What has been occupying us for the past month(ish), from books to podcasts to recipes and beauty products. Things were feeling back to normal in March with recommendations spanning from trips to the Museum to the Melbourne Fashion Festival.
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Becoming You: An Incomplete Guide (Melbourne Exhibition) (Talani)
Young Adult and Coming of Age fiction has always held a very particular and persistent part of my heart. There is something all too endearing about following the journey of an awkward teen embracing the pit and peaks of graduating high school, getting the girl (or boy) and subsequently going through the heartbreak of no longer getting them, and in the end becoming who they are meant to be. You would think that means I am recommending a book, but instead I recommending an experience. Until December 2021, the Immigration Museum of Melbourne is hosting the Becoming You: An Incomplete Guide - which presents the coming of age stories of 72 storytellers of all diversities - and their experiences navigating gender, orientation, culture, age and distance, celebrating the Museum’s ‘commitment to celebrating our shared humanity.’ As well as sharing the stories of everyday Australians, the exhibition features contributions from writer Alice Pung, AFL footballer Jason Johannisen and drag queen Karen From Finance among many others. If it counts for anything, I went to the exhibition last month and I am still thinking about it. And the best part is admission is included in the price of entry to the Museum (Yay!)
Melbourne Fashion Festival (Lilly)
Melbourne Fashion Festival ran from the 11th to the 20th of this month but if you’re reading this after that date, never fear, it will be gracing us all again in March 2022. The annual festival hosts a variety of events across multiple locations (including digital platforms) all around Melbourne, from runway to immersive shopping events to informational sessions about the design process and the harsh realities of the fast fashion industry.
This year, following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fashion industry, the festival celebrated local designers with a focus on diversity, inclusion and sustainability. Even if you’re not super invested in the world of fashion I guarantee there will be some kind of event that piques your interest. This year, my friend and I decided to step (way) out of our comfort zones and attend a live fashion drawing workshop at RMIT hosted by Melbourne-based illustrator and designer Meg Kolac. Over two hours, we sat in a circle with butcher’s paper, pencils and coal and sketched our little hearts out as the model in bright, textured outfits posed. Kolac guided us to capture the movement of the model, as illustrators attending runways are required to do.
While we were super out of our depth (and probably the only non-fine Arts students in the room) we had a lot of fun, and learnt a great deal from Kolac about the skills involved in being a fashion illustrator.
Melbourne Fashion Festival will be returning from 3 - 12 March 2022. Check out the MFF festival for updates.
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