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.

One Enchanted Evening at Leura Garage Book Launch

The storms cleared as the launch of 'One Enchanted Evening', my third book (Affirm Press) about dresses in The Darnell Collection and stories about the women who wore them, kicked off the summer season
in the Blue Mountains.

Ultra trendy Leura Garage was emptied of its tables and chairs and replaced with a catwalk. Seven local models wore garments from the collection, from the 70s to the 90s.
Two 1929 Cadillac Lasalle automobiles, on loan from Blue Mountains Vintage Cadillacs, ferried models to and from the catwalk venue.
Nearby Caffeine & Gasoline cafe was turned into the styling and wardrobe area.
ABC Nightly News presenter, Jeremy Fernandez, was ever so professional and suave as the evening's Emcee.

Leura Garage hosted a bountiful evening with flowing Central West wines and platters of locally sourced canapés to 150 guests. All captured in full colour by Brigitte Grant Photography.

It was a fabulous evening celebrating what is best about being a 'local'!

http://www.leuragarage.com.au
www.bluemountainsvintagecadillacs.com.au
https://brigittegrantphotography.com.au/client-gallery/8-clients-gallery/204-an-enchanted-evening-book-launch-at-leura-garage
www.caffeineandgasoline.net.au

Models surround a stunning and rare 1929 Cadillac Lasalle

With ABC Nightly News presenter, Jeremy Fernandez, Emcee of the evening, in a 1929 Cadillac Lasalle

One Enchanted Evening Book Launch at the Carrington Hotel

Vogue Australia, The Darnell Collection and One Enchanted Evening

One a breezy, cool day in Sydney, over looking Coogee Beach, I arrived on location for 

Vogue Australia's photo shoot carrying six gowns. 

The theme of the shoot was 'Dressing Up'. 

Out of three beautiful young models, Anya Molochkova was chosen to wear the stunning Oscar de la Renta gown, which features in my new book, One Enchanted Evening, illustrated by Grant Cowan.

The dress is also the book's cover star.

Here is the story: " 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 all his elegance and style."

Thank you Anya and thank you Vogue Australia for celebrating and featuring 

the art of dressing up and the beauty of couture.

One Enchanted Evening 

(Affirm Press) from all good bookstores from 1st November

Onya wears de la Renta from his 2012 collection.

Behind the scenes - in the mid century modern bathroom.
One can ask..."How many people can you fit in a bathroom?" 12 in this case!