Here at RESCU, we love a good collaboration as much as we love a good cause… and this week features both! Cult cashmere label Banjo & Matilda help you help the Sweater Exchange keep homeless women warm this Winter, Dion Lee releases his killer Resort ’14 look book, and designer Anita Ben of ANU collaborates with blogger Margaret Zhang on her pre-Spring collection. It may be cold outside, but things are warming up this week in Closet Case;
By Bianca Healey.
Banjo & Matilda Launch the Sweater Exchange
Banjo & Matilda launched in 2008 with a style philosophy mandated by their home turf of Bondi Beach; carefree luxury. The now cult label make cashmere with a twist, whether it be a directional colour palette or quirky theme (we just adored the Eiffel tower knits!) This year, the label are directing their honest approach to a worthy cause. In partnership with marie claire and Mission Australia, Banjo & Matilda launched the 2013 Sweater Exchange from their pop up store in the MLC Centre.
Founded in 2011, the Sweater Exchange initiative collects preloved sweaters and redistribute them to homeless women. The initiative is being supported by an array of celebrities, including Miranda Kerr, Gwenyth Paltrow, Delta Goodrem, Nicole Richie and Ruby Rose. Leading the charge, each has donated a beloved jumper (and instagram-ed it!), which will be displayed at the Banjo & Matilda pop-up store
To donate, you can take the old school route and take your sweater directly to the Banjo & Matilda pop up store at MLC Centre, their William St store in Paddington, or stay in your pyjamas and hop online, where you will be given a pre-paid postage pack. Banjo & Matilda are also offering a $50 discount to all those who donate a sweater to this great cause.
To spread awareness, marie claire wants Australians to photograph themselves wearing the jumper they are donating to the Sweater Exchange to upload to Instagram and Twitter with the handle @marie_claire_au and hashtag #sweaterexchange.
Think about all the chilly mornings you have rushed outside on your way to work, or on the school run this week. Now imagine having to sleep out there – eek! This is a really clever and beautiful initiative that will help warm the back (and heart) of a homeless woman this Winter.
Donate to the Sweater Exchange at
https://sweaterexchange.banjoandmatilda.com/
The pop-up store will be displaying the celebrity jumpers from the 25th July to the 3rd August.
Visit the Banjo & Matilda pop-up store at the MLC Centre, Level 7, 19 Martin Place, Sydney
Dion Lee Launches Oil + Water Resort ’14
It may be hard to imagine, but in the northern hemisphere, the Fall Couture shows are underway in Paris, and resort season has begun! In synchronisation with the European fashion houses, Australian fashion wunderkind Dion Lee released his Resort ’14 look book, and, if I may borrow a phrase from Rachael Zoe, the pieces are bananas! Entitled Oil + Water, Lee’s exquisitely rendered digitised prints are out in full force, emerging in architectural summer dresses, swimwear and luxe separates, with some high impact formal looks thrown in. The collection riffs on the sensation and sensuality of the ocean, moving between incredibly vibrant azure kaleidoscope prints that evoke the tropics, to deep, undulating wave patterns lit by moonlight.
Lee’s digital techniques transform the natural into high-impact urban luxe, and each piece feels not only totally covetable, but totally original. Made from high-tech micro neoprene, the fabric of the dresses twists and folds in a way that makes reminds us of modernist architecture, and make use of cut outs that play with soft and hard lines and shapes. The collection also features gorgeous royal blue silk cocktail dresses and lashings of orange.
Keep your eyes peeled for its e-tail release.
Visit www.dionlee.com
At the time of publication, Style.com hadn’t yet posted their review, but you can browse the entire collection at style.com.
ANU x Margaret Zhang of Shine by Three
Anita Ben makes gorgeous, effortless pieces that unite her Indian heritage with a modern sensibility. Her label ANU have recently released a pre-Spring capsule collection; Jali, a word that relates to a form of decoration used in Indian architecture.
The collection is centred around the ‘Jali’ print, a design created using an ancient technique of ‘block printing’ to create an organic, geometric pattern. The hand-painted technique means that no two pieces are alike.
To help her launch this unique collection, Ben has enlisted blogger and fashion director at blog Shine By Three; Margaret Zhang to style and model the pieces. Ah the life of a fashion blogger! The line comes in a range of sunny red, yellow and baby blue, manifested in a series of simple designs, including a tunic dress, high waisted shorts, singlet tops, drawstring pants, and an oversized shirt that can be cinched at the waist, or worn loose. Zhang is the queen of effortless urban chic, and her styling shows us how the pieces can be worn casually, or dressed up for city-living. The fine hand-washable cotton promises easy Spring comfort, which will no doubt move just as easily into Summer beachwear.
The collection is available now at