Christian Paul Watches - Havana Days Launch Event

So close to Christmas, so much going on! Last week Vivienne and I attended three events with this lovely pool party, launch event - HAVANA DAYS from Christian Paul sandwiched more or less in the middle. So what is Havana Days? It's inspired by lazy days in the Caribbean with a look back to the 1940s, elegant watches embracing the design ethos of the era; and limited edition leather accessories. Purses, luggage tags, passport holders and cosmetics bags which take a more modern twist on the Havana theme with bright colours and tropical motifs, Toucans, Parrots, Hibiscus flowers, Pineapples and Pink Flamingos; it's all very tropical. A gold pineapple also puts in an appearance on the face of their Myer exclusive watches.

Yours truly with Christian Paul CEO Zaid Alsulaibi and Vivienne on the right.

Of course the pool party launch was also Havana themed, cocktails, cakes and a grazing table of all the good things you like to eat while sipping on a lazy long drink. Fortunately I can work whist sipping cocktails and was able to engage Christian Paul CEO Zaid Alsulaibi to get the low down on the brand and Zaid delivered. Australian owned, Australian designed, customer and quality focused, looking to a long future in the watch industry. I was captivated by the stories of this relatively young brands desire to grow strong and some of the good fortune it's already seen - a fan engraved and presented one of the brands signature watches to celebrity Selena Gomez; she slipped it right on and; one Instagram later... it's always nice to be part of a success story. Now I haven't actually worn a watch for the better part of the last ten years so it was with great interest that I slipped on the 'Reid' watch from the range that I found in my goodie bag. It's one with rose gold and a tan leather strap. I have begun wearing it and it does feel like quality, and it does feel and look like a good dress watch, which is exactly what it is, and waterproof too; so if you fall in the pool at that pool party; the watch is going to be alright. Zaid was a wealth of information about the brand, 'Japanese movement' 'stainless not brass' 'assembled in China yes' 'it's about the right level of quality control at every stage'.  It all sounds very good and once again, Australian designed, Sydney - designed! So if I have piqued your interest you can check them out here - www.christianpaul.com.au/havana-days/

HAVANA DAYS by Christian Paul - Flat lay photo by Vivienne Shui - White Caviar Life

Read Street Fashion Sydney's previous Watch Event Write-ups Here.

Telling Stories in Pictures all over the world..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Sperry Odysseys Await launch @ Regatta with Swimming Australia..

I remember the day Australia won the America's Cup, I cycled my classy road bike past the Regatta Hotel beside the Brisbane River, and caught a flat tyre from the broken glass the celebrating and endlessly jubilant pub crowd had strewn across the road! What the hell; we had won the cup! "Any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum." it had never Never been done before!
This time the Regatta was in Rose Bay Sydney, I took a taxi, yachting shoes the order of the day, lots of lovely people, Olympians Ellie Cole & Mitch Larkin, great food and drinks and a Sydney Harbour view. But down to business; Sperry shoes don't slip. This is very important. On the deck of a yacht or walking beside a pool, you slip, you lose. Loss of grip in sport, like a flat tyre cycling, it's bad news. You want the good not the bad. Sperry are now sponsoring Swimming Australia to help keep performance out of the pool as good as it is in the pool. And it was very interesting to see local Bondi Ink tattooists embellishing these classic boat shoes with equally classic sea faring motifs, something a bit new and fashionable to go with that great sports credibility.

Thank you to, http://www.sperry.com.au/  #odysseysawait
http://www.portobellopr.com.au/

Book Street Fashion Sydney to cover your next event.

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Andreas Ottensamer 'Yellow Lounge' Sydney with 'The Faders' & Alex Raineri.

Last Thursday night I had the somewhat unexpected privilege of attending Sydney's first 'Yellow Lounge' or so we hope; the first of many to come.. Main Man of the night Berliner Philharmoniker clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer is certainly no stranger to the Yellow Lounge or the concert hall and now certainly not soloist appearances.. But I must say this is the first time in my life where I have been front and centre at a classical concert and taking pictures where I did not feel in the slightest risk of, that I might be lynched by those behind or beside me; well it's the first time I even dared!!! Perhaps this is part of the Yellow Lounge experience, it's certainly classy but it's anything but wound-up-tight; something like the handsomely attractive DJing twosome The Faders, which being a bit of a music snob I did not quite get, as part of a classical night out.. However & whatever my doubts it all went very smoothly, so smoothly indeed that I did not have that post-Opera-House in-the-cab experience of wanting the 'radio' turned off.. no it all went very well indeed with The Faders bookending the night. They enjoyed the night. I enjoyed the night; and so it seemed did everyone I spoke to. What can I say to fellow Brisbane boy Alex Raineri other than beautiful accompaniment and, nice tie!, Here are the pictures. Please Enjoy!

