We take you behind the scenes with this season's leading stars.
DAN AHWA For busy stylist Dan Ahwa, NZFW represents over six months' worth of work
For Dan Ahwa, NZFW starts back in April, when he meets with designers with a swathe of sketches and cuttings and the decisions on how the models should look take shape. Hair, makeup, how the outfits are put together - this is all the result of months of Skype, email exchanges and sessions in the studio.
Ahwa says, "During the week itself, I'll be making sure models are all present and getting their hair and makeup done, signing their looks off, liaising with the production manager, supervising dressers, doing run throughs, last-minute rehearsals and generally making sure everything is running to schedule."
How did Ahwa get where he is today - editor of Apparel magazine and stylist for Salasai, Sera Lilly, and Twenty-seven Names?
"I worked in fashion PR for a couple of years, then went to Pulp magazine as fashion editor for three years, and then on to Apparel - so by now I've built really strong working relationships and friendships with particular designers." What's the biggest thing people get wrong about his job? "People think I care about what they're wearing. I don't - I only care what the models I'm styling are wearing."
AIMEE MCFARLANE
After leaving Lonely Hearts earlier this year, Aimee McFarlane joined the team at Huffer as its new womenswear designer. Her first eagerly anticipated collection with the brand - called Into The Unknown - will be shown on Friday night. Zoe Walker chats to this designer to watch about her new role and what to expect from the collection.
How is the NZFW prep going?
Prep has been going well. We have a great space locked in for the show, the garments are all hanging and ready to go and Rachael Churchwood, our Huffer stylist, is busy working her magic to make the garments come alive for the catwalk.
This is your first season designing for Huffer, but before this you were at Lonely Hearts. How has the transition between the two labels been?
After parting ways with Lonely Hearts, Huffer scooped me up pretty quickly. The transition happened at quite a fast pace so I didn't have too much time to stop and think about it. There have been a few adjustments and new processes to learn, but for the most part I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to continue doing what I love. In terms of aesthetics, I still have a lot of "me" in the range - I've injected some beautiful feminine pieces into the collection while still keeping in mind the cross section of stores Huffer covers. I think that there is something for everyone.
There's actually more of a connection between the two brands than people might think, both having been born from snowboarding backgrounds, right?
Yeah I guess - when we started Lonely Hearts it was off the back of a lot of travel and fair few seasons snowboarding and working over in the States. Huffer of course has roots deep in the snow, skate and surf scenes, so there is a similarity there - which is maybe why I seem to fit in so well here.
I'm really excited to see what you do with the womenswear at Huffer, having been a fan of your work at Lonely Hearts - and I know lots of others are excited too. Are you feeling any pressure, or do you just want to get your designs out there?
I am feeling the pressure for sure! I realise there is a certain amount of expectation on me, and on the designs I've produced for Huffer. At the same time it has been such a great experience working with the Huffer crew and I've had amazing support from the rest of the design team, so I'm looking forward to it also. A Huffer show is always a good time, it's a smile on the dial and a fun way to end what is always a busy and hectic Fashion Week.
What should we expect - what were your ideas and inspirations behind the collection? I've had a sneak peek at some of the lookbook photos and it looks pretty.
Thanks. I can be a little bit of a girly girl and my favourite thing to design hands down has always been dresses, so needless to say you'll be seeing a few of those on Friday. We've drawn inspiration from unknown adventures, deserts, jungles and and one-eyed pirate babies. Our graphic designer and I worked on an all-over fabric print together called the "Wilderness" print which you will see splashed over several dresses, plus some great knits and leather pieces for both men and women. Lots of washed-out fabrics, prints, trim detailing, layers and a little bit of volume.
Huffer is known for its great NZFW shows - the one on Princes Wharf a couple of years ago has to be one of my favourites. Can you tell me any secrets about the show on Friday?
I can tell you that Huffer will most definitely live up to its reputation - the show is going to be BIG FUN.
