Melbourne Insider March: Hussy’s Marie Hatzis

Thursday 18 March 2010, 4:26 PM
By The Team | Posted in Q&A and Style

Hussy’s designer, the super cool Marie Hatzis, has plenty to say about Melbourne’s well dressed population. Apparently, we’re all rather good at assembling an outfit. Good to know!

Also good to know is what we can expect to be wearing this autumn and winter. Will this be the year of distressed denim pantsuits? No, as it turns out. But you’ll find plenty more – and rather more desirable – head-turning tips below.

How would you describe Melbourne Style?

Melbourne city is my favourite place to people watch! It’s really different to any other city because of its unique mix of histories, people and cultures.

When it comes to fashion and style, there’s definitely obvious notes of Melbourne’s rich European history, and more than the occasional nod to our own history and architecture.

Most evident is a sincere dedication to individuality, interpreting trends in a way that…keeps things interesting.

What are your top five shops in Melbourne?

I love shopping in Melbourne, be it the quick dash for a last minute dress in the city or a lazy afternoon picking up trinkets after a long lunch. Belinda at the GPO is my favourite for international designer treats. It’s next door to our Hussy Melbourne flagship so it’s very dangerous. And Green with Envy on Flinders Lane is great for that last minute party dresswhile

What is your favourite season for Melbourne fashion?

Winter of course! It’s the time of year for picking up your exciting investment pieces such as knee high boots and thick wool coats. I love the fact that you can warm up and wear five pieces of your favourite clothing at once. With four seasons in one day, Melbourne has learned to do the layered look so well!

What are your top five must-have-items for autumn and winter 2010?

1. Statement leggings. Be they wet look, animal print or a more relaxed jersey – leggings are sexy and functional!
2. Every girl needs a good pair of knee high boots to run around Melbourne city laneways in. A style with a heel will take you from day to night and work to play. Pick something with metal hardware to get an edgy and current look.
3. A statement dress to make you feel good and give you a reason to leave the house on those cold nights. I love all the studding and beading that’s breathing life into the little black dress this season.
4. An embellished belt (or three) will pull in your waistline and add a point of interest to your outfit. I’m loving waisted belts with chunky metal hardware and accents. It might sound like I’m all about accessories but they really are a great way to breath new life into last season’s staples. Accessories also personalise your look.
5. A bold leather cuff or a statement clutch is a fun way to dress up even the simplest outfit of jeans and a tank, giving your outfit a current feel.

What makes someone stylish?

Confidence. Choose fabrics that you love, cuts that flatter your body shape, and styles that you feel comfortable in. This is a fail proof formula. When in doubt about your outfit, spend a little extra time on your hair and make up. Give yourself a little confidence boost that will turn heads and give you instant appeal.

Hot Spots News: Fat in a Mongolian Yurt!

Wednesday 17 March 2010, 9:20 PM
By Hot Spots Team | Posted in Hot Spots

LMFF fever is taking over Melbourne this week. Never one to miss out on the action, Fat has opened a pop-up shop for the duration of the festival only.

We know what you’re thinking: pop-up shop, big woop, it’s not like we haven’t seen enough of those this summer. Pop yourself back in your box, mister! But most pop-up shops aren’t in a traditional Mongolian Yurt, showcasing the new Perpetual Leisure collection from Montreal-based label Complex Geometries, and a special line of jewellery developed with artist Harakiri.

Swing by, if only just to wonder how on earth a camel could carry that thing!

FAT PRESENTS: COMPLEXGEOMETRIES
RMIT Alumni Court, Old Melbourne Gaol, 377 Russell St, Melbourne
Open Tuesday 16 March – Saturday 20 March, 11am – 5pm

Q&A with photographer Christian Blanchard

Tuesday 16 March 2010, 6:28 PM
By Alana Holmberg | Posted in Marvellous March and Q&A

Photo shoots are all champagne, models and wind machines, right?  Find out for yourself at Melbourne Fashion On Location, a live photo shoot in Melbourne Central on Wednesday 17 March. We chat to photographer on the day, Christian Blanchard, about staying focussed, inspired and well-fed in Melbourne. 

We hear you have a scooter to nip around Melbourne. What are some of your favourite city haunts where we might find your wheels parked out front?

My favourite café is Brother Baba Budan –  located only a few doors down from my studio.  Those guys blend an amazing house espresso and are passionate about coffee.

