Above and Below

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I feel like when people ask about your 'favourite designers', there needs to be a sub category drop down menu… "Favourites for admiring from afar…", "Favourites of all time…", "Favourites right now…" and then "Favourites for buying and wearing…".  Obviously Balenciaga, Azzedine Alaia and Celine wouldn't unfortunately go in the last category seeing as I'm not made of $$$.  However, Above, from Melbourne DOES go in there.   I've mentioned before how much wear I get out of their navy mesh tops which I've only just found out from the designers that I can chuck into the washing machine.  Great.  I'll wear them even more now that I know they don't have to be hand washed/dry-cleaned.  Previously known as All of the Above, designers Nyssa Marrow and Kerry Findlow have taken their in-house store label for their shop and made it into the reincarnated 'Above' which concentrates on pieces that can be worn over and over again.   Basics with a twist seems all too simplistic a description for their clothes.  They're…pieces you'd wear over and over again but are neither complicated or simple… a bit of a mouthful huh?  Hmmm… will have to work on the a better vernacular for the sort of clothes that Above produce…  

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Anyway, their S/S 10-11 collection (so err…our A/W 10-11) collection is once again exactly those sort of wear and wear again pieces in a sexy palette of "Steel, ecru, ember smoke…"… their words not mine.  Sure makes my simplistic Crayola colour language a lot more exciting.  Knots that can shift pieces into different shapes seem to be the running theme.  Oh no, the dreaded "You can wear this many ways!" promise… I can't promise 101 dresses can be formulated out of a piece but I think I can vouch that the scarf trousers in particular (seen below) can be worn a multiple number of ways…

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Then there's the laser-cutting.  Used sparingly and effectively in the'ecru' jacket, shirt and shorts combo, I do feel myself my resolve against buying the whole set weakening day by day ever since I saw it in their showroom in Sydney..

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25 comments

  3. I freaking love that red asymmetric skirt dress! And WHITE ^^ Makes me feel so summery, but this has a slightly different feel, almost like a rainy British summer. Gorgeous!
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  4. I love it when a multiway garment is done properly. It’s so interesting to play around with the shapes of garments like these. I do particularly love the laser cutting. It looks so crisp. How amazing does it look layered up like that?!
    Clare x

  6. Very interesting… isn’t it a great surprise when you can throw things in the wash?! Love the laser-cut.
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  12. thanks so much for the review Susie! Was so great to meet you.
    we love the lattice story as well but just wanted to let you all know that it’s actually a print effect, not a laser cut. We print it in our studio with our in house screenprinter and he’d be so upset if we didn’t give him a shout out!

  13. Thank you for this! I think there’s something odd going on in Australia when your blog reveals more interesting local labels than local media.

  14. Susie! I’m getting the whole laser cut set- you should too!
    (Except it’s not actually laser cut- I thought it was at first too! It’s a process of cotton burning called devore, and the burn is kept in place by a thicker pigment around the edges!)
    xx

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