Backstage at Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival Sydney (MBFFS 2013)

Last week was a different kind of red carpet in Sydney's Town Hall, where the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival 2013 took place from August 21 to 24. The event featured collection from General Pants Co, Sportscraft, Market HQ and numerous Australian designers (Alice McCall, Watson x Watson to name a few) to the latest Kardashian Kollection. Yes, you read right.

A look into Sydney's Town Hall

We were lucky enough to be working at the MBFFS inside this stunning hundred-year-old Sydney landmark, where we got up close and personal with the stylists, models and designer pieces involved, not to mention seeing the production from the rehearsal to the actual show, both backstage and front.

Behind the scene - dancing rehearsal

Collection for the Australia - Trends show

Madison Stubbington, Sharnee Gates & Emily Green posing for photographers backstage.

In their very first show at the Mercedes Benz Sydney festival, Market HQ had their models dancing in colorful streetwears dominated by denims, swimsuits and jelly shoes. Their debut also featured bloggers like Chloe Ting & presenter Rochelle Fox  walking on runway.

Romance was born and Shakuhachi, each with their dramatic, color burst of a floral collection. 

Ridiculous shoes to go with ridiculous dresses & we mean that in the very best way possible!

Steven Khalil dresses for the InStyle Red Carpet Runway show later that evening.

 

Maddison Stubbington & Emily Green.

 

(Left) What models do after slipping into their First Looks and waiting for the show to start: snapping pictures with each other - Tamika Wilson & Sunny Burns.

(Right) A stripe black and white bag from the Kardashian Kollection, which was - we hate to admit - kind of kute!

The perfect red shoes from RMK and accessories for the Kardashian Kollection. The KK show featured surprisingly chic and wearable outfits - all flowy blouses and simple black and white with a pop of red and gold. 

The male models for Kardashian Kollection didn't seem to mind too much being objectified by the ladies backstage.

What models do while waiting: playing games on iPad and discussing Candy Crush.

Emily Green & Irish model Tabea Weyrauch doing their best Model & Silly poses backstage.

Front stage filling with people as the show was about to start

The moods at the MBFFS Australia Trends, the sold out, second-to-last show of the festival.

A piece by Indonesian born designer, Haryono Setiadi, futuristic and unreal as always.

The MBFFS show on Saturday evening was brought to a halt when a man and a woman rushed to the stage with a sign that proclaimed Aje as pro death. Crowds hushed, lights went out, music stopped for a minute or two as they were escorted out by the security. Setting aside the fact that Aje collection didn't seem to feature fur at MBFFS (to our best recollection anyway), these people would have had to get front row tickets to pull the stunt, which kind of defeats the point. Then again, what's a fashion show without animal rights activists and their proverbial (though often literal) red paint?

Cinematic collection by Tony Maticevski. It took several people to lift that red dress, slip her in and zip it up, but totally worth it, no?  

A couple other highlights from MBFF Sydney...

Black & White

Colors & Textures

It's extremely difficult to pick our favorites from this year's Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival, but these might be it:

 

Courtney Yakabuski in a black dress with beautifully simple cut.

Beauty takes a village...

'

but Courtney Shallcross made it all worth it.

Difficult to see the details on the black dress (left), but it was structured with a tulle support for an added poof effect - perfection.

Sharnee Gates & Courtney Shallcross

Steven Khalil's dress for the Grand Finale, worn by Kristy Nykilchuk, who could have passed for Kristen Stewart's long lost sister in these shots.

The Grand Finale.

See any familiar faces (or yours) in this post? Give us a shout-out :)

Featured designer list from MBFFS official website:
Australia - Trends (Romance was born, Emma Mulholland, We are Handsome, Shakuhachi, Camilla, Talulah, Staple the Label, Roopa Pemmaraju, Bless’ed are the Meek, Easton Pearson, Zambesi, camilla and marc, Watson X Watson, Serpent & the Swan, Suboo, Phoenix Keating, Kate Sylvester, White Sds, Kahlo, Michael Lo Sordo, Bronx & Banco, Christina Exie, HAN, Ginger & Smart, Christopher Esber, Karla Spetic, Jayson Brunsdon, Bec & Bridge, Flannel, Alice McCall, By Johnny, Haryono Setiadi, Alex Perry, Aje & MATICEVSKI)

InStyle Red Carpet Runway show (Alex Perry, Rachel Gilbert, Jayson Brunsdon, Easton Pearson, Romance was Born, Camilla, Aje, Haryono Setiaidi, MATIVECSKI, MJ Bale, Collette Dinnigan & Steven Khalil)