I like to mix things up when it comes to food, these are my top 5 (in no specific order):

• Canteen – amazing home style Italian delights
• Gills Diner – a charming old environment which provides a great escape from city life Shanghai Village – a more down to earth dining experience contrasted with its vibrant pink walls and robust flavors of Chinese cuisine
• Cumulus Inc - my newest addition and an amazing modern fine dining experience
• KoKo Black – lures me in every time I walk past- I’m obsessed with their Raspberry Puree

You photograph a lot of fashion, more recently for Mimco and Nobody jeans, what are you some of your personal favourite fashion stores in the city?

Melbourne Central is an amazing hub for my fashion shopping.  For more unique and local fashion shopping I like to visit Trimapee, Mjolk and Fat for those more unique items that are a signature to Melbourne’s fashion aesthetic.

Tell us about the energy at a fashion photo shoot. What can people expect from the ‘Melbourne Fashion On Location’ event?

You can expect a high impact theatrical experience that will be extremely visual.  In one hour we will be executing what would normally be shot in a full day, so it will be extremely fast paced and a lot of fun.

We hear there will be aerial circus performers on Wednesday too! When you’re on a shoot, how do you stay focussed and make sure you get the shots you need?

Like any live performance you just imagine everyone in their underwear.  Once the shoot begins there really isn’t any time to think about anything other than directing my talent and working with my team to making amazing imagery. 

Thanks Christian, all the best for the shoot. Interested onlookers can check out Melbourne Fashion On Location in Melbourne Central on Wednesday 17 March, 1.30pm.

WIN! WIN! WIN!

To celebrate Melbourne Central’s ‘Melbourne Fashion On Location’ event on Wednesday 17 March, we’re giving away a $2000 Melbourne Central Gift Voucher to one lucky reader!

To enter, simply send us an email with your name and phone number by 5pm, Sunday 21 March.

Then, share the love around by posting the following messages on your Facebook or Twitter pages (or both!):
 
Facebook:  I love @that’s melbourne and I want to win $2000 to spend at Melbourne Central! http://bit.ly/9QdFzm

Twitter: I love @thats_melbourne and I want to win $2000 to spend at Melbourne Central! http://bit.ly/9QdFzm

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries on Monday 22 March and notified prior to 5pm via email.

Good luck!

Let the eating begin!

Tuesday 16 March 2010, 4:57 PM
By Lucy Perera | Posted in Reviews

Chinese drumming and the roar of the wok fire are not the sounds you usually expect on an autumn’s evening. But it’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival time and food in all its forms lurks in unexpected places; from edible city gardens to foodie films at Fed Square.

The famous Head Beads Hawkers’ Market descended on the Queen Victoria Market last night in the first of three evening sessions. With 12 of Melbourne’s best Asian restaurants in one place, just $45 lets you pick and choose from delicious hawker favourites as well as some of Australia’s finest home-brews.

On an almost tropical Monday night, we started with Japanese chicken ball skewers from Maedaya. These chargrilled balls of meaty goodness accompanied by edamame, steamed baby soyabean pods, are perfect with a cold beer.

Next the Balinese roast pork from Warung Agus, marinated in lemongrass, turmeric and galangal paste. The zingy flavours were a great contrast to the crunchy crackling and the richness of the pork belly.

Chillipadi, one of the city’s few restaurants you can find open in the wee small hours, served up a fantastic beef rendang: spicy and robust in aroma, yet delightfully tender and gelatinous in texture.

Later, sticky black rice dessert was a little too sweet for my tastebuds but the crispy banana fritters from Dumpling King brought back fond childhood memories.

There are two sittings for the Hawkers’ Market, 6pm to 8pm and 8.30pm to 10.30pm. If you have booked the earlier session, keep an eye on the time. It’s tricky to get any food after 8pm as the stalls close for a breather before the second session.

One last tip: start queuing at Dainty Sichuan (or visit its sister CBD restaurant, Sichuan House) when you first arrive. Their skewers of Sichuan prawns and chicken were the hit of the night proved by the lines of people willing to wait so long.

Heat Beads Hawkers’ Market takes place at Queen Victoria Market on 15, 16 & 17 March as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

Hot Spots: Parasols

Monday 15 March 2010, 11:25 AM
By Hot Spots Team | Posted in Hot Spots

The Chinese were onto something when they invented a collapsible sun canopy over 4000 years ago. You can slip-slop-slap all you want, but the classiest way to protect your alabaster skin in these final days of sunshine is beneath a colourful silk or oiled paper parasol from Chinatown.

