KEY POINTS:
10.00pm: Arriving at the Powerstation for Zambesi makes us feel as though we've stepped into a time warp back to the 90s. The huge crowd, predominantly dressed in black, spilling onto the road outside the venue remind us of those many nights spent queuing for rowdy rock gigs here.
Inside, three sides of the room are taken up with seating for hundreds. We are thrilled (and by thrilled I mean disappointed) to discover we are seated directly behind the man with the biggest hair in fashion - the dreadlocked stylist Atip Wananuruks. Ahhh well in the near dark we can't see much anyway. We are however, close enough to spot Black Magazine's Helene Ravlich wearing huge black sunglasses in the front row. Remember folks, the room is currently darker than a darkened movie theatre. Hmmm...
Not much else to report about the front rowers, we couldn't see them, although at the after party lots of indie music scenesters were spotted, they must have been invited to up the 'cool' factor.
What we could see however, despite our impeded view, was a show full of heavy metals, clothing dominated by a silver, black and grey colour scheme. Read Cathrin Schaer's show review here.
Goodie Bag rundown: Gunmetal grey Mac nail varnish, a tiny Z charm necklace, Voodoo tights and black wash laundry detergent. Rating: 8.5/10 (bonus points for no chocolate!)
8.30pm: Due to the late start of Trelise Cooper, getting around 1000 people seated in the tent, and a fairly long show, the starts of the final two shows of the night were bumped back. We were feeling fairly nervous about trying to get to both the Federation show and then Zambesi's off-site show at the Powerstation across town. Luckily we needn't have worried, the lighting guy for Federation was also doing the later show, so it wouldn't start without him.
Federation offered up more treats in the form of Kapiti ice cream and L&P as we were being seated but we decided about 10kgs of chocolate is enough sugar for one day. The show for the streetwear brand and their new, higher end For Good label went off without a hitch. That is, if you don't count the whole of the audience hearing the backstage directors screaming at the models to hurry up during a break in the music. Oops!
Goodie Bag rundown: A printed denim carry bag contained Waiwera water, face cream and hair product. Oh, and Eden chocolates. Rating: 6/10
7.40pm Trelise Cooper's show started almost an hour late after the crush of attendees had finally all been ushered in. As expected due to the hour and the calibre of the designer, the post-work celebrity set was out in force. We'd love to write more, but we have to run so we can get to Federation & For Good, which kicks off in less than 10 minutes.
Goodie bag dissection: Creme de la Mer moisturizing cream, Mercedes-Benz pen, emergency darning kit, Skin Institute discount vouchers, bettjemans voucher, Donna Karan Gold eau de toilette, L'Oreal tecni.art full volume extra mousse, sequinned Trelise Cooper purse, Annabel Fay's single Strong, Mercedes-Benz S-Class book ... and chocolate. This time a bar of Whittaker's though, and it was welcomed as we were starving.
Rating: 9/10.
5.30pm Commendations to accessories brand Deadly Ponies for doing something different. Of course it is kind of hard to show off rings and handbags on the runway. So into Shed 2 we go, greeted by large perspex cases covered with draped leather covers. Guests are supposed to lift the covers to peer at the goods hidden beneath. Revealed are handbags in purple, white and red as well as the traditional tan leather. Metal bones and wooden sticks are used to adorn bracelets and bag handles. With food and drinks on offer as guests enter, it doesn't take long for a backlog to form, and it becomes near impossible to enter or exit the room.
5.01pm Oh dear. On the one hand, Petrena Miller should be commended for broadening her horizons and trying something new. On the other, if we wanted to see performing art we would go to the theatre.
Testing the patience of a roomful of journalists and buyers who have sat through countless runway shows is not a great idea.
The show opened with a black and white interview between Lorraine Downes and Miller - reminiscent of the Brand Power advertisments but even more contrived. Then a young woman took the stage and pretented to beaver away on a sewing machine ... for a full five minutes.
As the crowd grew increasingly restless, one American buyer was overheard exclaiming how "embarrassing" the scene was.
Not to mention the never-ending looped soundtrack, which drove the crowd to distraction.
Off the runway, drama unfolded as the ushers sat general admission ticket holders in empty places, not realising there was a large group of corporate guests waiting in the bar across the hall. Oops.
Goodie bag dissection: L'Oreal haircare products for coloured hair, L'Oreal Shocking Waterproof Volume mascara, Simply You magazine, assorted L'Oreal product samples and the ever-present Eden chocolates.
