Josh Goot’s 10th anniversary show, presented at Central Pier in the
Docklands was a highlight of the Virgin Australia’s Melbourne Fashion Festival. Goot
presented a wearable collection full of white and black, embossed with digital
florals of blue, purple, hunter green and burgundy. The excitement before the
show was truly palpable. The audience were eager to celebrate one of
Australia’s best design talents.
Goot’s Autumn/Winter ’15
collection was extremely fresh and modern, whilst still being relevant and
classic enough to last for upcoming seasons, which is necessary in this
post-GFC retail landscape. The collection boasted oversized shirts over pencils
skirts with floral cropped vests on top. The skirts featured thigh high splits
(although not to Angelina Jolie heights), a recurring trend this fashion week,
also seen at Christopher Esber and Martin Grant. The collection featured Goot’s signature
bomber jackets and a new style of floaty skirts
and dresses in ethereal white with vibrant azure flowers glided down the
runway, diverting from his mostly structured neoprene numbers of seasons past.
It was not only important that
Goot presented a wearable collection this season, it was necessary. This
collection needs to sell, and sell well. News hit this February that Goot had
placed his namesake company under voluntary administration in order to
restructure the business. A statement from Goot explained that his decision was
due to the “well-documented difficult trading conditions in the fashion
industry,” referring to the high Australian dollar of late, as well as the
oversaturated Australian retail climate which has seen the arrival of huge
international high street brands, hurting many local retailers. The company
remerged after only one month of administration, the battle is still uphill for
Goot. Hence why Thursday night’s show presented fairly classic clothing (by
Goot standards anyway) for the bold, fashion-forward woman that he targets.
Although the collection seemed a little too summery for autumn/winter, what with
five sleeveless crisp white tops and dresses, Goot built upon this with clever
layering and slowly transitioned into the darker colours in heavier fabrics.
Not unlike Australia’s slow transition into our own mild winter. 
Goot presented a commercially
smart collection. The buyer is offered wearable luxury, in prints that won’t
soon date. With average prices for Josh Goot starting at $700, you would expect
a skirt to last more than a few seasons. Goot said he wanted this collection to
feel fresh but last forever, and I think he certainly achieved that. Transgender model Andreja Pejić closed the show in a simple, strapless black floor length dress, symbolising a new era of change for not only Goot, but for the entire Australia fashion industry.
Images from the Virgin Australia Melbourne
Fashion Festival Facebook page.