YASMIN FARRY
Farry will produce 14 shows this week: we find out what keeps her going
Yasmin Farry's NZFW essential? About as far from snakeskin Louboutins or a signature red lipstick as you can get: "My pink stopwatch. I couldn't live without it."
Since the first NZFW in 2000, Farry has been in demand as a show producer, running an average of 12 shows every year (2010 is a new record, 14).
With a background in performance, dance and music - she worked as a professional dancer and used to own Khuja Lounge - she now spends the rest of her year producing performance arts festivals, British Council events and charity fashion shows. But come the start of August, her life is taken over by NZFW.
"I'd never get bored of it. Each year the shows get bigger and more imaginative, so my job is [always] very different," says Farry. With the alarm sounding at 6am, a toddler to care for and prep to do every evening, what's her secret to staying stress-free for the big week?
"I try to meditate every morning, and I bring my homemade tuna pasta to the venue, because I don't have time to get lunch," says Farry.
"Plus I dress for comfort: my Sass & Bide jeans, a TK tee, a Nom*D knit vest, and flats. With so much else to look at, nobody cares what I look like."
NOM*D
They have shown at NZFW every year since it began. Anna Hart talks to designer Margarita Robertson about what the week involves
With 10 years' experience showing at NZFW, you'd expect Margarita Robertson to be immune to the jitters by now. But no.
"I'm still terrified," she admits. "Because we're always pushing boundaries with the show and the collection itself. Fashion Week never stops being a scary challenge."
Another misconception is that the designer's work is done by now, so they can relax with a glass of Moet and hobnob at parties.
"Nope," Robertson laughs. "My alarm goes off at daybreak, which comes as a relief because I won't have been able to sleep anyway.
"I'll make sure I'm fed and coffee-ed, and then we have appointments with buyers from 9am. We'll try to catch a few shows, because we stock other labels, but we're lucky if we squeeze in one or two a day."
And what does a designer wear to Fashion Week?
"I'm a bit of a uniform person - I like knowing what I'll be wearing when I wake up. Typically a Nom*D Mercury vest, skinny jeans and trainers or biker boots because I'm a flats girl."
Her highlight of the week?
"Reading about our show in the Herald the following morning. And flying straight from Auckland to Paris Fashion Week - a week of catching up with old friends, amazing shopping and the odd party. I love it."
Nom*D will present their latest collection tonight - expect a twist on the usual runway show format, with an installation that has three acts.
ELLA VERBERNE
This model is set to be the face of New Zealand Fashion Week
She only began modelling in March but Ella Verberne has quickly become the face of New Zealand fashion, having appeared in campaigns for Kate Sylvester, Karen Walker, Twenty-seven Names, Stephen Marr and Stolen Girlfriends Club, and in magazines including NO, Pilot, Remix, the Weekend Herald's Canvas and NZFW's official magazine The Guide.
The 15-year-old has a stunning mix of European and Chinese genes, and was first photographed for NO by Karen Inderbitzen-Waller - who describes her as a natural, hardworking and professional. She has continued to work with Verberne on various shoots since.
"I love to take a gamble on a new face and booked her from pictures her sister had taken of her, without even meeting her first. It's been exciting to work more with Ella and see her get more confident and also to see that she is really enjoying it, which I think is super-important."
Verberne, who is signed to the agency Clyne, was also the star of Twenty-seven Names' spring/summer Twelve campaign, which the designers were looking for a new face to headline.
"As soon as we saw Ella, we knew she would be perfect," explains Twenty-seven Names' co-designer Anjali Stewart. "She has a really unique look and is so natural."
Clyne model booker Ursula Dixon, who originally signed Verberne around nine months ago, says the team fell instantly in love when she walked in the door - "She became known in the agency as 'special Ella'."
Dixon attributes Verberne's success to her attitude and intelligence as much as to her physical beauty.
"As corny as this sounds, I truly believe modelling is just as much about beauty on the inside as it is out. Ella is really smart and has a lovely gentle spirit, as well as having an ethereal, delicate and less obvious beauty. Modelling is about timing and her 'look' reflects the feeling in fashion that people are looking for: less generic obvious beauty, something less in your face. She has a very subtle, classy beauty."
