VB Just Entered the World of High Fashion

Victoria Bitter have done something very unlikely and gotten themselves into the world of high fashion with Strateas Carlucci.

VB, the Victorian brewer, has decided it would be a great marketing strategy to get into the world of high fashion. While VB are no stranger to slapping their logo on t-shirts, eskies, and all sorts of paraphernalia (even a fragrance line!), they’ve never really gone all out into actual fashion.

This was all made possible to the Victorian based fashion designer, Strateas Carlucci. The brand’s founders, Peter Strateas and Mario-Luca Carlucci, are known for their deconstructed tailoring and the tension between the masculine and feminine.

The collection was shown off at a runway event in Port Melbourne.

The collection has been mostly focused on the celebration of both the historic and local heritage of VB. That means we’ve got archival text and imagery all over the clothes. Being a sucker for retro/vintage inspired get-ups, it got me curious. Unfortunately, I was not impressed.

The high fashion pieces presented at the runway are just… fine, I guess. They aren’t bad but for the most part, they don’t stack up to most other high fashion shows. They’re not awful but they don’t seem to fit right, and I know that ill-fitting clothes is in, but it has to be ill-fitting in such a way as to look like it still fits. Here, the cuts and tailoring just feels off. It might be unfair to compare to luxury brands and their collections, but if you’re going to put your hat in the ring with those guys, expect to be compared to them. It’s high fashion, after all.

However, the ready-to-wear pieces are actually quite nice. Simple designs with the jumpers especially having that retro feel. It’s quite popular too, with one of the jumpers already having sold out. It’s really the high fashion stuff that I think was a misfire. I also just can’t get behind that sweater vest – I think it’s the shade of green? More likely it’s just because it’s a sweater vest.