Fabulous fashion steps out for runway shows

THE former hair salon hallway of Mok Bar’s upstairs interior will serve as the runway for the latest collections from the Koskha Art Fuelled Fashion label.

Early next month, Koskha director Kat Pengelly will present five collections through a fashion parade at the venue.

With a dance party to follow the fashion show, Pengelly said the event will showcase the development of her recent collection Wacky Trackies as well as debut her Fashion Canvas show.

“Fashion Canvas is art on clothing,” she said. “It’s painting, it’s Texta, it’s oil pastels on fabric. The concept of Fashion Canvas is taking it to the streets.

“A lot of people might be intimidated about going to an art gallery but if people are wearing art on their clothes walking down the street they expose people to art in an engaging way.”

Ten pieces will feature from the Wacky Trackies collection as well as nine from the Fashion Canvas show, with the latter funded by a City of Ballarat Creative Inspiration grant through Regional Arts Victoria.

“This event is to make this a public outcome,” Pengelly said. “Rather than taking some photos of the work and just sending it back to the City of Ballarat.”

One of the outfits, Arty Dance Party Ensemble featured in the Show Stopper collection, is a collaboration between Pengelly and her student Corrie Nantes.

The show will also include a preview of Pengelly’s Truck show, which premiered at the Nati Frinj Biennale last year.

Forty outfits overall will be showcased from Pengelly’s new and old collections, the oldest of which will be Sea Worthy Wool which originally debuted at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in 2011.

Pengelly said the show will be something of a retrospective for her.

“I have some beautiful pieces from previous shows that will get a bit of an airing,” she said. “There’s some people who might’ve seen these outfits from around 12 years ago and some who haven’t.

“It’s a super divers range from practical clothes you can wear to what I call show-stoppers and over-the-top garments.”

Live music will be provided by DJ Cosmik Frequencies during the event.

The Koshka fashion parade will take place at Mok Bar on Thursday 6 July from 8pm. Tickets range from $30 to $55 to $1000 VIP while support workers enter free, and can be booked at bit.ly/3Jh2Pcy.