Thanks to Sarah Smith at Universal Music.
Andreas Ottensamer, Alex Raineri and The Faders.
MC Yarmila Alfonzetti.
And everyone who stood still-ish for my camera!

Street Fashion Sydney - shot with the Fujifilm X-Pro1 

Esprit Icon Store - Sydney Opening

The terms Icon, Iconic, Classic, (and even ironic) seem to have sadly been rather beaten about about for some time now. One only need to think of the popular term 'instant classic' to know language has taken a real beating. Lets face it, 'instant classic' is an oxymoron! It takes time to become a classic and no matter how you may feeel about something new; only the passage of time and society's take on that thing; film, art, fashion, architecture, song, whatever-will reveal if something becomes a classic or not.

Now the word Icon also follows all the same rules as for the word Classic. It takes time to build an Icon just as it does to create a true Classic, it doesn't happen overnight. So as you can imagine it was with a little trepidation that I attended the launch of the brand new Esprit Icon store at Wesfield in the Sydney CBD last week. Whilst in my minds eye I knew the new Esprit store would be a fabulous shop front opening onto the mall, the still continuing construction work, lolly-pop-people-&-cement-trucks nature of the Pitt St Mall forced me off of Pitt St and directly into the bowels of the new New NEW Wesfield in the city. Not such a bad thing really as whilst wandering about looking for the Esprit store I did get to see just how BIG this new shopping development in Sydney really is. Its HUGE, but as I soon found a touch screen directory it was not long before I was standing before the lower ground entrance to Esprit and a solitary security person who, as a veteran of many many nights of Night Clubbing, I chose to completely ignore as I strode towards the small gap of an entrance before me. Well I am clearly losing my touch as I was stopped and asked if I had been in here before... "No, but I am on the list". I was required to make my way back up to the Pitt St entrance where surprise surprise a red carpet arrival awaited 'me'.

I won't say much about my arrival other than to say that to everyone I met who remembered me from the Ford Connect launch party; I apologised to and promised I would behave myself tonight!

The good news is that it seems the people at Esprit really do know what the word Icon means. They know that you cannot become an Icon overnight and that it takes time and effort-that to be an Icon means raising the bar to a particularly high place, a place well above and beyond what you would expect and more than that as well. This was immediately born out Vis-à-vis by experiencing just how nice everyone was at the store. If it was not that I know every stop on the train ride from Marrickville to St James station where I alighted my trip, I could have sworn I had slipped into some sort of space-time-continuum-vortex and emerged at a store opening in Melbourne! Yes, people were so nice I almost forgot I was in Sydney & thought, "my god, its just like I am in Melbourne"!

The press release said that the launch would have something for everyone-kids welcome! And I must say that I did think that was a pretty big call; and yet they delivered. Apart from topless male models strolling around the store, yes there is for-the-first-time-in-Australia an Esprit menswear section (on the third floor). The fashion show had both teen and kid dancers who also doubled as models, doing their thing kitted out head-to-toe in Esprit.  Between the dance routines came your more typical runway show; all in all it there was something for everyone and everyone in attendance seem to be like-me having a pretty good time.

The funny thing is, or was, although this was a great big opening of a great big store. Something has stuck with me over the past week. And it kind of goes without saying that if I had posted a story about this opening next-day, well... I have been mentioning to friends that this opening was a lot like dropping into your fav small boutique where they know you, they offer you a glass of champagne. I thought those days were gone but my friends assure me they are still alive and well.  The opening, no; the store felt personal. And that is something special; if you want to be an Icon store, that has to be a truly great start. Anyway, enough of my blather, if you have read this much of such a long post even if you are on a slow connection all the pictures must have loaded by now. Enjoy!