KEY POINTS:
The shows at New Zealand Fashion Week unveiled a schizophrenic winter season of fashion ahead. The runways were full of models echoing "smart ladies about town" or conversely, hip young grunge girls. Designers such as Chelsea Thorpe, Hailwood, Juliette Hogan, Sera Lilly, Trelise Cooper, World and Yvonne Bennetti clearly supported the "lady" look - and a very glamorous one at that - while Jaeha, Lonely Hearts, twentysevennames, Nom*D, Nyne and Stolen Girlfriends Club all showed new takes on grunge, complete with punk, gothic or 80s-style references.
So a parallel universe of winter fashion was created, designed to bring out the chameleon in us. Of the designers who subscribed to the "lady" look, Trelise Cooper's show was the most beautiful.
It revealed the clout and resources she now has, with a huge show featuring one exquisite outfit after another. Her fabrics were softer, sheerer and more flowing than in previous winter collections; the print colours more subtle and the embellishments prettier. This new sophistication was appealing as the garments looked a lot easier to wear than some of the voluminous numbers that her label was renowned for.
Three young designers who have improved markedly since last year are Chelsea Thorpe, Juliette Hogan and Sera Lilly. Thorpe's show revealed her technical advances with a well-thought-out collection featuring a beautifully cut, full-length black jersey gown with a cutaway back, a pretty dove-grey tiered silk dress and a strapless velvet cocktail dress with draping that looked like petals cascading down its skirt.
Juliette Hogan lifted her game by focusing on more depth of colour and including a ravishing showpiece - a full-length printed chiffon tea gown which captivated the audience. Sera Lilly's collection established her as the one-stop party frock girl. There were great dresses for everyone, from a neat chestnut satin strapless minidress to a lace cocktail dress with a puffed-up tiered skirt, and sophisticated long dresses.
The most striking of these was a printed wrap dress and an elegant one-shouldered black gown. World, as you would expect, created showstopper garments - a crystal-trimmed sleeveless jacket worn over a lame shirt, a crystal-trimmed tuxedo suit and a full-length riding coat.
The grunge camp had the young things cheering and the old guard groaning that they had seen it all before, especially when the same red tartan appeared time and time again.
Jaeha's show was the exception. Alex Kim's experimental cutting, shaggy knitwear, exclusive prints and slick styling gave his collection a modern edge.
Twentysevennames was also a crowd-pleaser, with its women's range including some very wearable, cute, frill-trimmed minidresses which gave a shot of sex appeal, as well as great oversized white shirts, boyfriend jackets and gothic-looking coats and jackets. Between these two dominant styles, there were a few designers who stalked the middle ground successfully. Cybele and Zambesi managed to combine the feminine with the tough.
Cybele stuck to her signature style by introducing her new prints for the season, including a very pretty kingfisher print. She also extended her love of panelling by creating multicoloured, feather-shaped inserts which trailed down from the shoulders of her T-shirts and created an overall pattern on her jersey tube dresses. Another successful design detail was the formation of feathery peaks on the front of her strapless cocktail dresses.
Similar detailing was also used to great effect by Hailwood, who showed a black, strapless cocktail dress with large "bat ears" poking up from the bodice.
Zambesi put on a great show. When garments are put under the spotlight, the quality of the fabrics and the cut shines through, and Zambesi delivered. Highlight pieces from the collection include a khaki and gold brocade coat with a architectural pod-shaped back, a powder blue dress with intricate panelling cut through the torso, a black cocktail dress with jagged neckline and cropped "saggy crotch" wool pants which are just the right cut.
The big themes
Pants
Skinny pants continue to be the hot favourite, especially in wet-look fabric. Cropped saggy-crotch styles were also shown in many collections.
Full-length dresses
Cut long and lean in slinky jersey, or full and floaty, the long dress is no longer just for balls and black tie dressing.
Tartans
All the streetwear designers had either tartan or bold checked fabrics in their collections. The smart girls had tartan too, on organza prom skirts and capes.
