Opposites attract

Dan Buckley and Steve Dunstan from Huffer pair up with Kristine Crabb from Miss Crabb. Photo / Babiche Martens

Huffer and Miss Crabb. Huffer and Miss Crabb? What? They may not necessarily be two brands that one would immediately put together in the same sentence, but the two Auckland-based labels are joining creative forces to produce a womenswear collection that will be unveiled at Air New Zealand Fashion Week in September.

The winter 2010 range will combine aspects from each of the brands, as well as providing the opportunity of growth for both.

"We agreed the important thing was to capture the spirit of both brands in the clothes while taking it to a new level," says Miss Crabb designer Kristine Crabb, "I wanted to use our ideas and turn them into clothes with a more casual direction which would suit the Huffer brand, and of course bringing the decadence and glamour of my work."

For Huffer co-founder Steve Dunstan, the collaboration is about growth, and is the first step towards a more collaborative culture within the Huffer brand. "Kristine has a great understanding and respect for our brand, which will ensure that we bring an aesthetic that is relevant for our market and distribution, but also open the door on some new opportunities... We have an established female customer but we are looking at growing this by developing some of these aesthetics to bring a level of sophistication and hot-ness".

And as strange as a collaboration it may seem at first, it actually isn't that difficult to see how these two labels will work together.

"It's been amazing for my creativity as I've been able to get a lot of ideas out of my system," says Crabb. "While letting Huffer take care of sample production and the production management - as we do everything inhouse at Miss Crabb - it has brought a spontaneous dimension to the clothes. It has enabled us to do things we just can't with Miss Crabb through the contacts and volumes of Huffer." Plus there's the similarity that both brands have earned themselves an almost cult-like following, from Huffer's world domination to Miss Crabb's following among Auckland's inner-city creative crowd. "Having a cult following always inspires me, I don't fully understand it but it definitely helps me to develop our style more each season," says Crabb. "I'm looking forward to bringing these things to a wider audience both with Miss Crabb and through 'Miss Crabb for Huffer'."

Crabb's own label, which incidentally also celebrates its five-year anniversary this month, was a progression from her time at Rip Shit & Bust, the K. Rd store that sold one-off pieces by Crabb and friends. She is now based in Ponsonby Rd, with a boutique that sells her distinctive limited run pieces that are made to be shown off, worn out and partied in.

"I wanted the Miss Crabb brand to be highly creative and fun for everyone working on it." It's this same sense of creativity and fun that will inform the Miss Crabb for Huffer collection.

"Essentially it's not that different as Steve and Dan have let us have all the creativity - the clothes embody a strong Miss Crabb aesthetic while being casual and easy, and I guess the fabrics and construction are more suited to the Huffer fan."

Collaborations are nothing new in the fashion industry of course - Stella McCartney works with Bendon, Comme des Garcons has designed a collection for H&M and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci recently created a piece for Antony & the Johnson's frontman Antony Hegarty - but locally most labels tend to focus on developing their own brands and collections. But creative collaboration is clearly important to Crabb, who has also worked in the past with other artists like Maiangi Waitai of Who is Dead Martin? She says this new collaboration with the mega brand that is Huffer has "strengthened my work ethic, style... everything".

So what can we expect to see on the runway come September? Neither sides will give too much away, but "what we have seen is hot," according to Dunstan. Crabb says she's excited about some "cool fully fashioned knit pieces" and some "razzle dazzle printing... I think it just needed sexing up a bit!"

- The Air New Zealand Fashion Week designer line-up will be announced on July 29.