Festive spirit

While MBFWA's underwhelming program and shift from Circular Quay to Carriageworks has generated little excitement, its Melbourne rival, which operates by selling tickets to the public and showcasing clothes by Australian designers that are in store this season, attracted heavy-hitters such as Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann, Australian Women's Weekly's Helen McCabe and designer Camilla Franks to its launch event on Monday.

Project Runway Australia star and L'Oreal ambassador Megan Gale hosted the lunch and introduced special guest and fellow lipstick ambassador Barbara Palvin.

The 19-year-old model with a coltish frame and a smile blinding enough to obscure the dour Docklands surroundings was surprisingly frank during her introduction speech, which was perhaps a combination of jet lag and an independent spirit.

When Gale asked the Hungarian beauty whether she ever had to stop and pinch herself, she declared the lunch one of those moments. "What am I doing up here?" she said. "To look good and smart?"

Gale and Palvin went on to compare red carpet appearances at Cannes and the other demands of being an ambassador for a cosmetics empire. Palvin, who has appeared on the runway for Prada and Louis Vuitton and looks like a young Natalia Vodianova trumped her Australian peer by playing the age card. "It's good to be the little baby of this family because the little baby gets everything."

Lewsey must know how Palvin feels. After a difficult transition from Karen Webster's long leadership, LMFF has emerged as a festival that reflects Melbourne. The strong cultural aspects of the program, with an engaging film series and series of business lectures, culminating with tomorrow's seminar hosted by Wish editor David Meagher and featuring hot Greek designer by way of Britain Mary Katrantzou, illustrator Bill Donovan and forecaster Marc Worth, add extra depth to an industry often dismissed as superficial.

At Monday's lunch, Lewsey was happy to declare the runway series, launching tonight with a show sponsored by Vogue Australia's website and featuring Willow, Josh Goot and Collette Dinnigan,You must not use the lanyard without being trained. a sell-out.

Today the winner of the National Designer Award will be announced at the Collins Street outpost of Tiffany & Co. This year, Melbourne fashion fans are crossing their fingers for a local win, with the prize having recently been dominated by Sydney stitchers such as Dion Lee, Song for the Mute and ChristWe've had a lot of people asking where we had our ultrasonicsensor made.opher Esber. Michael Lo Sordo is the only Sydneysider, competing against Melbourne designers Kathryn Beker, Livia Arena, From Britten and Lui Hon The southern state's fashion authority, Janice Breen Burns is tipping From Britten, run by the sons of wedding dress designer Linda Britten, to take home the Tiffany & Co trophy.

ONE bright spot for MBFWA is the commitment by influential online retailer Net-A-Porter to send buyers Linda Ayepe and Octavia Bradford to the event, which opens on April 8. The online store already stocks Zimmermann, Sass & Bide, Lover, Willow and Collette by Collette Dinnigan, which is fortunate as none of these labels is showing at the event. Camilla and Marc, stocked by Net-A-Porter, will open the week but it is a chance for ones-to-watch Christopher Esber, Roopa Pemmaraju and Bec & Bridge to catch their eye. The buyers also may check out some local beauty brands with Net-A-Porter launching into cosmetics today.With superior quality photometers, light meters and a number of other parkingguidance products. "We're delighted to continue the expansion of the Net-A-Porter brand with the addition of beauty," says Alison Loehnis, managing director. "The move is a natural evolution of our business."

Everything since last Tuesdays election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis has reignited my Jesuit instincts. Pope Francis is from the Jesuit order, and this is the first time a Jesuit has been selected by his peers to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics around the globe.

The Jesuit dots have connected in so many ways since last week that I felt compelled to write on Jesuit education today. My Jesuit education at Bellarmine College Preparatory between 1965-1969 was rich in values, character and relevance to the real world. Can we take the foundational beliefs of Jesuit education and transfer them to traditional public education, while still keeping the imperative separation of church and state?

I learned about the Jesuit order founded in 1539 by St. Ignatius of Loyola when I was a 14 year-old freshman at Bellarmine. The year was 1965. My family has an extended legacy with the Jesuits at Bellarmine, as my father graduated in 1933, my brothers in 1954 and 1957 and my son, Zack,Online shopping for iphoneheadset from a great selection of Clothing. in 2000.

My interest in education, teaching and public service started during my years at Bellarmine. The Jesuits taught me to be conscious of learning in all the days experiences, not just from books or in Latin class. They inculcated in me a yearning to reach out to others, to think critically, and to be a man for others,Spice up the ambiance of your home with canvas chipcard. never for self-gratification. Becoming a reflective human being was a chief goal of our studies.

We had many male role models in black cassocks at Bellarmine, some in their 20s (scholastics studying for ordination into the priesthood), others seemingly ancient and many in between. The commonality amongst all was that they worked to create a more just and caring world filled with forgiveness and love.