Frills and ruffles
Seen everywhere, inserted into sleeve heads, down bodice fronts, around necks, hems and sleeves.
Tailoring
Cropped military jackets showed strongly, as did tuxedos, blazers and oversized boyfriend jackets.
Sheer fabrics
Breasts are on display again - at least on the catwalks.
Cocktail dresses
These often had sculptured details on the neckline or along the top of strapless styles. Lace shifts and draped dresses were also popular, along with wafty chiffon confections - complete with waterfall ruffles and tiered skirts.
Floaty fabrics
Romantic chiffon or silk satin dresses and tunics left billowing ripples in their wake.
Surface decoration
Sequins, beads and crystals continue to shine for evening wear.
Tiered skirts and dresses
These were adopted by all, whether in grungy, ripped fabrics and tartan, or pretty chiffon layers.
Denim
Ice washes and bleached-out patterns and blobs gave jeans a soft, lived-in look.
Dye effects
A continuation of this summer's trend. Garments were covered in blotchy dye effects or dip-dyed to give darker hemlines.
Volume
Full skirts were puffed up with net petticoats, and coats were cut in futuristic pods or geometric architectural shapes.
Lace
Guipure lace was cut into shift-shape dresses. Lighter-weight lace found its way into blouses as well as tiered skirts and dresses.
Panelling, patchwork and scalloping
Contrasting coloured panels were cut into garments to create interesting patterns. Mermaid scallops trimmed hems and fabric was patchworked to create an original effect.
Colour
Black was favoured as a base colour, as were midnight blue and shades of grey. Highlight colours included scarlet, apricot, bronze, marigold and mustard.
Show men
Although the number of menswear designers showing this season was down from last year, there were plenty of covetable ensembles. These ranged from punky ripped offerings (at Stolen Girlfriends Club) through to tailored jackets (at World, Michael Pattison and Zambesi).
The World team kickstarted Fashion Week with a characteristic explosion of showmanship and technicolour glamour - and that was just for the boys. Tailoring was the key focus, but not the classic dark suit of course - navy and olive jackets and pants had bold highlight panels or piping in scarlet and shocking pink running through them. Zips, accessories (tiny handbags, gloves and Thunderbirds hats) and prints were also bright.
So, as you would expect, World Man is perfect for the man who likes to stand out in a crowd. Hailwood's concise menswear section also featured brightly coloured highlight trims in the form of electric blue zips set into a black bomber jacket. But these glamorous offerings were the exception - the majority of the menswear shown at Fashion Week this year had darker, grungier themes with gothic, punk or 80s-style references.
Twentysevennames favoured the gothic approach with a braid-trimmed frock-coat layered over a white shirt. Nyne's collection leaned more towards grunge, with splotchy dyed T-shirts and denim, plus wet-look highlights in the form of a black sleeveless jacket. Nom*D featured the usual no-holds-barred, multi-layered grunge-fest, brought up to date with brightly coloured high-top sneakers.
Stolen Girlfriends Club managed to roll glamour, grunge, punk and goth all into one well-staged show. Highlight pieces in the collection included a spectacular faux fur coat, oversized sleeveless waistcoats and baggy tartan shorts worn over skinny pants, plus sexy sheer tops and shredded jeans.
Zambesi's menswear was a bit less rock 'n' roll, but featured the most sophisticated and covetable pieces shown at Fashion Week. Highlights included a black wet-look quilted bomber jacket teamed with a loose knit mustard mohair cardigan, a zip-front cardigan with quilted wet-look side panels, and a beautiful cashmere coat trimmed with chunky nylon zips.
Huffer ended the week by leaving grunge and glitz behind and focusing on wearable casual separates. These ranged from tartan pea coats to anoraks, comfortable cardies with contrasting buttons and patterned knits - all topped off with jolly cable knit tam-o'-shanters and matching chunky knitted scarves.
