I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Highpoint’s Fashion Precinct on Thursday morning. Visiting my childhood stomping ground brought back memories of giggles at The Pancake Parlour and gatherings outside Hoyts cinemas. Those glorious teenage days! Highpoint has just taken the wraps off an entire mall’s worth of fashion retailing goodness including a new 14,000 square metre David Jones, Topshop and Zara as well as more international and Australian labels than you can poke a stiletto at.

As part of the launch, Highpoint invited the Poppy Disney to host the launch and will base the celebrations at the centre over the next four weeks on Poppy’s four key trends for AW13.  I love having something new to look forward to!

Of course, I’m not one to take the latest trends lying down (unless I’m posing in some heritage-listed grass) so here’s a sneaky peek of some of my trend-with-a-twist outfits from my stay at Mansion Hotel & Spa at Werribee Park last weekend. Hopefully they will also inspire you just in time for LMFF next week. In true Highpoint style, I’m going to be posting these outfits over the next few weeks – which is amazing because I usually can’t wait a few weeks for anything.

So we know Metallics are in, and they come in all shapes, cuts and sizes.  You can get bags made of metal, metallic painted fabrics and metal detailing, but to me you can’t go past the Rumpelstiltskin-esque appeal of woven metallic thread.  Nothing says opulence like clothing that looks like it’s been finely spun and stitched from hunks of shiny, precious rocks. While exploring Highpoint, I found some Metallic pieces from Kookai and SABA that you’d love.

Sports Luxe is all about juxtaposition.  Normally the last thing you’re thinking about when you throw on your yoga gear is how to glam it up. To me this means that you can’t just throw on any bit of lycra, team it up with some jewellery and call it a trend.  If I’m going to dress down with a sporty edge, I’m going to do it in a way that at least preserves one of the unsung virtues of sporty style – jackets with pockets.  Mixing the practical parts of sports with some chic feature pieces means you can dress like a girl on the go and still have somewhere to put your phone or lippie. The best sports luxe pieces I scouted at Highpoint were from Witchery.

Melbournians will be right at home with the Dark Romance trend – with most people interpreting the gothic undertones as being a call back to Melbourne’s staple – black.  I don’t have anything against black, but my favourite black outfits are the ones that feature a surprising mix of textures and pops of gold. Once again, I found the best Dark Romance pieces at Highpoint at Witchery.

The all-black look is so last paragraph.  Burgundy Is The New Black.  But unlike black, you probably won’t find me top to toe in solid burgundy (although I have come close).  Instead I’ve teamed burgundy up with some unlikely suspects to create looks that are more punch and less decanter. If you love burgundy too, just head to Veronica Maine at Highpoint, they have an incredible selection!

 Meeting Poppy at Highpoint was a highlight, she was also gracious enough to let me interview her despite her busy schedule. Here she reveals why she thinks Melbournians are so “effortlessly chic” (and that she loves Melbourne even more than Sydney!), how to wear Sports Luxe like a pro, Australians’ healthy body image and what her favourite shops at Highpoint are. I apologize for the sound quality as it was buzzing with an enthused crowd of shoppers but it’s only a testament to the great success of the new precinct! Tell me what you think!

It’s going to be exciting indeed to see what take Poppy and Highpoint have on these trends over the next four weeks.  Maybe I’ll bump into you there this weekend somewhere between the fashion parades and a very well worn credit card :)

[spoiler title=”中文版”]星期四早上我非常荣幸参加了Highpoint 的时尚分局开幕典礼. 让我想起童年在The Pancake Parlour的笑声，在Hoyts电影院外与朋友聚集的回忆。那些辉煌的童年历史！Highpoint刚揭开整个商场的时装零售，包括一个新的14000平方米David Jones, Topshop 和 Zara，以及一系列的澳洲与国际品牌。Highpoint邀请了伦敦名blogger举办一系列中心的庆祝活动。她会推荐四个主要的秋冬的风格。当然，我喜欢在不同的风格里带着我自己的想象力，这是我上个周末在Mansion Hotel & Spa at Werribee Park拍的一些照片，给你示范这四个冬季的风格。我将会在未来几周内更详细地发布这些服装 。

我们都知道金属色服装有很多不同类。金属制成的包，金属彩绘织物和许多不同的金属细节，但对我来说，最喜欢的是金属线编织的服装。富裕的细纺，好像从光泽的珍贵岩石中雕刻出来的，。在探索Highpoint时，我发现了一些漂亮的金属式时装在KOOKAI和SABA店里。

“豪华运动”款式是对比的典范。你穿瑜伽的衣服时肯定不会去想怎样让这套衣服变得华丽。“豪华运动”对我来说并不意味你能随便在有弹性的衣服上配一些珠宝。如果是我，我会保留一件最有运动风格的衣服 – 有口袋的夹克。混合实际的运动款式和一些别致的服装或首饰意味着你会仍然有地方装你的手机或口红。最好的“豪华运动”服装，我侦察在Highpoint的Witchery店里.

墨尔本人最爱穿黑色，因此“烂漫深色”对我们不难。 大多数人的解释是从头到脚穿着黑色。不错，但我最喜欢的黑色服装是那些配备了一个令人惊讶的布料与金色首饰组合的。OK 我这里展示的是玫瑰金，现在最时髦的金属。我找到了最好的烂漫深色的服装也是在Highpoint的Witchery店里。

“暗红色”是新的黑色。但与黑色不同的是，你不会发现我全身上下都穿暗红色（虽然我在这里挺接近的）。这里，我将一些意料不到的衣服于暗红色款式配搭。如果你也喜欢暗红色，我阿发现Highpoint的Veronica Maine有最棒的选择！

在Highpoint与Poppy会见是个一大亮点，尽管她在百忙之中她也愿意接受我的采访。这里她揭示了为什么她认为墨尔本女郎又“毫不费力的”时髦感（和她爱墨尔本多于悉尼！），如何穿豪华运动的服装，澳大利亚人健康的身体形象和她在Highpoint最喜欢的商店。我很抱歉的声音质量不是最棒，因为商场挤满了热情的购物人群，证明了新开店的巨大成功！看了录像请告诉我你的想法！

这的确是令人兴奋的消息。也许本周末我会在Highpoint撞到你！[/spoiler]