Nadia Bartel says of fashion week show: ‘It’s just amazing to be here and it has all come together’
The second showing for Nadia Bartel’s Henne label at Sydney’s fashion week attracted “half of Melbourne” in the crowd, including good friend Bec Judd.
Entertainment
Don't miss out on the headlines from Entertainment. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Melbourne’s WAG mafia converged in Sydney to support Nadia Bartel cement her claim into the fashion industry.
Queen WAG and fashion designer Bec Judd sat front row for the solo runway of Bartel’s womenswear label Henne for Australian Fashion Week, describing her good friend as a “weapon.”
“We have half of Melbourne here for her,” Judd laughed wearing a figure hugging top and pants from the Henne range.
“We have flown in just for her because we would do anything for her. I’m really excited to see the range. It’s just gone from strength to strength. She is absolutely killing it.
“I’m so proud of her. She is a weapon,” Judd said.
It is now the second showing for the Henne label during Sydney’s fashion week, with Bartel saying the collection was all about showcasing the powerful woman, paying homage to the 80s, with a nod to Y2K “shimmer and shine” trends.
“I’m very nervous,” Bartel said wearing top-to-toe Henne in white and proving she is possibly the best advertisement for her own brand.
“It’s been literally six months of hard work and it’s just amazing to be here and it has all come together.”
Showing a new-found confidence, the Henne runway featured models in big shouldered power suits and gloves holding briefcases and meaning business. Sheer, shimmering silhouette dresses and skirts showed off a more daring side. Neutral tones, elevated wardrobe staples have become the Henne signature, with Bartel saying her designs are always something she herself would wear from day into night.
“I take inspiration from everything around me,” Bartel said. “What I’ve seen online, or even out at the school run on a mum and then think about doing it in a different way. I find I’m most creative at night, or on a walk. I find a lot of inspiration when I’m on my own and things just come to me.”
Be gone the old WAG moniker, Bartel is first and foremost a designer now, with a look to expanding the brand overseas and to the US.
Several international buyers attended the show alongside the Melbourne contingent who included good friends, designer Effie Kats, sartorial guru Chris Kontos and celebrity stylist Lana Wilkinson, whose eponymous shoe range also featured on the runway.
Elsewhere, there was almost a fashion brouhaha when controversial social media influencer and non-binary advocate Deni Todorovic was turned away from entering the show by security.
But nothing was taking away from Bartel’s moment, with the social media maven proving she is not only back, but a fashion force to be reckoned with.