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It takes a special kind of magic to entice the famously fickle fashion set to Tamarama beach at the crack of dawn—and resort wear label Commas clearly has it in droves. The brand’s runway debut at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week proved to be one of the most buzzed-about events of the 2021 schedule, particularly since founders Richard and Emma Jarman took home the coveted National Design Award in February.
Attendees watched from the Tamarama Surf Lifesaving Club as models braved the brisk winter weather to unveil Commas’ Resort 2022 collection. They cut a striking image, wading through the waves of the choppy Pacific Ocean as the sun rose behind them.
“This is where I spend my mornings, swimming and witnessing the sunrise,” Richard Jarman explained. “I wanted others to experience the restorative energy the sunrise brings.”
As for the clothes, the resort offering built upon Commas’ established reputation for crafting breezy, immaculately tailored beachwear. Silk button-down shirts were hand-painted with peach-toned watercolours (the 20th-century painter Milton Avery served as this collection’s inspiration); shorts were made with heavy-woven linen; and swimming briefs made with recycled polyamide. Elsewhere, we saw the welcome introduction of womenswear, courtesy of a silk sea-green maxi dress, loungewear-inspired two-pieces, and loose-fitting drawstring trousers so flattering, you’ll be cursing the beginning of winter all the more fiercely.
The success of the new collection (one need only open their Instagram feed this morning to be inundated with rave reviews) is the latest in a series of back-to-back coups by the Jarmans. Commas international retailers include MATCHESFASHION.COM, Harvey Nichols, and MyTheresa; last year they launched a sell-out capsule collection with Byron Bay hotspot Raes on Wategos; and earlier this year they were extended a coveted invitation to appear on the official Milan Fashion Week schedule.
The success of Commas is a testament to a fundamental shift in the fashion industry’s value system. Commas’ name represents their ethos—a pause, a slowing down of the frantic speed of production and consumption that has long plagued the industry, wrecking disastrous consequences on our environment in the process. The brand aims to offer a reprieve to that system with considered, thoughtful clothing that exists outside of the parameters of hot-for-a-season trend pieces. They do this while also celebrating the kind of nonchalant Bondi cool that represents Australian fashion at its best.
In short? The future is looking bright for one of our country’s most promising rising stars.
