By Seth Khouri
There is a certain amount of irony in categorising the entirety of Australian Fashion Week as “Resort”. It of course makes sense. For who better, on a global scale, to host an entourage of Australia’s (and occasionally New Zealand’s) most notorious designers presenting exclusively vocational wear? However, Australia is as multifaceted as any other fashion sect, and many designers abandon so-called resort wear in favour of transseasonal attire. This can naturally be attributed to Australian Fashion Week occurring only once per calendar year—in contrast to our siblings across the sea. None of this, however, pertains to Hansen & Gretel, the Australian label that, if anything, lives, breathes, and dies Resort.
Held at the Museum of Contemporary Art—Australian Fashion Week’s new playground—Hansen & Gretel presented Tide. This season, like many before it, the label leaned heavily into the resortisms we have come to both expect and relish from Hansen & Gretel. Sheer, loose-flow dresses and glitter tops sat alongside boardshorts and sequined fringe. For the ladies, puka shells braided into hair swayed in equal measure with crystal-tasselled skirts and accessories. For the men, baggy board shorts and oversized long-sleeve shirting matched in colour and print—it was a luxury-resort fever dream.
The label’s colour pairings were delightful. Vibrant fuchsia, sunset orange, and lime green, to name a few, pulled the audience into the endless-holiday world Hansen & Gretel so wonderfully occupy. There was, however, a slight shift in tone from the ghost of Hansen past. If last season ushered in a mood of serenity and tranquillity—as though one were lounging poolside, without worry or wrinkle—this season took a more daring route. Trading the sun’s glow for something more nocturnal, Hansen & Gretel provided their audience with the wardrobe of girls gone wild. Frazzled hair and micro skirts only furthered the narrative. If last season’s wearer vacationed with their parents, this season’s wearer was far from the sort, disregarding parental well wishes in exchange for endless nights on the dance floor.
As Australian Fashion Week concludes its second day, much of the audience already finds itself at wits’ end. Only moments before the show, attendees discussed their weekend plans of rest and relaxation with neighbours, many uttering the words “time for a holiday”—not too dissimilarly from the graphic-printed ribbed singlet that went down the runway mere moments later..