Dash of southern ingenuity

By FIONA HAWTIN

You can take the boy out of Dunedin but you can't take the dark gothic inclinations out of Nicholas Blanchet.

For his Shelter show on day two of Fashion Week at the Auckland Town Hall yesterday the ex-Dunedinite, now living in Auckland, used his old stand-by colour palette - black, white, charcoal and a splash of red.

In a well-planned homage to architecture, the intellectualism of his concept was overdone. The monotonous drone of the William S. Burroughs-sounding voice and the discordant music grated after a while.

The long satin dress with the Empire State Building screenprint soared high. Also ingenious were the pinstripe cigarette pants with ribbed cuff doubling as leggings, the men's grey suit jackets with bright-coloured detachable hoods and the urban landscape skirt.

Special mention should be made of the stunning red satin halter dress that used wire as the halter. Like any good kiwi, Blanchet used number eight fencing wire in a variety of ingenious ways.

The constructions were clever but the presentation verged on the affected.

On a lighter note, his diffusion range, Nicked, was a very wearable le sportif offering of basketball singlets with vibrant orange lettering and great orange minis and pants.

Design duo Kylee Davis and Jason Crawford of Insidious Fix did unspeakably sexy things with knitwear earlier in the day at the L'Oreal-sponsored event.

After a spectacular rainstorm was staged on the runway, models strutted on to wet turf that featured strategically placed giant icicles.

These knits are nothing like the heavy, ugly things mother used to produce. In fact, mother would worry about staying warm in the light- to mid-weight lace knits and barely there knit shorts and minis. Oh la la.

Luckily, the chunky Starsky and Hutch belted cardigan with key-hole pattern looked as though it would keep you as warm as toast.

The out-of-towners group show that incorporated Whangarei's Holic, Nelson's Madcat and Morrinsville's Annah Stretton had some appeal among buyers, although the trio tried to be all things to all people, which never works in fashion.

Annah Stretton's Time Pirates range tried to toughen up with the odd safety pin and excessive use of jewellery circa Madonna 1980. Maybe next time ... but it's bound to be a hit in the malls.

Like Zambesi, RJC's Off the Rails collection did a nice job pairing fluid satin tops, dainty sequined camisoles and georgette and narrow leg pants and mannish tweed pants and hooded jackets. Also noted: box-pleated minis, floral prints and knickerbockers. Think war bride all dolled up and waiting wistfully at the train station for her man to return.

Saga/Soulo's commercial range had loads of lovely eye-catching separates.

Style tip: the new way to wear your 40s tailored jacket is over a pencil skirt, leaving it undone, but draw attention to the waist by clinching it tightly with a thin, narrow belt. Likewise, the winter coat in a brave red and black plaid.

* Last night's Nom D show finished after the Herald deadlines and will be in tomorrow's report.

Herald Feature: New Zealand Fashion Week

L'Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week official site