‘IN YOUR FACE’ weaponry is not the typical all encompassing detail for a shoe. And, I admit when first spotting these ‘Hell Raisers’ in Leopard print calf hair…I was a little scared.

You are NOT going to get through air port security wearing these babies! 

Second glance and I slipped my foot into the buttery leather. How quickly converted I was. The comfort of a loafer harmonizing with an overdose of punk studs romanced my heart and I happily skipped into the street wearing my new shoes. The designer is Unif, a New York brand specializing in cool. And the store is Bleecker St, a new destination on Windsor Street specializing in independent New York labels…

I’m thankful to have walked into the store before the studded beauties were sold out, because they are the perfect accompaniment to my my graffiti obsession...

Sometimes the best part of your day comes by chance; chance being that when one of my favoured galleries is closed, I happen to be lured into a store by the buttery softness of a tasselled green skirt.
Framing my hips, the cut was perfect and the chequered lining was a nod to craftsmanship. Flimsy budgets, forced me to leave the skirt behind (for now), but what I gained was knowing about a new hub for delicate gold jewellery, retro inspired sweaters and jackets, sleek leather satchels, and of course a conversation with the kind of cool shop owner you want to grab a beer with later. 
Hailing from Byron Bay, Jules opened Lunar  Store the day I  happened  to walk in and try the leather skirt on. A chance that I hope you come across while walking down Greville Street yourself…

‘La Chambre De Bonne’

‘The Maids Quarters’

Winding through the corridors of the Von Haus Building, I came across an Iron Gate shielding transparent garments stamped with six petal flowers or the same images of the French sitting room that graced the walls. Strictly in shades of black and white, the space embossed a silent untouchable elegance, like silver screen sirens tempting viewers through the luminous screen.

I was tempted back the following day…

Over a rosé I met Denise Sprynskyj, part of the duo behind S!X. She designs the label S!X with Peter Boyd, which they began in 1994.

 “We use a lot of found garments and reconfigure them…the tailored jacket is what a lot of our designs are from. Excavation, deconstruction, and reconstruction have become our signatures…Very few designers were doing that in the 90’s.” ~Denise Sprynskyj

The pieces in the collection held tightly onto that aesthetic of deconstruction and reconstruction. The designs orchestrated precise tailoring with notes of obscure loops and cut-offs that go against what your mind might hold to as the norm for a dress or jacket. 

Designing, teaching, exhibiting internationally, and studying; Denise and Peter have a Renaissance frame of mind. Their career expands beyond one solitary profession. And, of course they are always looking to expand their own learning as well. Currently, working on a PHD on the Process of Design at RMIT and a thesis explaining how S!X differs from  other designers, Denise explained to me how the collection is a research of ‘space.’

“With the wallpaper and clothing featuring the same print, the environment and interior space move off the wall and onto the body. The flowers rep the idea of the hand...hand to cloth.” ~Denise Sprynskyj

 As inspirations and designs change, so does the wallpaper in the studio to thoroughly consume customers with a feeling. This season sees S!X recycling a Paris obsession with lavish silks, black & white, and wall paper of a French sitting room. Denise showed me peeks of the wall paper for next season's collection, but I won't tell what my little eyes saw. Instead, I invite you to take a walk up the stairs of Von Haus on Crossley street into the 'la chambre de bonne'and experience S!X for yourself... 

 Boring days; we all have them, when there seems not a soul, Facebook post, or random smile around that can enliven the mood.

Neurotically, I bite my nails. My back tenses and I jitter around in a ruffled way that would rouse people watching to yell “Calm the *&%$ Down!”

Sad isn’t it? I admit, I am that spoiled child who demands to be consistently entertained by life in a carousel of cheer, charm, and ecstasy.

I had my bored dress on this morning until my eyes darted to the right and caught sight of these beauties. Clustered along alleyways, the works captivated my attention and knocked dead any resolute feelings of spiritless fatigue. I walked away smiling..exhilarated.

And, that my friends, is how Graffiti saved my life.

Frosted lavender hair. A black leather skirt worn in a school girl ensemble. Spotted on Bourke Street in Melbourne her look was right up my alley...

And, yes I will be investing in a better camera just to truly capture how cool girls like this look. 

Like a coming of age tale, Katherine Gailer’s ‘Womanly Extended’ heralds the tune of self exploration and realization. Monochromatic women sway to an uplifting rhythm amongst vibrant splashes of magenta, cobalt, and red-yellow. Flowing along the slopes of a woman’s breast, throat, and spine, Gailer’s vision is one that is overtly feminine and pinpoints various stages of womanhood.

“I will expose female identity beyond the parameters of what we already know.” ~Katherine Gailer

 “‘Womanly Extended’ is a project that explores the female body as a holding place of experience.” ~Katherine Gailer

Freedom. Self Consciousness. Idealized Beauty. Sexuality. Motherhood.

Symbolic gestures mimic feelings that expose the female body as a playground for life experience. Gailer’s cryptic use of color to lay open or shelter the women in her paintings adds sensual notes that are a crosscurrent throughout the series. Boldly, Gailer explores sex as a carnal desire, inhibited shyness, or the birth of motherhood all through a tour of the female body.

Her images mirrored much of my journey through womanhood and I have to admit…it was startlingly confronting. Many artists give you a beauteous visual experience or redefine cultural questions, but few ever question your identity. To touch on the journey I have, am, and will go through in life as a female…I commend Katherine Gailer for her boldness. 

Gailer’s exhibit will be on view at The Brunswick Street Gallery alongside other notable artists in a joint showing that I strongly recommend experiencing and absorbing for yourself…

Bulging from a skeletal cave, dreary eyes peer at you. A group of raw boned girls fawn together, each in a colored shift dress resting on their ashen bones…

“These are my dreams.” ~Rachel King

Few can remember their dreams. And of those who do, few can etch with such penetrating detail the visions that cross their mind at night. Rachel King is one of those very few and welcomes you to ‘Phantasms.’  

 Macabre damsels haunted the red walls at Brunswick StreetGallery with a subversive creepiness that spoke of the corpse and beauty. As though in a dream waltz, I was pulled further into the little red room by the Twiggy smiles and svelte frames that were as innocently girlish as they were ghoulish. The drawings peered out from a world all their own, captured and framed with wasted smiles that held a longing to escape…

 Dreams of dystopian beauties might cloud the character of some, but Rachel King mirrored nothing of the sullen faces from her drawings.  Rather, she was fun and blushing at the joy of showcasing her work in her first solo exhibition. 

It is a collection of work that is commendable with all the minute symmetrical lines and the hair-rising feeling it releases. Like a good actress, I suppose Ms. King can evoke a mood with her drawings, while maintaining her own separate sense of self. 

She was by far my favorite artist of the joint show at Brunswick Street Gallery and I urge others to experience her work themselves, which will be on view until the 12^th of April.

Sweet Dreams…