Expert Eye: Sabatini and Augustine 2010

A model wears a creation by Sabatini on day two ofNew Zealand Fashion Week 2010. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand's answer to Missoni showed why the Sabatini label has been a stayer with a show displaying its mastery of knits.

By keeping weaves light the pieces have won an export market to warmer climates such as Australia, but it is the technical inventiveness that keeps the label fresh.

This year we saw crochet style knit used in 70s-style lean pants and coats, lurex threaded through muted stripes and fringing adding flare to body hugging dresses. Fur was also used to trim coats at the collar, cuffs and around hemlines.

Several knit pieces cleverly combined different fabric weights, with some woven as fine as net then banded more thickly for a dramatic see-through effect in a full-length black dress.

Cable knit sleeves were melded with a leather bomber jacket with a shearling collar. Chevron patterns were shown in black and white and dove grey.

One dress had a dip back hem and another full length one featured a thigh-high cutaway. Knit was also used in a military style zipped and cropped jacket.

In taking the comfort of knit into fashion territory, Sabatini has become one of New Zealand fashion's quiet success stories, whom it was good to see back in the spotlight.

Models for special event label Augustine which followed Sabatini in a joint show sprinkled gold dust on the runway to signify something special, but for the most part the designs were unremarkable, reworking familiar themes.

Kelly Coe was heavy on the shoulder action, showing them folded and decorated, including with beaded epaulettes.

Cocktail dresses in jewel tones and with beaded neckpieces were sometimes in fabrics a little on the lightweight side.

One long dress that stood out had a bandeau top and a single strap.