The Spirit of the Black Dress invited fashion and textile designers to create their version of the iconic black dress for their official Melbourne Spring Fashion Week gala and photographic exhibition. The ten best entries were chosen (by industry experts like designer Joe Saba, trend forecaster and creative strategist Robert Buckingham and FASHIONTREND’s Nikita Papas) and last week the gorgeous frocks came together to be photographed over two days by Christian Blanchard. We were lucky to have a peek behind the scenes as the shoot came together and we can tell you it is modern yet classic, darkly atmospheric but not cold.

The hair is highly sculptural and the makeup look is dramatic and strong – nothing like a red lip to match your LBD.

The designers involved are Andy Tsang, Alyana Eau, Airdrie Makim with Claire Djuve, Kristy Barber, Leigh Buchanan, Michelle Czech, Nikolina Kucan, Noelle Kan, Rachael Cassar and Sonya Kraan. There are a few sneaky behind the scenes images below but we’ve obscured the intricate details in the dresses so we don’t spoil the surprise for those of you who attend the show! We’ll have plenty more from the shoot to show you when our coverage of the actual event goes live. There’s also this great behind the scenes video that shows you a few glimpses of what to expect;

The Spirit of the Black Dress exhibition runs throughout MSFW from Monday the 31st of August to Sunday 6th September and is open from 10am to 8pm at Georges on Collins, enter 195 Little Collins Street in Melbourne. Entry to the exhibition is free. The event will kick off with a Gala Opening on Monday 31st August from 6pm to 9pm (please note this is a date change from what is printed in the official MSFW schedule) however tickets are now BOOKED OUT for the gala – you can still get along to the exhibition during the week however.

Shoot Credits

Video – Ben Baker with soundtrack by Tom Roberts, Styling/Production – Jordan Moore, Photography – Christian Blanchard and his assistants Vien Tran and Andy Gough, Hair – Carl Reeves from Redken with assistants Mano Preston , Erin O’Neill and Danielle Dihn from Mieka Hairdressing, Make Up – Ash Richards with assistant Elinda Corbisiero.

Words – Sarah Willcocks

Photography – Magdalena Skorlich