“People want to physically show what they support,” says the co-owner of the skateboarding/art clothing brand Stepmother , Matt Dwyer. While the pandemic has put widespread pressure on retail, interesting local brands have seen the benefits. Melbourne’s culture of supporting independence and creativity has been really helpful, Matt says. The owner of female-focused skateboarding brand Pearls Clothing , Tobi Stanley, agrees that the pandemic has been helpful to her enterprise

On September 28, 2001, the world was confronted with the existence of one Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller), an idiot who happens to be a three-time Male Model of the Year. Although the character had already been in a couple of short films produced for the VH1 Fashion Awards in the 1990s, Zoolander –directed, written and produced by Stiller – was his first feature-length outing. And it is wild. After he loses his title to a newer male model named Hansel (Owen Wilson), Derek rece

Genevieve Nardella finds the fashion groove that sets the Conchords apart.

“I’ve felt disillusioned and discouraged … I haven’t had inspiration or drive hit me for months,” says artist Amy Zainal. Like many Victorians, she is feeling the effects of months spent indoors. After extended periods of isolation, levels of anxiety and depression are at an all-time high . One important tool in the maintenance of mental health that often goes overlooked: artistic expression. Research has found it can help alleviate psychological distresses and help people de

The Brownlow red carpet was hosted in Perth this year, with some AFL players and their WAGs dressing up from home in other parts of the country.  Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines was crowned Brownlow Medallist, but on the red carpet, he was among many who shone. Here are some of the best looks.   Lorna McNabb, partner of Oscar Allen from the West Coast Eagles. McNabb dazzled in a gorgeous sky-blue gown covered in a sheer white overlay with beaded detailing and an impressive tra

Deep into the unbridled chaos of 2020, Halsey decided to do two things: begin work on a new album, and to try to have a baby. The two were fated to become intertwined, and the end result is their finest creative work to date. Taking to Instagram in a surprise post, the singer-songwriter announced their fourth album would be produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails and explained that it would be “a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and c

With various implausible premises, a daring upheaval of genre convention, and some surprising attention to serialisation, Rick and Morty’s fifth season may be its best offering yet. While the Adult Swim network always focuses on parody and genre, the latest season of their acclaimed sci-fi comedy, Rick and Morty , contains more homages than ever before. The season is steeped in satiric iconography , evident in episode three, A Rickconvenient Mort , which perverts the nostalg

The Video Music Awards red carpet is historically known for presenting some wild creations, and 2021 was no exception. Not to be outdone, the Met Gala raised the fashion stakes with this year’s theme, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, producing many iconic looks. Here are some of the best dressed from both events. Megan Fox Fox put it all on display for the VMAs in a bold, sheer Thierry Mugler gown. Fox was accompanied by partner and VMA nominee Machine Gun Kelly. Embed f

Puffy sleeves, bell bottoms, hair flicks, off-the-shoulder sweatshirts and even corsets. They’ve all had their moments in the fashion sun, thanks to our desire to emulate the style of great film and TV shows. In the 1930s it was all about bright-eyed Shirley Temple, with mothers dressing their daughters in smocked shift dresses, puffed sleeves and cutesy collars to imitate her style. In the ’70s it was recreating Farrah Fawcett’s voluminous hair flicks and stepping out in Joh

Tickets were at the ready, the popcorn freshly popped, when a sudden lockdown left Melbourne’s cinemas dark and empty. But that doesn’t mean the party stopped. Melbourne’s independent film community is refusing to give up, and is turning to streaming platforms instead. It’s a spreading trend with the potential to change the future of how we go to the movies. The 2021 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), which ran a few weeks ago, was delivered exclusively via thei

When Campbell Gray began Well Fed Records in 2019, he saw it as a way to get his music out there without it getting lost online. Gray’s band prerock. exports a ruthless brand of droning metal, fitting snugly within a flourishing Melbourne experimental rock pantheon. Well Fed Records distributed Prerock’s music on cassette, selling a limited run of purple tapes at gigs around the city for $10 each. “The tapes we did for [prerock.] were really cheap,” said Gray. “They sound g

The much-anticipated 10th studio album of acclaimed rapper/producer Kanye West has finally dropped after over a year of pushed back release dates and a string of in person listening events. Almost all of it is well worth the hype. Donda is West’s newest one hour 48-minute behemoth – his longest project to date. With a 27-song track list, it’s a massive album and at times can seem like a slog to sit through. However, each time it drags, the next song kicks in and cements itse