Anna Fitzpatrick, presenter of ALT TV's weekly fashion bulletin 'The Seen' blogs from the front lines covering Rosemount Australian Fashion Week.
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KEY POINTS:
WEDNESDAY: Today I afforded myself the luxury of a late start to my day, rising at 9.00am and meeting downstairs at Bills underneath the Medina on Crown; the hot spot for breakfast for NZ designers and visiting media alike.
Across the room from Wayne Conway, we were soon alerted to the Sydney Morning Herald's huge front-page coverage of Kate Sylvester's show from the previous day, which was being called an 'insult' to the ANZACs due to Kate's use of mock war medals on the jackets of some of her models.
This was an interesting take on what was one of the best shows of fashion week so far, but the Australian media just had to pick one hole in it.
Personally, I loved the show and the clothes were totally wearable, but the Australian RSL thought otherwise.
I can see their point, but from Kate's point of view there was no malice intended and she was mortified to think she'd upset anyone.
The post-Anzac Day timing probably didn't work in her favour either...
The first show we attended, Bettina Liano, was at 1:30pm.
Our interview with her was a breeze and she was absolutely lovely. We discussed how she is just about to start selling into NZ to capitalise on the cult following she has in Australia and further abroad.
After meeting with Bettina we came back to the Medina in Surrey Hills to interview NZ designers Sera Lilly, TwentySeven Names, Laurie Foon and Juliette Hogan, who have all been here selling and meeting with media since Monday.
Sales have been good so far and the media have shown a lot of interest in the designer's new collections, too.
They'd made appointments with Vogue, Harpers, Russh, Marie Claire and In Style, as well as with ex-Yen and Dazed & Confused fashion stylist, David Bonney. It's true our Kiwi talent is in hot demand.
The last show for the night was Melanie Cutfield, a Kiwi who started her label in Oz before tackling the NZ market.
As I arrived I spotted Rachel Hulicjh (Miss New Zealand a few years ago, and someone I went to school with) speaking with Melanie.
It turned out she is Melanie's muse! What a small world! The show went off with no hiccups - better than last year where a model had a huge fall!
I enjoyed my second front-row seat of the week, as Melanie's PR reps were very keen for me to interview her for The Seen so her brand awareness would grow in the NZ market.
That was my last show for the week; I am leaving tomorrow morning and am rather glad to be returning to normality.
I hope you have enjoyed my updates throughout the week. Stay tuned to Amber's blog for more fashion week insider knowledge.
Tune in to 'The Seen' on ALT TV, Tuesdays at 8pm on Sky 65. We will be airing our coverage of RAFW in a 3-week special, starting on May 13, 2008.