Rating: 6/10
3.25pm Okay. A confession. We didn't make it to Annah Stretton's show, fashion fatigue and computer delays meant we watched it on the big screen in the media room. Never fear, Cathrin made it, she will have a review over in her Expert Eye blog shortly. We did peek in her goodie bag though, and this is what we found:
Goodie bag dissection: Mini bottle of wine, L'Oreal lip gloss, book on NZ women in business, a diary organiser, pen and yes, a chocolate heart.
Rating: 5/10
2.30pm Not a great deal to report after Serdoun's show, which went off without a hitch. Despite a few wobbles on their heels, the models stayed on track and - much to our relief, most appeared to have shaved their legs prior to the show, something which can't be said of the models in some previous shows. It's your job to be groomed, girls!
Goodie bag dissection: Hmmm interesting... A packet of Light n' Tasty cereal and yes, more Eden chocolate. What message is this bag trying to give us? It's okay to eat chocolate all day long if you've had a healthy breakfast? Fellow Herald blogger Cathrin Schaer is delighted: "Who has time to do supermarket shopping while Fashion Week is on?"
Rating: 3/10 It's only day two and we're on chocolate overload.
1.30pm Day two and things are beginning to come unstuck - quite literally. The noon show Hot Set - a group show of Chelsea Thorpe, Salasai and Jaeha - saw the sound system break down partway through Salasai's show, leaving models to strut in awkward silence, before the sound engineers managed to recover, playing the finale music from Jaeha's show instead.
Wearing a sheer blue dress, cut to the navel, one model found herself somewhat exposed while marching the runway. While this a fairly common occurance at Fashion Week, it seemed a bit odd that she didn't tuck herself in backstage before the TWO curtain calls. Apparently the stylist is new to Fashion Week and has yet to learn of double sided tape. Amateur.
Goodie bag dissection: Grey Voodoo ridged tights - complete with price tag still on and more bloody Eden chocolate (we now have 15 trays between us).
Rating: 4/10
In other runway-side news, Radio New Zealand showed up to the Style Pasifika show this morning, taking the opportunity to chat to Australian media. While the reporter did his best to feign fashion knowledge, he rather gave himself away as a novice when he asked, "Don't you think New Zealand designers are just copying the Belgian and Dutch?"
Err... are you on crack?
Clearly thrown by the non-sensical question, the Australian journalist quickly regained his composure and replied: "No, actually I think New Zealand designers have their own aesthetic." Well played.
Returning to last night for a moment - everyone's favourite D-lister Megan Alatini managed to blag her way into Yvonne Bennetti, with her brother and sister in tow, but came unstuck after helping herself to someone else's seats. By the time the rightful owners reclaimed them, there were no seats left for the Alatini clan, leaving them to sheepishly retreat to the back of the tent.
On a final note, FashionNZ.co.nz gave a glowing report of Michael Pattison's show yesterday - but failed to mention that said author is actually the designer's publicist as well. So much for unbiased reporting.
11.45am The Westfield Pasifika show started the day with designers Charmaine Love and Mena. Accompanied by Polynesian singers standing on the runway, models paraded a variety of mini and maxi print dresses, flowing tops and skinny satin pants.
Goodie bag dissection: A TVNZ T-shirt(!?), Schwarzkopf hair products, Mac lipglass, M&Ms in a paint test pot, and a Marquis condom (and lube!).
Rating: 5/10 (but bonus points for sheer weirdness)
10.05am Well we survived day one and it was, by all accounts, rather lacking in drama until the evening shows kicked off. (See yesterday's Insider's Diary).
Shows were running somewhat late all day, but Yvonne Bennetti fans had to wait over an hour before the lights finally dimmed, so we're hoping for slightly timelier starts today.
Aside from backstage dramas though, the punters' behaviour has been impeccable. The queues were orderly, the atmosphere pleasant and there was nary a hostile elbow in sight.
The only person spotted misbehaving outside yesterday's Nom*d show was a besuited man who was seen mincing along behind a front-of house official mimicking her request for those with seat numbers to follow her. But his display appeared to cause more bemusement than amusement amongst the queuing masses.
Higlights for today will be upcoming label Salasai, which, for a young label already gets much coverage in NZ's fashion press. Streetwear label Federation, who take a less serious approach to their shows, are also on the bill, and of course big wigs Zambesi, who have an off-site show at the Powerstation tonight.
Our fashion schedule for today:
Westfield Style Pasifika / Charmaine Love / Mena
Chelsea Thorpe / Salasai / Jaeha
Serdoun
Annah Stretton
Petrena Miller and @emgirl
Deadly Ponies
Trelise Cooper
Federation and For Good
Zambesi
