Great design is conceptually driven and this year’s LMFF Business Seminar, featuring future-forward speakers such as Dazed Group founder Jefferson Hack and the CEO of ACNE, Mikael Schiller, certainly promised conceptual fuel to burn. When LMFF kindly invited us at Qualia Creative to design this year’s set, we were therefore delighted to dive in and seize the challenge of creating something beautiful and meaningful for Melbourne’s premier fashion event.

Conceptually, our objective was to create a set that not only supported the speakers, their histories and their projects, but also reflected the narrative of fashion’s progress and its function in shaping individual identities. Practically, the set’s content needed to be derived from the LMFF’s master creative (Daniela Federici’s gorgeous photographs of Melissa George) without detracting from the conceptual considerations.

The thematic basis of exploded frames was chosen as an allusion to the traditional fashion vernacular of iconic print publications and photography. However, given the nature of the speakers and the new directions and opportunities offered by the contemporary flow of digital information, we also felt it important to reference electronic culture as well. Recognising the ubiquity of digital imagery and its growing importance within the fashion industry, the individual frames were scattered and overlayed like pixels to form a larger master image, while the components exploding beyond the frames’ borders acknowledged the unconstrained flow of information in the post-digital age.

Side view of stage after bump-in

Also conceptually crucial was recognition of the idiosyncratic use of fashion by individuals in crafting their unique identities. Each person is bound to have a distinct perception of fashion and current digital technologies give greater voice to the individual than ever before. By layering exploded frames, each suspended alone in space, our set invited multiple perspectives and experiences. Depending on where members of the audience were situated they were offered unique access to otherwise hidden details, creating real personal engagement with each viewer’s perspective.

The materials themselves were also chosen to support the overall concept. Comprised of clear pine and mirrored vinyl, the natural grain of the wooden elements offered distinct personal textures—a unique identity—impossible to mimic synthetically. The mirrored highlights, for their part, served as a dynamic counterpoint to the static wood, echoing the glow of digital screens and the constant flow of information as well as reflecting the ever-changing ways in which we view ourselves through fashion.

Ultimately, our mission straddled the need to meet strategic brand objectives while providing a creative, beautiful, and (hopefully) somewhat meaningful platform for the speakers to present their messages throughout the LMFF Business Seminar. In this regard we think it worked out pretty well. With any luck, the audience enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed collaborating with Yolanda, Caroline and the rest of the wonderful team behind the LMFF.

Mikael Schiller from ACNE in front of stage

Mikael Schiller with Robyn Holt

Review of the set design by iSpy Style – full review

"We are detail people at iSpyStyle, so we notice everything. We always notice the set however we really fell in love with this particular set – it made us emotive rather than a viewer. We engaged with this set and that’s not always an easy task. When we discovered who was behind this creative masterpiece, from Qualia Creative it all made sense. We caught up with them after the event and we explained how impressed we were with how they had captured Melissa George’s likeness in the main illustration so well."

Jefferson Hack from Dazed And Confused

Jefferson Hack from Dazed And Confused

Extract from the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival Blog  – view blog

"Thanks to Brett, David & Dave from the Qualia Creative team for this amazing design – for the record, we loved it!"

Jan Nord from Esprit (formerly of H&M)

Jorgen Anderson from Esprit (formerly of H&M)

Hanging of frames during bump-in

Routed artwork before mounting

desktop magazine website  – To view the post, follow this link

This project also currently features on desktop magazine's website. 

Event Photography by: Lucas Dawson Photography

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