Retail Therapy: Focus on fashion

Elizabeth Wilson at the first annual Peroni Lighter Side of Italian Style Fashion Awards. Photo / Richard Edghill

Young designers need all the support they can get at the moment, so winning $10,000 would surely be cause for some intense celebration.

Auckland designer Elizabeth Wilson was announced as the first annual winner of the Peroni Lighter Side of Italian Style Fashion Award last week, with a printed silk dress that incorporated a scalloped underskirt made of Peroni billboard skin.

Entrants were required to incorporate the canvas skin into their designs. Wilson was chosen from five finalists by a judging panel that included Nom.d's Margi Robertson, Andy Pickering of Pilot magazine, and stylist Chris Lorimer.

For more information on the awards, visit peronifashion.co.nz.

Number 1 idea

If you want to get your foot through the door at Air New Zealand Fashion Week get along to the Number 1 Shoe Warehouse. They're sponsoring top designer Sera Lilly's show and are giving shoppers at their Auckland stores the chance to win tickets to the show. All you need to do is buy a pair of shoes and you'll go in the draw. Winners will get to glam it up at Fashion Week with pre-show drinks, great seats at the show and the chance to be photographed with Sera Lilly herself.

Shop girl

Beautiful new pieces from Life with Bird, Cohen et Sabine and Zabana bags have just arrived in at Auckland boutique Verranda Young. Signature print dresses and tops from Australian label Life with Bird and casual Cohen et Sabine T-shirts and dresses sit alongside the new collection of soft leather Zabana handbags and jewellery. Perfect to add to your summer wardrobe. From Verranda Young: (09) 418 0052.

Wear your art

Kirsten Pleitner's jewellery and textiles are like little pieces of wearable art, and her work is currently on show at Ponsonby's Masterworks Gallery. Her pieces, which show a unique approach to jewellery and textile design, are available to buy and on display at the Ponsonby Rd gallery until September 9. This is the first solo exhibition for the artist, originally from Germany. Scales Necklace, $265, from Masterworks Gallery.

Cybele's film project

Designer Cybele Wiren has teamed up with the guys from Special Problems to create a beautiful film. The short showcases the new Cybele "Serpentine" collection and features a haunting track, Cossacks Are by Scott Walker.

"One of the key points of inspiration for the collection was a film clip of Loie Fuller's Danse Serpentine, found on YouTube, so it seemed appropriate to re-interpret the collection in moving image," says Wiren.

"It is also a great way to present a collection internationally as the format is so accessible and, as we are screening it in Tokyo, we are launching the film online." You can watch the film on the Cybele website.

Good for Dad

Stuck for Father's Day gift ideas, or just too lazy to hit the shops to find something? Lucky for you we have a pair of these A*D cufflinks from Carson Fairall to give away, perfect for stylish but classic dads. The stainless steel diamond-set cufflinks, worth $169, are designed in Germany and feature quirky spiderweb detail. To shop for more gift ideas from Carson Fairall, check out their website.

And to enter the draw to win this pair of cufflinks, write your name, address and phone number on the back of an envelope and send it to: Carson Fairall competition, Viva, NZ Herald, PO Box 3290, Auckland. Entries close September 9, winner announced September 16.