Presented around the corrugated iron clubhouse of the Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association in Rushcutters Bay, this show opened to Van Morrison. Guests noshed hot and salty fish and chips washed down with reportedly potent gimlets. Behind us the sun sank in a lazy golden ooze behind the Sydney Harbor Bridge: dreamy.
The first model wore a white sailing blouson that featured an ersatz America’s Cup–esque house sailing club logo over a red striped shirt and cricket-ish sweater. Later, a transparent parka shot through with what looked like fishing line was cut, designer Maggie Hewitt said, from an upcycled sail. It rustled as its wearer propelled it under the sun umbrellas.
Maggie Marylin is a fully traceable, sustainably-focused brand expressed in an argot of sportily wholesome antipodean prep meets prom. Riding boots were worn with puff skirts. Men’s bengal striped shirting and cummerbunds were remixed into tan flashing mini-separates. There was a series of handsomely fashioned tops, some with cutesy heart cut-outs at the spine, worn over rough-hemmed washed boyfriend jeans and ballet pumps. Loose tailoring in faded navy or white came with sash detailing, a red check work shirt was worn over shirting stripe bikini separates, and a few silk dresses, a puffer, and shirts in a faded porcelain tea-set floral were also in the mix.
In a quiet post-show backstage corner (the clubhouse dinghy room) Hewitt said: “It’s really exciting to be able to constantly innovate and work with partners to be able to create a product that’s conscious and positive for the planet, and which also gives our customers something new, exciting, and playful.” The positive newness she pointed out here was a near-to-end vest top in pearlescent brown paillettes. As Qantas flights cut across the fading blue above and the harbor’s dusk illuminations began haphazardly to ignite, it was tempting to lose yourself to the mise-en-scène. Hewitt’s lineup looked just as enticing to inhabit.
