My love of Dunedin designers Nom*D (as referenced in
) had me practically squealing with glee when my ticket landed last week.
Returning to the official venue this year (they had a show and party at the St James Theatre last year) Nom*D nonetheless provided a vibrant show with the same dark and distressed style we've come to know and love from them.
Hundreds of people packed the tent (the biggest of the three show locations on site) to see the 'Stiff Upper Lip' collection. New Zealand's sheep farmers will be happy with the fact Nom*D is keeping them in business, with much of the range again made with wool.
Oversized black knits in jumpers and vests were layered with dresses, checked tights and yes - skinny jeans.
Nom*D's highlight colour for winter - pumpkin orange - appeared in hooded, belted maxi cardigans, vests, long johns and the tassels on their ear flap hats. Just what you need to keep out the cold on those icy Dunedin mornings (or just the mild, showery changeable Auckland winters).
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A yellowish colour - which I can only liken to a cross between mustard and moss - keeps popping up, and it's only the first day of Fashion Week. It was seen this afternoon in dresses, patent leather belts and shoes in the Kingan Jones show. I also noticed it at Cybele and a slightly more muted version at Hailwood. I'll keep my eyes peeled and let you know if I see it again as the week goes on.
And if last year Fashion Week was all about shorts, this year the dress reigns supreme. And even though they're winter ranges, that doesn’t stop hemlines creeping well above the knee. Brrrr. Well if we made shorts work for winter, I guess dresses can't be that hard right? Looks like we'll be hanging onto those tights and skinny jeans for a while.
The worst part of Fashion Week is definitely standing around waiting. Lucky I took my own advice and wore flat shoes today. While standing for 40 minutes waiting to get into the Liz Mitchell show I heard several women complaining about sore feet. To ease the boredom I played spot the designer handbags... Prada? Check. Gucci? Check. Balenciaga? Check. Marc Jacobs? Check. Louis Vuitton? Check, check, check. I got about that far and then gave up as my skin about turned green with envy.
I was calmed by finding my GA ticket (which generally means standing) was actually row B, behind the top overseas VIPs. From there I had a great vantage point to Liz Mitchell's show filled with her signature elegant evening wear, not to mention a goodie bag filled with L'Oreal products. Although the outfits were mainly quite dressy, those skinny pants turned up again, this time worn under short dresses with cool black ankle boots.
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I'm a big Hailwood fan, make no mistake. I loved his show last year and wanted everything in it (as I oh-so-repetitively
, whoops). I was all set to rave about it again this year, because I knew pretty much that I'd love it before I had even seen it. It's a shame then that I never really got to see it - the view was a bit distorted from where I ended up sitting...
After some ticket confusion (lost in the mail we presume?) and (still) no itinerary to double check where we were
supposed
to be sitting, I was issued with a replacement one at the door, hence... Row E.
On the plus side, from where I was perched, I got a great view of the big inflatable rabbits at the top of the runway.
Other things I spotted from my vantage point - bold blue lipstick and hair that was slightly tousled in a gorgeous, natural way that my hair can never seem to do.
A couple of the models lost the heels of their shoes on the runway (they literally snapped off), leaving them to limp their way back up it.
Another few things to add to my ever-growing shopping list are Hailwood's
skinny jeans with gold buttons
at the ankles (instead of a trusty old zip) and the super-short
.
I was seated next to a friend of one of the male models who was having a chuckle to himself about his mate's runway outfits. "It's funny because he's not really the 'male model' type," he told me, all the while capturing the moment for posterity on his camera phone. I asked him if his friend would ever wear those
in the street and this was met with a resounding "no" (although US stylist Brian Long - whose client list includes Nicky Hilton - was seen pointing excitedly at the same pair numerous times.)
Adrian received a standing ovation from Long as well as fellow designer Annah Stretton (who also happens to be Hailwood's business partner). She presented Adrian with a big bouquet of flowers as he took his bow.
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We cornered poor Megan Alatini as she was trying to enjoy a relaxing drink with friends in the haven that is the NZ Herald Inkroom. A good sport, she agreed to talk to us about her love for New Zealand fashion, how
NZ Idol
is keeping her very busy these days and what an avid fan of IPG she is.
(Interestingly, IPG's designer, Turet Knuefermann, is the wardrobe stylist on
NZ Idol
).
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If Cybele caters to the rebel side of us, then Juliette Hogan is for our more ladylike moments.
The young designer only completed her design degree in 2001 but has managed to pack in a lot between then and now. She went on to assist Chris and Helen Cherry in their design room, attend Parsons School of Design in New York and work as an intern at Rebecca Taylor.
It is only logical then, that Juliette moved on to the next challenge - designing her own label.
Her winter 2007 collection "Your catwalk or mine?" featured almost every style dress a girly-girl could hope for (empire-line/pinafore/halterneck/baby-doll), along with a
and pencil skirts in feminine greys, soft pinks and baby blues.
