When it comes to red carpets, just as the Grammys are the looser, cheekier counterpoint to the Oscars, the AFLW’s W Awards are less polished than their male equivalent, the Brownlow. But what it lacks in stage management and stylists, it more than makes up in creativity and risk-taking, which is what makes it, in some ways, more exciting.
At Monday’s eighth running of the event, held on a sultry night at Crown Melbourne, sneakers, blazers and personality mingled harmoniously with classic black-tie glamour, “come as you feel” being the unwritten dress code for the night.
Couple dressing: North Melbourne’s Jasmine Garner (left) and Jenna Bruton on the red carpet on Monday night.Credit: Getty Images
North Melbourne’s Jasmine Garner perfected the casual red-carpet ensemble of waistcoat with trousers, while her partner, Jenna Bruton, matched her orange dress to a pair of box-fresh trainers. AFLW commentator Kate McCarthy also stood out from the crowd in an embellished purple suit by Melbourne brand Reigner. And triple-threat Sarah Rowe, who plays for Collingwood and also in the A-League and Gaelic football in her native Ireland, continued her form in a sparkling gold column dress.
Many of the players arrived in crews, with the West Coast quartet of Amy Franklin, Charlotte Thomas, Ella Roberts and Mikayla Western all in block-colour dresses. And Australian designers and brands were well represented, including Bec + Bridge and Meshki.
Effie Kats, whose designs were everywhere at the races, told this masthead on Monday that though she wasn’t dressing any players officially, she was sure to spot some of her pieces on paying customers who play in the AFLW.
Still, plenty of guests also went for classic black gowns, including West Coast coach and AFLW pioneer Daisy Pearce, St Kilda’s Serene Watson and Port Adelaide’s Matilda Scholz.
West Coast players (from left) Amy Franklin, Charlotte Thomas, Ella Roberts and Mikayla Western at the W Awards.Credit: Getty Images
Stylist Lana Wilkinson, a veteran of 14 Brownlow red carpets, worked with AFL executives Laura Kane and Emma Moore, who wore a classic black dress with mesh detail on the bodice by Toni Maticevski.
Wilkinson agrees the fact most AFLW players style themselves for the event is refreshing.
“It’s the cool sister of the Brownlow … you’re always going to see power suits, the people know who they are, there is something cool about the women,” she says.
“There is such an edge to it ... it can be a lot more risque [than the Brownlow], but in a really tasteful way.”
The other thing you’ll never see on the Brownlow red carpet that’s perfectly at home at the W Awards? Food. Several guests snacked on pots of chocolate mousse with pistachio cream as they arrived. Desserts on a red carpet – now, that’s refreshing.
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