Fashion is becoming a more and more acceptable way of denoting your social affiliations. There are the pastel-coloured tight tees and the top-button-done-ups as well as the clone-clad-ladies and Op-Shop eccentrics with their splash of AA basic colour in-betweens… Or maybe that’s just how we see it. What you wear though, no matter which way you cut it, is ultimately going to say something about you. It mightn’t be something you’re conscious of, but there are a lot of old nags out there judging your threads without your knowing. Judging on brands, on colour on cleavage, on selvage….

But really, what if old Jay Gatsby threw a party in today’s state of couture? Ey? T-shirts and jeans are fine on default mode but what happened to “getting dressed up” for a bloody good rollick amongst fine drinks and shimmery fabrics? I think we’ve actually reached a stage where people know if they put on a tie or a fancy dress they’re going to feel decidedly over-dressed. Enter a club or bar after a black-tie dinner and you’ll know exactly how people look at you. Well tell ‘em to get stuffed, because on Saturday the 24th of October we’re going to a party that’s all about the finer things in life.

Suit The _ _ _ _ Up is the concept of brothers Lewis and Oliver Graham who’re responsible for many a ridiculous party night in ol’ Adelaide town. They’ve teamed up with the directors of Mai Lui and The Suit Co., Anna and Luke to push a stylish agenda at the Hotel Tivoli, where the drinks list is just as splendid as a pair of satin lapels.

Merge caught up with the suitably well-dressed entourage to have a chat about style and the old-days when men were men and women were probably women still also…

What is fashion?
Fashion, I dunno. It’s in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Well my next question was going to be, what is style?
Ah yeah, yeah right. I guess fashion is what’s going on at the time, colour-scheme wise, cut wise, things like that and what’s going on in music has a lot to do with that also. I actually believe that fashion is quite safe and ends up looking a bit same-same on everyone.

Style is like, you can take things that don’t look good with other things, things that clash, and piece them together in a way that just makes people go, “wow”.

Style is a big reflection of a person’s confidence and whether they have the personality to pull it off. Whereas someone who’s a bit self-conscious about wearing something that’s a bit different, instantly you get the sense that they’re not comfortable and this makes them look awkward.

What are your pet hates in the dress codes you see when you’re out?
Jocks.

OK, I’m going to play the idiot and pretend I’m not familiar with this genre of people. What do jocks act/look like?
A coloured t-shirt would be your first indication. A faded pre-worn looking t-shirt. I wouldn’t say they’re mainstream, because even what they wear isn’t necessarily mainstream but I would call it more of a sheep look. They’ve got a herd mentality. That’s what bothers me, when you see 20 guys in the same thing with a plunging neckline and orange fake tan.

What I dislike is, what I call “the birthday outfit” mentality the idea that you just get something new for your birthday and never wear it again.
 

How should one behave if one would wish to attract the opposite sex then?
I personally like to get naked.

I think you’ve got to be funny, self-deprecating in a way.

It’s just confidence and believing what your saying, wearing, drinking. Don’t be mindless. Don’t be boring.

Clothes make the man… was Mark Twain right?
I don’t necessarily believe fashion is everything, even though it’s my business. I’m not like that. I’ve got a lot of friends who aren’t necessarily style gurus or whatever but it comes down to interest really. Like cars. I couldn’t give a stuff about cars but I’ve got an interest in fashion. Like my friends will try and tell me about cars, I’ll talk about fashion and  tell them to come in and have a look. What’s interesting is seeing the way they’ve changed and the way they wear things now. Guys that used to only wear t-shirts are now actually having a bit of fun and trying new things.

What’s going to happen then on the 24th?
We’d just be happy to host a night where everyone came along and made an effort. We all know what’s going to happen, people are going to be screaming and dancing and generally acting stupid but it would be good to have that combination where everyone comes at the start of the night and is looking sharp and like they’ve got everything in order. They’ve got their nice job, career even and they’ve very much moved on from that teenage realm.

Yeah it’s kind of ironic that everyone rocks up so clean cut. It’s like Studio 54 and disco culture back in the day where everyone would just look amazing and then things would quickly get out of control with people swigging champagne from the bottle and so on.

We just want a night where people walk away going wow!

I’ve got a vision in my head of a scene like something off the front of an old record cover I have where there’s just these amazing looking people in costumes and here in this venue, in Adelaide we can have such an extravagant party.

And it’s not like a venue where you just go up the stairs and there’s a DJ spinning tracks in the corner and everyone’s bobbing their heads. We see ourselves very much as the hosts and a part of the night, making sure everyone's having a great time. We are inviting everyone along and encouraging them to bring some style and a downright disco-party attitude.   

All Photos: Harmony Nicholas