Sitting in the front row of Toowoomba’s inaugural Fashion Festival, excitement and emotion coursed through my entire body. I held my breath in the silence as anticipation thickened the ambience. We’d waited months for this special event, and it was finally here.

“With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride…” A seductive, slowed-down version of Britney Spears’ famous ‘Toxic’ filled the room; the lights dimmed as the theatre was illuminated solely by a giant screen at its centre, bearing the bold proclamation: “Toowoomba Fashion Festival presented by Style Magazines Toowoomba”.

Have you ever waited so long for something, imagined it for days on end, and finally witnessed its arrival? A day like any other, although it isn’t. It’s a moment that sneaks up on you, swiftly transitioning from day to night, leaving behind a whirlwind of anticipation, planning, and the realisation of a dream. Well, this was that moment. In the dimly lit Armitage Centre, at the Empire Theatre, the models were the true stars here in the heart of the Garden City.

Suddenly, the screen shifted, displaying the words “JE Dance House”. We witnessed the slow, slinky steps of a woman dressed in black tulle as she glided down the runway, drawing closer and closer to her audience. “Too high, can’t come down…”

The music crescendoed, matching the intensity of the dancer’s movements; her arms sashayed from left to right, her body gracefully traversing the runway with leaps and bounds to the rhythm of the beat. The audience was spellbound by every moment of the dancer’s performance; I could hear the rapid clicking of photographers’ cameras in the rows beside me, intent on capturing the display unfolding before us.

As she reached the end of the song, the dancer’s final jeté across the runway ignited a surge of electricity in the scene. With a fluid motion, she turned and elegantly dragged her feet across the floor, a move only a dancer could execute with such finesse. Suddenly, two beautiful figures clad in double denim emerged, seamlessly gliding around a corner and walking smoothly down the runway.

This was it! Toowoomba’s fashion extravaganza had officially begun.

To Be Continued—