Male designers bring confident swagger to fashion week

James Dobson is flying solo. Picture / Carolyn Robertson

The line-up of male designers at New Zealand Fashion Week is looking worthy of a drum roll. The old guard has returned with a confident swagger and the new talent is looking fresh.

If you thought Lorraine Downes tango-ing along the runway last year was racy, the Huffer guys are promising a "total mind-bender" of a show. Jimmy D hails teen rebellion, and Little Brother is knocking off the dandies. Even Adrian Hailwood is distorting reality, with flashbacks to the 70s and a collection labelled "I Was Here, There and Everywhere". Just when Fashion Week looked liked it was losing its edge, the guys are livening up the party.

Fashion Week's head Pieter Stewart says a strong gathering of male designers and menswear labels has been a drawcard for international media and buyers.

Delegates from Collezione Uomo, Sportswear International, JC Report, Vogue Japan and GQ Australia will be attending the show. "It's a sign that New Zealand menswear has a strong profile in the international arena."

Murray Crane from Little Brother says that menswear "seems to be pretty hot internationally". Little Brother made its debut at last year's Fashion Week, with Crane scooping up a $16,000 export award. He has just returned from London, after signing up an agent and talking to high-profile buyers. For his second outing on the runway, Crane has left nothing to chance.

"We've put an enormous effort into this year's show. We started planning the day after last year's show and we've worked on things that were not happening last year - like the seating, music and lighting. Hopefully it will look effortless on the day."

Hailwood is also returning for his second year. Since bringing designer Annah Stretton on board as business partner, he's bursting with confidence and promising a big change on the runway. The unlikely pairing works professionally. "She has the business savvy, which has left me free to concentrate on my designs."

James Dobson, who heads the label Jimmy D, is going solo down the runway. Last year he showed at Australia's Fashion Week as part of a group show - his label's first public outing. Staging his own show is a buzz for the 25-year-old. "This is the first time I get to completely realise a concept from start to finish. It's very exciting."

If Dobson sounds upbeat, the theme for his winter collection sounds decidedly weepy. "Everybody Loves Nobody Sometimes" is inspired by director Gregg Araki's self-described string of "teen apocalypse" movies. But a trip to the dark side is always gleefully anticipated by the media.

Another label familiar with the dark side is Zambesi. The label's menswear designer, Dayne Johnson, remains tight-lipped about the new collection, except to say it's very black. Nom*D is just as coy about its latest menswear collection - but expect big things.

A "banger of a night" is planned by the Huffer crew but their minds are focused on business opportunities. "We think of Fashion Week as an amazing opportunity to educate people as to the depth of our product mix," say label heads Dan Buckley and Steve Dunstan, "and the perfect opportunity to drench our audience in this thing that is Huffer."

The label may be on familiar ground with snow'n'surf, but the runway is something else again. "Hopefully within our naivety we can negotiate an original path and create something really good".

It will be designer Jae Mills' last outing with Huffer - he's been poached by Workshop Denim.

Fashion PR agency Showroom 22 emerges from backstage to showcase some promising young designers. The one to watch is designer Des Rusk.

"He's at an interesting stage in his career," says Murray Bevan from Showroom 22. "He is balancing commercial viability with experimental design. His designs are new, fresh and aimed for the younger market."

Other names to look out for are Firefly and Charmaine Love from the Verge Breakthrough group - and AUT's Rookie newcomer Danielle Bunkall who is doing a menswear collection. And let's not forget Federation.

A greater male presence has to be a good thing, but as James Dobson says: "At the end of the day it's about the clothes you make and no one will give much thought to the gender of the designer that created them ... "

What they're saying about their winter collections

Hailwood: Adrian Hailwood says of his menswear collection: "It's based on a juxtaposition of America in the late 60s-early 70s - Disney, Beach Boys, golden light, LA West - fused with work inspired by graphic artist Patrick Nagel (think Duran Duran album covers) and French photographer Guy Bourdin. Naturally the collection is called 'I Was Here, There and Everywhere' ."

Little Brother: If last year's show celebrated unhinged English toffs roaming the countryside, Little Brother is extinguishing these poor sods this year.

"It's the death of the dandy," says Murray Crane.

Huffer: The Huffer crew is taking its show off-site - and possibly beyond the radar.

"We're ready to step up to the mark - and have a banger of a night in the process," say label heads Dan Buckley and Steve Dunstan.

Jimmy D: It's deep and dark. The collection, "Everybody Loves Nobody Sometimes" is inspired by film director Gregg Araki's self-described "teen apocalypse" movies. The first, Doom Generation, had the snappy tagline: "sex, violence, whatever". Says designer James Dobson: "They are quite bleak, surreal stories of teenagers in LA - tragic stories of love gone wrong. The collection brings together these elements of grunge and rave, all with a sense of humour."