It is a thing of beauty to see our RUSSH community gather, albeit virtually, to support, learn and enjoy the things we love the most. In what was our fourth instalment of RUSSH Weekend, we partook in a collective well of creativity. Whether that was sustainable styling lessons from Net-A-Porter and Yan Yan Chan, a breakfast crumpet tutorial, or the playful looks starring Converse Run Star Motion, brought to our screens via Ella Jane and Lola Van Vorst, there was plenty to take comfort in.
Saturday, 31 July
RUSSH Weekend and the string of workshops kicked off rightly so, with an acknowledgment of Country from Steph Claire Smith and Christina Traychevska. As we slipped into our Saturday, the duo guided us seamlessly through a set of postures, for what was an energising and uplifting Pilates flow.
Channeling those feelings of gratitude from moving our bodies we tuned in to model and educator for #Take3forthesea, Dana Lopez. Her talk shed light on the insidious impact plastic has on our marine life and ecosystems. Galvanising us into action, she offered practical ways we could minimise our impact and become more conscious of our choices.
Yan Yan Chan continued this theme of sustainability in her intimate styling session with Net-A-Porter. Transitioning between tonal comforts–a sustainably-sourced wool pullover, black St Agni slides– into sleek black trousers from Caes and a boxy Burberry tee. We saw looks from labels invested in human, environmental and animal welfare and exercising best practice, as picked by Net-A-Porter from their Net Sustain edit. For the grand finale, Yan Yan slipped on the ultimate date-night look, an airy berry-red dress from Matteau.
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From here we tuned into the infectious camaraderie of emerging Australian designers, Jordan Gogos, Niamh Galea and Alix Higgins. The trio offered sage advice on starting your own label, emphasising the power of collaboration and reaching out to your peers. To finish day one, we watched along safely in the hands of Sean Brady as he expertly applied Byredo's 'Dysco' palette onto his ocean-eyed partner. The look? Soft, stained, plum lips with bronze-y, decidedly asymmetrical eyes.
Sunday, 1 August
Sunday began as all should, with a home-made crumpet tutorial from the inimitable Elodie Marion from Mimi's. Golden-brown and steadying, it was this session that had us most craving the beauty of real life presentations. For our next segment, Victoria Houllis from Mannequin Hands stoked our creativity with a pastel DIY nail tutorial. One, I'm sure we're all grateful for, nails included. And while creativity was high, Agnes Choi stirred within us the desire to tag along as she scored old stockings, teasing out ladders and carefully placing snips in order to transform old hosiery into flattering mesh tops. A soothing outlet in these trying times.
In what was an endearing end to RUSSH Weekend, we farewelled in style with Lola Van Vorst and RUSSH's own Ella Jane taking us through how to wear Converse Run Star Motion's. Through five playful outfits and various iterations of soft sweaters, Dad's Levi's and crisp suiting, we saw the Run Star Motions potential to round-out any outfit. The future-forward design and emphasis on comfort make Converse Run Star Motion's a valuable addition to any wardrobe.
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If you missed the sessions as they happened, or just want to revisit them, you can head over to our IGTV to replay what was a glorious weekend.
