams and Judy Brine

The most elegant multi-tasker in the world. Who says 'Pucci' and 'inflating tyres' don't go together? 

A line-up suitable to win 'Best Dressed' and for Afternoon Tea at the Palazzo Versace Hotel

1960s Hallmark Paper Party Dress

For the perfectionist Hostess who wanted to be the centre of attention as well as perfectly coordinated, in the mid to late 1960s, Hallmark produced paper party dresses that matched the party accessories from the centrepiece to the paper flowers and matchbook covers.

In 1966, the Scott Paper Company in America used a gimmicky marketing ploy to market their new range of throwaway tableware. For just $1.25, consumers could send away for their paper dress which was posted back along with coupons to buy their tableware. 

Scott Paper Company received half a million orders in six months. 

 The idea of wearing paper dresses caught on and became a massive hit at a time when the youth fancied crazes, hip fashion trends and the idea of disposability (the idea of having disposable incomes was new). The huge potential of wearing 'wearable advertising' for products and political messages encouraged other companies to produce and sell dresses by the hundreds of thousands, 

including Hallmark.

Paper dresses could be altered in minutes with a pair of scissors and tape, worn once or twice and then thrown away. This was perfect for the new generation of women who were eager 

to rebel against the 'Make Do and Mend' culture of WW11.

The fad was short lived and by 1968, when a new Hippy fashion movement took hold, 

paper dresses were out of date.

This wonderful, colourful and fun paper dress, made by Hallmark, is in The Darnell Collection. It even has its original packaging. 

(photograph: Brigitte Grant Photography)