Friday, February 1st, 2013
If you know your Chloe from Chanel and Marchesa from Missoni; pronounce Givenchy: ‘jhee-von-shee’; drop the ‘H’ in Hermès; and revere Anna Dello Russo as much as Anna Wintour – then we have a guide for you. Sartorialists rejoice, as we take you around the world for a year of fashion weeks.
The Big Four
New York City
Autumn/Winter: 7–14 February 2013, and Spring/Summer: September 5–12 2013
Every February and September the world’s fashion-forward converge on the Lincoln Centre, in Manhattan’s artsy Lincoln Square, to witness America’s most iconic and up-and-coming designers debut their latest collections at New York Fashion Week. This February, more than 75 designers will showcase their handiwork at official events, with names like Charlotte Ronson, Zac Posen, Badgley Mischka, Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren and Diane von Furstenberg all taking on the runway. Fashion zealot or not, fashion week is a great time to visit The Big Apple, as the city is abuzz with quintessential New York City energy and high drama.
Getting there: Together with partner airlines Delta Air Lines and Virgin America, Virgin Australia operates flights to New York City, from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Where to stay: ON THE AVE complements fashion week’s vibe, with stylish and contemporary facilities just 15 minutes’ walking distance from the Lincoln Center.
London
Autumn/Winter: 15–19 February 2013, and Spring/Summer: September 13–17 2013
Sporting sore heads from wrap parties, the fashpack moves across the Atlantic, without even a day’s reprieve, to Somerset House for London Fashion Week. Following firmly on the coattails of NYC, London showcases twice a year (February and September), with more than 5,000 visitors – ranging from buyers to TV crews and journalists and A-listers – in attendance. This February more than 60 catwalk shows and 30 presentations and salon shows fill the official schedule, while 45 shows will take place off schedule. Iconic UK names like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith and Burberry will flaunt their wears alongside avant-garde heroes like Christopher Kane and Henry Holland, and Australian innovators like sass & bide, Antipodium and Dion Lee.
Getting there: Together with partner Etihad Airways, Virgin Australia operates flights to London from Sydney and Melbourne.
Where to stay: Situated in the heart of London’s vibrant Covent Garden, Kingsway Hall Hotel offers comfortable and deluxe accommodations, a mere 9 minutes’ walk from all the action of London Fashion Week.
Milan
Women’s Fashion, Autumn/Winter: 20–26 February 2013, Spring/Summer: 18–24 September 2013, Men’s Fashion, Spring/Summer: 22 – 26 June 2013
Fashion is such big business in Milan that womenswear and menswear are dedicated separate week-long events. This year’s men’s event has already passed with names like Prada, Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana heralded as standouts. Come late February, the world’s biggest names are set congregate in the Italian hub once again to showcase their take on women’s runway and ready-to-wear looks. All the big Italian heavy-hitters will be present – including Gucci, Versace and Valentino, to name a few – alongside the world’s most innovative up-and-coming labels. Considered to be the most intrinsically stylish city in the world, Milan Fashion Week is highly revered and respected by those in the fashion know.
Getting there: Together with partner airlines Etihad Airways, Virgin Australia operates flights to Milan from Sydney and Melbourne.
Where to stay: On a private street, situated in the cultural and commercial heart of a city, the Bulgari Hotel (of Italian design house fame) is one of Milan’s hottest locations during Fashion Week.
Paris
Ready-to-Wear, Autumn/Winter: 26 Feb–6 March 2013, Spring/Summer: 24 September – 2 October 2013, Men’s Fashion, Spring/Summer: 26–30 June 2013, Couture, Spring/Summer: 1–4 July 2013,
Paris is the fashion capital of the world, and consequently Paris Fashion Week is the hottest ticket item on the fashion calendar. Couture Week has just past, and saw Kanye West sit front row at Lanvin, Jessica Alba don all black for Christian Dior, Olivia Munn support Donatella Versace, and Diane Kruger pull off Parisienne chic at the Chanel. Ready to Wear womenswear is next on the agenda, and will see France’s most iconic fashion houses – such as Isabel Marant, Balmain, Céline, Dior, Chloe, Louis Vuitton and Chanel – inundate the Carrousel du Louvre. Fashion Week is an exciting time to be in Paris, at the city’s boulevards come alive with all things fierce and fabulous.