Pretty parasols available at the following locations:
Chinatown Gift City, 198 Little Bourke Street
Rosewood Feng Shui & Furniture, 217a Russell Street
Asian Hut, Basement, 219 Russell Street
Ha Ha, 208-210 Little Bourke Street

The Garden of Edible Delights

Saturday 13 March 2010, 1:31 PM
By Susannah Farfor | Posted in Marvellous March

Mention the word ‘Digger’ around any workplace kitchenette in the city and chances are one’s ears will prick, green thumbs will emerge from shirt sleeves and lists of recently planted heirloom seeds, lemonade trees and ornamental edibles will be forthcoming. Gardening is the new ‘black’ and the hip are growing their own greens.

Diggers, a club for subversive gardeners, have now taken over the City Square, transforming concrete and aggregate into an edible garden showcasing the bounty of edibles that can be grown in tiny spaces.

Touch, smell and taste your way through the garden as you wander through the snakebean and Malabar spinach entwined arches, past giant sunflowers and tubs of rhubarb, corn, pumpkin and fragrant herbs.

Looking for ways to bring down your personal greenhouse gas emissions? If what we eat represents a third of them (through agricultural resource use and food miles), you’ve just found your way to do the planet a favour and provide yourself with some added organic flavour.

Get the inspiration you need to transform your balcony, terrace or window-sill into an  ornamental, sensory garden and sustainable, flourishing food bowl. Potted herbs, lettuce and spinach require just a little love and light to grow on a window-sill.

Balconies can be framed by pot-perfect plants including hardy olives, dwarf avocado, pomegranate and espaliered citrus trees, fragrant and flowering rosemary and lavender, and hanging baskets of strawberries and tomatoes.

Along with fragrant and flowering home-grown herbs to spice up your meals, edible flowers, such as nasturtiums and pansies, can be used to garnish salads while your candied violets and gardenia will complete your ‘so city, so chic’ cupcakes.

Metlink’s Edible Garden will reclaim the City Square, corner Swanston and Collins Streets, from 12 to 19 March as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Chefs Stephanie Alexander, Jude Blereau (Whole Food Cooking) and Matt Wilkinson (Circa) will demonstrate pan-work using home-grown Edible Garden produce on site.

Hot Spots: Q&A with Shane Delia

Friday 12 March 2010, 9:48 AM
By Hot Spots Team | Posted in Hot Spots and Marvellous March

A fresh-faced fellow of only 30, Shane Delia is the culinary sensation behind the award-winning Maha Bar & Grill in the city. With the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival in full swing this week, we pinned him down to find out a little bit about him and the delicious events he’ll be involved in this year.

You come from four generations of Maltese bakers. What made you put down the rolling pin and don the chef’s hat instead?

Even though baking is in my blood, my love of cooking stems from my love of eating. I truly love food and all it encompasses. Family, friends, food and festivities.

What is your involvement in the festival this year?

I am honoured to be included in the esteemed list of both international and Melbournian chefs, presenting at the 2010 master class series. We are also contributing to some of the exciting events held by the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, including the ever popular restaurant express lunches and the crawl ‘n bite.

What can budding chefs hope to learn at the Langham Melbourne Masterclass? 

What cooking is really about! Honest food that has soul and is just plain delicious!

What are your top picks from the festival program for those who want to stick to the city?

I love the hustle and bustle of street food culture, so my pick is always the Hawkers Market. You can get a taste of all of your favourites, and if you’re anything like me you can’t get enough of Asian textures and flavours.

Maha is tucked away down one of Melbourne many iconic laneways. What are your favourite hard-to-find food experiences in Melbourne city centre?

For great Italian with passion you can’t go past Ricardo Momesso’s Sarti, nestled away in Russell Place above the iconic Gin Palace.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival takes over Melbourne from 12 – 23 March 2010.

Film Review: 3 Idiots

Thursday 11 March 2010, 9:46 AM
By Lucy Perera | Posted in Reviews

Rajkumar Hirani’s Bollywood blockbuster, 3 Idiots, gives a wonderful insight into modern India with lots of intended and unintended hilarity along the way. Make sure you look up the meaning of ‘rusticated’ before you go.

Bollywood films can sometimes be a bit like an overdecorated meringue cake: light on substance and big on style. The standard recipe for pure escapism requires:

• Take one stunningly, glamorous heroine or mildly attractive hero.
• Add some melodrama, stir and include at least one villain.
• Spread liberally with several catchy song-and-dance routines.
• Incorporate at least two life-changing occasions to highlight the full human spectrum of emotion: wedding, funeral, birth or graduation. The more the better.
• Bake for at least three hours with one short interval.