Something that struck us during the show is just how little credit we give the models sometimes. Sure, they make the clothes look beautiful and indeed they take lovely photos. But we were impressed simply with their ability to keep the d'orsay style heels on their feet whilst wearing shoes a size too big
and
slippery pantihose. Brilliant.
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One of the dilemmas facing designers working on a group show is how to pull each designer's 'look' into hair and makeup when they are all using the same batch of models. Well, designers Doris de Pont, Turet Knuefermann of IPG and Andrea Moore managed to sort out a reasonable compromise.
Doris de Pont, continuing with her trademark bold prints, had models in leopard and abstract-printed
headscarves worn under trilby hats
.
These were removed for IPG with the models revealing their hair in
curls that were knotted and pinned to the head
.
Andrea Moore's show invoked a sultry feel with gloves, neck scarves and berets and this was complemented by the hair being unpinned and
.
- - - posted at 5.17pm by Kelly |
Cybele has proven her It-girl status after last year's Fashion Week was no fluke. The show this year was again teeming with the must-have dresses of the season as well as the tops and skinny jeans that every fashionista worth her weight in gold will be dying to covet.
We imagine her
will be hugely in demand, as will the cropped leather jacket (I immediately added them both to my shopping list for next winter!)
With a bold, dark colour palette, chunky chain graphics and the killer leather ankle boots, Cybele's 'Blue Blood' collection is for girls with attitude.
Walking to Wolfmother's
Dimension
and the White Stripes' cover of Tegan and Sara's
Walking with a Ghost
, the models definitely had attitude in spades - one keeping the tough-cookie look firmly planted on her face as her strapless dress malfunctioned, causing the crowd to gasp.
Seeing the dress Cybele wore last night to the launch party
today had me falling in love with it all over again.
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Wow Cybele rocked! I could have bought everything designer Cybele Wiren sent out on the runway (and will probably try!). High waisted dresses featured, with practically everything
with belts. The collection was predominantly black offset with touches of red, periwinkle and yellow. A large
featured on many of the dresses.
The models strutted to a high-energy rock soundtrack including the White Stripes and Wolfmother. How the young baby in a carrier near me managed to sleep through it I have no idea.
Loved the update on Cybele's popular Dakota Jeans of skinny black jeans with red zips up the back of the legs. The mustard yellow satin dress was also a highlight.
The model's vivid red eyeshadow masks and coral-red nails finished the glam but tough style beautifully.
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The first show of the week always has a certain amount of pressure placed upon it to start proceedings off on a good note.
Judging by the reaction we heard from some show-goers on the way out of the shed ("Gorgeous," one buyer was heard to exclaim, "I'll definitely be stocking that") Obi's "A Land Apart" collection certainly lived up to the expectations of the label's loyal followers.
As soon as we entered the shed, we got an overwhelming sense of kiwiana – a runway lined with ferns, scattered with leaves and a noises-of-the-forest soundtrack. After stumbling past the ferns to get to our seats, the show began, and we were shown a selection of garments in neutral, earthy tones (beige, chocolate, black and ivory) and textured fabrics such as velvet brocade and crushed silk.
The kiwiana theme flowed through the rest of the show into the music choice (a bit of dub/roots and we swear we heard Sola Rosa in there somewhere) and makeup (models had ferns painted on the sides of their faces which snaked down their necks and onto their collarbones like vines). The model everyone's been talking about, Australian
, wore several different outfits in the show. And yes, she's absolutely stunning.
We spotted
NZ Idol
host Dominic Bowden in the front row – perhaps getting some gift ideas for his fiancé or mother? We can't think why otherwise!
A nice touch this year is the ushers wearing the Zambesi-designed Air New Zealand crew uniform. We even thanked them as we were leaving, in true airline travel manner... must be subconsciously thinking we were exiting the aircraft!
We're now heading off for the highly-anticipated Cybele show. We didn't make it last year and after all the rave reviews she received, and all her successes since then, we're looking forward to seeing what she will pull out of the bag this time round.
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Megan was right - there certainly are a few bleary eyes amongst the fashion fraternity here this morning, which could be put down to too many Wonderland cocktails... or perhaps just the early start (11am is early for the fashion pack!)
Not helping to ease the process in any way was still not having our itineraries (printer problems, we are told). Cue a bit of impatient toe-tapping from those standing around the registration desk as we don’t have our seat numbers for these early shows.
Not to worry, we're sure we'll get them soon and our names will be on the door anyway. Well, that’s what we're hoping as we dash off to Obi!
- - - posted at 11.54pm by Kelly
Today's line up:
Obi, Cybele, Doris De Pont, Andrea Moore, IPG, Juliette Hogan, Hailwood, Caroline Church, Kingan Jones, Liz Mitchell and NOM*D.
After such a great night at the opening parties last night it's dark sunglasses for a few of us today! After some coffee we'll be well ready for our packed day checking out what stylish New Zealanders will be wearing come next winter. Check back for updates throughout the day.
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She never told them the five-course meal was vegan. So a cousin decided to act.