Getting there: Together with partner airlines Etihad Airways, Virgin Australia operates flights to Paris from Sydney and Melbourne.
Where to stay: A favourite of Alber Elbaz and Carine Roitfield, and located just around the corner from Vogue Paris, and a mere 15 minutes’ walk from the Louvre, the Hotel De Crillon is a hot Fashion Week haunt.
Closer to Home
Tokyo
Autumn/Winter: 17–23 March 2013, Spring/Summer: October 2013
A frontrunner in all things progressive and out-of-the box, Tokyo has been steadily growing a reputation as a fashion powerhouse. Just weeks after Paris, the adventurous of the fashion set move from Europe to the east, to witness the radical innovations of Tokyo Fashion Week. Last season’s event saw intricate neon and leather laser cut garments, models caring manikins wearing dresses, and toe print textiles on pantsuits, command the runway and wow crowds. This March a who’s-who of Japanese designers – such as Alice Auaa, Beautiful People, G.V.G.V., Yasutoshi Ezumi, A Degree Fahrenheit and Yoshio Kubo – will line up at the Hikarie shopping tower in the trendy precinct of Shibuya. The focus will be just as much on fun and fantasy as it is on fashion.
Getting there: Together with partner airlines Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia operates flights to Tokyo from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth.
Where to stay: Featuring an elegant decor, pleasant ambience and comfortable accommodations, just 5 minutes’ walk from Hikarie, Shibuya Excel Tokyu is the perfect base for Tokyo Fashion Week.
Sydney
Annual Event: April 8–12.
Australia’s biggest fashion event, Australian Fashion Week (Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival Sydney), has been responsible for launching names like Ksubi, Josh Goot, sass & bide, Romance Was Born, Dion Lee, and a whole host of prominent antipodean fashion labels. In recent years the event has also garnered attention from international celebrities like Whitney Port, Dita Von Teese and Erin Wasson, as well as prominent bloggers like Susie Bubble, Bryan Boy, Rumi Neely and Elin Kling. This year’s event features a new venue (Eveleigh’s Carriageworks) and new dates (moved forward a month), and is set to again showcase the best of Australia’s home-grown talent.
Getting there: Virgin Australia operates flights to Sydney direct from all Australian capital cities and most major regional ports, and from international destination such as Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, Nadi and Bali.
Where to stay: Nestled between the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, with water literally lapping at its edges, Park Hyatt offers the ultimate Sydney experience, just 15 minutes’ drive from Carraigeworks.
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Music
Brisbane has produced some of Australia’s biggest names in music … Think Powderfinger, The Bee Gees, The Go-Betweens, Savage Garden, Keith Urban, Regurgitator and The Grates, just to name a few. In 2007, global music authority Billboard magazine recognised the Queensland state capital as one of the world’s top five live music hotspots, and ever since it has become a must-visit stop for touring acts. Local venues like the Tivoli and The Zoo are touted to be amongst the best gig venues in Australia; while annual events like Big Sound (12-14 September 2012) and Valley Fiesta (7-8 October) attract the industry’s most prominent names.
Food
Despite what 80’s tourism campaigns may portray, the food scene in Brisbane isn’t all about meat pies, XXXX beer and barbecue prawns. The river city embraces its surrounds and locally-grown produce to showcase some of Australia’s most impressive dining options. The CBD’s Eagle Street Pier hosts a plethora of fine-dining establishments with expansive views of Brisbane River. South Bank fosters a laid-back vibe with a gamut of ethnic eateries amid a cultural setting. And James Street sparkles with fashionable bars and restaurants.
Sports
Sport isn’t just a pastime in Brisbane: it’s identity, emotion and the ultimate form of entertainment. From the Reds to the Broncos, the Roar to the Lions, whenever a major sporting match is held, streets close, flags wave and voices raise. Venues like Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba attract record crowds. Local sporting heroes are adored and immortalised in bronze. Over 40,000 runners line up for the Bridge to Brisbane charity run (2 September 2012). While the world’s best tennis players converge on the city every summer for The Brisbane International (30 December 2012 – 6 January 2013).
