RAFW - Josh Goot

For a designer that’s been described as the most successful [Australian] fashion exports since Colette Dinnigan, it’s hard to imagine that Josh Goot only has 3 years of runway experience since debuting at MAFW 2004. At that time it was a print-heavy streetwear brand called Platform, which later on evolved into the famous Josh Goot label. His key words of “tailored comfort”, which are wardrobe classics, constructed in cotton/jersey fabrics, have given inspiration to many new emerging local designers. Today, the appreciation of Goot’s design was prevalent across the audience.

The venue, a massive industrial warehouse location in Redfern, was a far cry from last year's CBD-located show. Undoubtedly a more Goot-like location, with its industrial look of giant rusty pipes, that came crawling across the ceiling. From the loudspeakers flowed creepy electronic noise – it might as well have been the film location from Alien, for all we know. What added to the whole ‘space oddity’ experience, were the senior ushers, appropriately dressed in smoky silver uniforms.

This year Goot had worked with strong bright colours to complement the re-occurring futuristic in his work. Dresses with asymmetrical lines in yellow, purple, and pale lilac were presented first. The garments felt sporty, but chic – though with a few surprises in store. Had Goot taken a holiday in Norway for his inspiration? Well, there were certainly elements that suggested a cross-country skiing influence in his bright leg-hugging pants. New features for this year were the contrasting edges in bright orange, that brought the sober metallic dresses to life. The long, flowy capes in cerise gave a nice elf-like effect, but how and when would you wear such a garment?

It was great to see that Goot had kept the loved classics – the ultra-thin trench-coat, the baggy pants, the cigarette skirt, which still hadn’t given way for any raised hemlines this year. While working both with hues in silver and gold in this collection, Goot did a fantastic job that we can’t wait to see close up.