Fashion Wire Daily Sydney May 9, 2003 - Tina Kalivas jolted Sydney fashionistas out of their final-day-of-fashion-week stupor with her creative and cohesive presentation Thursday afternoon.
The collection, only her third, continued to play with the space-age aesthetic she showed last fall in Melbourne, but toned down the Jeremy Scott-style Star Trek vibe in favor of equally artfully constructed, but infinitely more wearable, pieces.
After eight years in London, where she most notably worked as a pattern cutter for Alexander McQueen, 30-year-old Kalivas returned to Australia only a year ago to launch her own label. Touted as the one-to-watch last season, her collection was praised for its inventiveness, but criticized for its theatricality.
This season there is the pencil skirt with wings protruding from the hips, and a denim skirt with 3-D yoke details, but most of the silhouettes remain smooth and sleek. After the show's opening series of denim and jersey looks, the crowd aahh-ed when a bright white dress, accented with bold primary color quilted inserts and trims, made an entrance. Still conceptual, yet feminine and fun, its round cutout back fell into a full skirt.
Kalivas' evening looks included stunning satin dresses with moon-shaped inserts and cord details, and a floor-length silk gown in a black and white graphic pattern. Signature leather pieces, like a tailored gold leather jacket with side cutouts and a draped chiffon and leather top, will be produced only as made-to-order. There might not be many takers though for a black, red and yellow leather corset and mini that was impressive in its construction, but unfortunately reminiscent of a NASCAR racer's jacket.
The collection was called Bioluminescence, a scientific term that refers to the ability of certain oceanic organisms to extract their own light. Though the entire collection had an under-the-sea subtext, with its piped curved seams and serpentine appliqués, its title didn't hit home until the surprise finale. Accompanied by a soundtrack of bubbling water, a model emerged in a black mini dress, her head swathed in yellow tulle, and glowed under a black light at the top of the runway before taking her walk.
In a nod to her couture training, Kalivas closed the show with her versions of a wedding gown, a white mini dress festooned in chiffon or a full-skirted white dress adorned with enormous rainbow tulle rosettes.
"A lot of my experience is in costume design and I wanted to explore that side as well," Kalivas said of the unexpected creations backstage after the show. "While I have all these people here I might as well go further and get my costume skills out there." Wearing a white leather strapless hip-length bustier with a tinier version of a rainbow tulle rosette as a bustle, the petite brunette added, "And I also just wanted to make it fun."
