Sydney v Melbourne: Which metropolis is healthier?

After spending half my life in Sydney I’ve answered the footy siren name to return dwelling to Melbourne. It’s trend not soccer sending me down the Hume Highway to inside sniffing distance of the Yarra River, however the AFL is Melbourne’s reply to Kevin Bacon, with six levels of separation connecting something inside the metropolis limits to the MCG.

These are the ultimate phrases I’ll kind as trend editor of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald they usually don’t have anything to do with Princess Catherine’s newest tiara, Taylor Swift’s wedding ceremony gown or the outrageous and well-deserved success of the Zimmermann sisters in conquering worldwide trend.

Before beginning in my new position because the artistic director of the Melbourne Fashion Festival, I wish to tackle the one query that has bombarded me since asserting my double defection: which metropolis is healthier, Melbourne or Sydney?

To do that, I might usually divide the query into classes, within the fashion of a Miss Universe pageant, with out the swimsuit part, which is fortunate for Melbourne.

Instead, I’ll don my customized Gucci sash and ship my Miss Universe reply, which, like a want for world peace, is 100 per cent truthful. Both cities are exceptional, and we’re fortunate to have two distinct capitals so shut to one another in such a distant nation.

If Melbourne’s cultural creativity crossed the border, nobody could be in mattress by 10pm.

Imagine having two Melbournes, two Sydneys or, seize your sun shades, two Brisbanes.

The variations between Melbourne and Sydney are all constructive. One eye-wateringly lovely harbour is sufficient for one nation, and if Melbourne’s cultural creativity crossed the border, nobody could be in mattress by 10pm.

In my expertise, many of the clichés we’ve created in regards to the cities are as truthful because the Ava Gardner misquote that Melbourne was the proper place to make a movie in regards to the finish of the world, made up by a cadet journalist in 1959.

Sydney individuals are pleasant; Melbourne individuals don’t all the time put on black; yow will discover nice espresso and sensible pasta joints (Pellegrino 2000 in Sydney and Il Solito Posto in Melbourne – trend individuals do eat carbs) nearly anyplace.

Within seconds, with out taking a look at your sneakers, a Sydneysider can have you pegged socially, economically and sexually by your postcode.

There are some issues I’ll miss about Sydney. For most of my time right here I’ve not owned an iron. Since the demise of mannequin Maggie Tabberer in 2024, there are few adherents to crisp collars that might lower prosciutto, with extra individuals leaning in the direction of a crushed lived-in look.

In a Sydney summer time, crumpled linen shirts are as widespread as cabanas on the Port Philip Bay foreshore. Ironing a T-shirt in Kings Cross could possibly be mistaken as attempting too onerous and placing an iron close to a number of the barely-there clothes at Bondi is a fireplace hazard.

My first buy in Melbourne can be an iron and a steamer for good measure. It’s not as a result of the locals are extra fashionable, it’s simply that they make extra of an effort. Look past a number of the fancy-dress outfits on the annual NGV Gala and there’s a dedication to a trendy look that disappeared in Sydney when individuals began turning as much as the opening night time of the opera in shorts.

Melbourne individuals like to decorate up and Sydney individuals like to decorate as much as get down.

The capability of Sydney individuals to introduce their dwelling suburb within the first 5 minutes of dialog – even when it’s whereas debating whether or not J-Lo ought to have worn a ridiculously huge hat to Wimbledon – may also be missed. Within seconds, with out taking a look at your sneakers, a Sydneysider can have you pegged socially, economically and sexually by your postcode.

The solely method I can cope is by realising that Melbourne individuals do the identical factor by mentioning the college they attended, pigeonholing you with better accuracy than the resident laptop nerd on NCIS.

I gained’t should miss telling tales about trend. Whether it’s the Logies, Brownlow, Met Gala or Melbourne Fashion Festival, all Australians have an opinion and urge for food for fashion. Pauline Hanson at a Dolce & Gabbana present in Italy demonstrates the variety of trend’s attraction.

The huge distinction is that now I can be telling these tales on the runway, and there simply is likely to be a couple of extra individuals with crisp collars watching from the entrance row.

Damien Woolnough is the departing trend editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He is the brand new artistic director of the Melbourne Fashion Festival.

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