Fashion
Chanel, Alannah Hill, Ksubi and Tiffany and Co – Brisbane is home to the biggest names in local and international fashion. Queen Street Mall showcases everything from high-end labels to sportswear giants. Edgy and chic hipster hangout, Fortitude Valley is home to countless on-trend retailers. James Street presents a lively hive of designer boutiques. Even the suburbs offer exciting shopping opportunities; in particular Paddington, which is thrift store Mecca. To top it off Brisbane hosts its own annual fashion week, Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival (25-31 August, 2012), where designers like sass & bide, Camilla and Lisa Ho parade their garbs.
Location
Wedged in-between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast and a quick drive from Byron Bay, Brisbane’s enjoys an unparalleled location. World-class beaches, stunning hinterland, and the outer throes of the outback all wait within a matter of hours away, offering locals and visitors the best of all worlds.
Plan Your Brisbane Holiday
Flights to Brisbane: Virgin Australia operates flights to Brisbane daily, direct from all Australian capital cities and major Queensland ports.
Brisbane holiday packages: Take the hassle out of planning your holiday, our partner Blue Holidays offers exceptional Brisbane holiday packages, from $350 per person.
Brisbane hotels: Establish a great base from which to fall in love with Brisbane. Select from a wide choice of hotels and resorts with our hotel partner HotelClub.
Brisbane car hire: Take to the road and discover Brisbane, and nearby regions with a hire car from one of our partners.
Time-lapse sequence from around Brisbane, Australia.
Taken with a Canon 60D, edited with Lightroom and LRTimelapse.
Music: “I Dunno” by Grapes. ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626
Used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Friday, October 28th, 2011
Research released today by Virgin Australia[1] shows that over the next few days, baggage carousels will be filled with up to 40,000 hats and over 55,000 lip glosses, which will be flown especially to Melbourne for The Cup and the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival.
With most believing that the Spring Racing Carnival is more about the social occasion, champagne and fashion (74%) than the racing (22%), it’s no wonder that getting their luggage there on time and intact is a top priority. Virgin Australia’s research revealed that the baggage carousels may be filled with an estimated $40 million worth of luggage this racing season.
Nikki Phillips flying with Virgin Australia to Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival
Virgin Australia Group Executive Corporate Communications, Danielle Keighery said the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival is a positive boost for the Australian economy and the tourism industry in general.
“The Victorian Spring Racing Carnival has developed a reputation as one of the most important events on the sporting calendar, attracting domestic and international visitors alike. Last year, the carnival generated $728 million[2] for the Australian economy, with a similar contribution expected this year”.
“We are committed to supporting the Australian tourism industry and will be putting on 36 additional flights into and out of Melbourne over the key racing period[3]. Virgin Australia is well-prepared to transport Australia’s latest fashion trends as 40,000 hats, 110,000 dresses and pairs of heels make their way through carousels across the country”, Ms Keighery said.
Virgin Australia’s top tips for packing for the Spring Racing Carnival:
* Check the dimensions of your hat box. If it exceeds the carry-on allowance, check it-in at least 30 minutes before your flight.
* Pack an extra pair of shoes. A day at the races carries the high risk of broken high heels, mud and sore feet.
* Prepare for all weather conditions. With the unpredictability of the Spring season, you never know when you might need a warm jacket or an umbrella.
Other findings from the survey included:
* For most women Melbourne Cup is an excuse to splash out on new clothes and accessories with 80% of women willing to purchase a new dress for the race
* The average amount Australian women are prepared to spend on new items to look their best at Melbourne Cup is $370 – and that’s even before they have placed a bet
* Dirty shoes (48%), broken heels (42%) and fashion faux pas (23%) at the top of peoples ‘stress list’ when it comes to attending the races, explaining the sheer volume of luggage that travels to Melbourne
* The must-have beauty items for the race include lip-gloss (51%) and concealer (36%)
[1] Galaxy Research conducted 6/10/11, with a sample of 1510 respondents aged 18-64 across Australia.
[2] Figures provided by Victorian Racing Club and based on National Gross Economic Benefit – the total amount generated by the MCC in Australia by all Australians and international visitors.
[3] Refers to 29 October to 5 November 2011.
To book flights with Virgin Australia, visit the website here