3 Idiots, the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, follows all these rules for making Bollywood perfection, yet it’s the confrontation of issues such as youth suicide and the pressures of student life that lift this film to the top shelf of Indian cinema.

The story follows the friendship and lives of three young men, Rancho, Raju and Farhan who all meet at a prestigious engineering college. It begins ten years forward as Farhan and Raju try to find their friend after having lost contact with him since graduation. Flashbacks tell the story of their friendship and college hi-jinks before they discover the startling truth about their revered friend in the present.

Rancho, the hero, played by Amir Khan earns the respect of his friends through his free spirit and passion for engineering. This completely clashes with the education system which is focused on rote learning and teaching students to obey rather than question and probe.

3 Idiots provides a fascinating insight into Indian cultural attitudes to higher education, seen as the key to getting the prestigious job, perfect partner, house and all the other trappings of material success.

It’s wildly entertaining, touching at times and the songs will leave you humming happily as you leave the cinema.

All is well!

You can catch a free screening TONIGHT at Federation Square at 9pm or a regular screening at the Cinema Nova this Saturday 8.30pm as part of the Indian Film Festival.

Koko goes to the market

Tuesday 9 March 2010, 1:40 PM
By Lucy Perera | Posted in Hot Spots

Imagine if one of your ‘bestest’ brands decides to hook up with one of your other favourite icons? That’s kind of what it felt like when I heard Koko Black chocolate was opening at the Queen Vic Market: excited, proud and perhaps a touch of mother-of-the-bride.

Koko Black was one of the first to bring couverture chocolate to Melbourne, using pure and natural ingredients fused with the expertise of highly trained chocolatiers. It’s definitely at home nestled in the dairy produce hall of the Queen Victoria Market. Make sure you add a few truffles or pralines to your next market shopping list.

Where cats like to play – and stray – in the city

Friday 5 March 2010, 3:16 PM
By Susannah Farfor | Posted in Style

Discover your own tale of feline psychology and sociology on a magical prowl in Melbourne’s streets, alleys and laneways.

Name your own cat-like alter ego to coincide with memories of CATS, the musical based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, playing at the Regent Theatre from 6 March to 4 April. It’s the cat’s whiskers – especially if you get your claws free tickets (see below)!

Curious kittens and alley cats love to prowl around Melbourne’s alleys and lanes for the quintessential bar experience. Sophisti-cats in the know scamper into The Paris Cat, a cosy and laid back jazz club inspired by the 30s French bee-bop era. Smooth music will keep you purring (and off the velvet red curtains) while the menu of fine wines and cocktails will have you reminiscing about the golden era. Be tempted by the tapas or lap at a Bailey’s drizzled ball of ice cream.

Step up to the 50s and 60s at Tony Starr’s Kitten Club and ascend the stairway behind a bright green door to retro kitty heaven. Take smooth, cool cats Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr with martini in hand as inspiration then pamper in the plush powder room or soak up live jazz, comedy and cabaret in the Galaxy Space. Love cats can canoodle in the Love Lounge.

Now-cats will be enticed to the bottom of ACDC Lane to enter through the red door into the intimate surrounds of The Alley Bar. They say it’s cool for cats, it’s cool for ca-a-a-a-ats!

Empathising a bit with Grizabella, that shabby old grey cat that stumbles about? Get your glamour back, puss – venture underground into the Campbell Arcade beneath Flinders Street and get a revamp at The Cat’s Meow. This clothing store with a difference stocks Melbourne and Australian made fashions and accessories from independent designers. Texture and natural fibre loving cats love the range of one-off originals and practical every day basics with a twist.

Whether you prefer curling on a rug, watching the world from the window-sill or running around knocking over rubbish bins, you still have to keep yourself nice. Smitten Kitten is the quintessential lingerie boutique to tickle your feline fantasies. Purr your way through the many Melbourne and Australian made and designed labels and fabulously chic French frills.

WIN! We have 2 x A Reserve Tickets to CATS the Musical: Now and Forever on Tuesday 16 March, 8pm at the Regent Theatre to giveaway to one lucky cat. Simply share this page using the button below then send your name and phone number to thatsmelbourne@melbourne.vic.gov.au Entries close 5pm, Thursday 11 March. Winners will be contacted on Friday 12 March.

Now before you scat cats, let us know if there are other cool-cat hang-outs in Melbourne in the comments section below.