Expect this "classy beauty" to be the face of NZFW: a week out from the event, Verberne was on hold for 23 shows, "but of course it won't be physically possible for her to walk them all".
- Zoe Walker
JAMES DOBSON
Jimmy D designer James Dobson returns to the NZFW runway this afternoon, with a little help from some friends
A shared fascination with Norwegian black metal formed the basis behind what is set to be one of NZFW's most exciting collaborations, between Jimmy D's James Dobson and artist Andrew McLeod. McLeod has created beautifully dark prints for Dobson's collection, called Until the Light Takes Us, which will be presented on the runway this afternoon.
Dobson initially came across McLeod's work almost two years ago, on a Prince Diana band T-shirt; work that he describes as "really beautiful; classical ornate references with a black metal aesthetic".
"I had wanted to work with Andrew for ages, but was too shy to actually ask him," explains Dobson. But a few months ago the pair were introduced, and a creative relationship was born.
The collaborative process was a relatively easy one with Dobson sharing his loose references for the collection ("my inspirations are becoming less easy to pinpoint every season ... it's a few ideas that bounce around in my head and I'm not as hung up on neatly tying it up in a bow now"), like a 1981 movie called Ms. 45 and a very subtle 90s vibe.
"And then there was this Norwegian black metal obsession that I'd had recently. It was really fortuitous, as he is completely obsessed with Norwegian black metal as well." A meeting of minds who both had folders on their computers filled with images of black metal album covers.
"Andrew totally got where I was coming from, but took that idea of a faux album cover and ran with it like a million miles."
The results are black and white abstract prints with intricate detail and scratchy mirrored indecipherable type. Every time you look you seem to spot something else: a woman weaving, a sword, a steaming pot and more. Dobson originally imagined placing them on T-shirts, almost like album covers, "but when I saw the work that he had created, it was so amazing that I wanted to make a little more of it - so we have made some really huge digital-printed silk pieces with it".
Dobson has also collaborated with Claire Hammon and Greg Fromont of Meadowlark to create bold jewellery for the show that adds a certain kind of 1990s Placebo-inspired angst.
"I just couldn't imagine the clothes with really delicate pendants or anything; it needed to be a bit more industrial, a bit darker. So I talked to them about this idea of rubber jewellery, but making it precious with silver elements."
The results include silver thorns that slide on to rubber necklaces and rings, a few show pieces made of chains and, to further that 90s vibe, a rubber choker. The designers are finding the challenge of working with new materials exciting.
"The collection has this element of chaos to it; so as the show goes on things will become more chaotic - slits start to emerge until the garments are almost dissolved," says Dobson. Black metal, 90s, chaos: we can't wait.
- Zoe Walker
LAUREN GUNN
Hair stylist Lauren Gunn is a NZFW pro, and one of the busiest people behind the scenes
Lauren Gunn is undoubtedly one of the busiest women in town, heading the Stephen Marr salon team on eight shows including Cybele, Juliette Hogan, Hailwood, Salasai and Ruby and the week's final show at The Department Store.
She has worked on NZFW from its beginnings 10 years ago, when she remembers backcombing, backstage at Nom*D.
"I guess that means I've worked on around 100 shows and exhausted goodness knows how many cans of hairspray."
Now creative director for Stephen Marr, Gunn is based in the Ponsonby salon, but spends a fair part of her time working on shoots and shows. With her easygoing manner and talent, she's the first choice stylist for many designers and says NZFW is a personal challenge each year to "up the ante creatively".
The design process starts about 10 weeks before the shows and comes together in a cramped cubicle. Gunn loves how all the industry's top talent is squashed together working on the models.
"It's a privilege to be part of that process and a rush to see it all come off without a hitch."
In two hours, 10 hand-picked stylists work to transform anywhere from 16 to 30 models.
"Two months out from NZFW I work with around 30 of the Stephen Marr crew, drilling them in old-school techniques that range from braiding and wig-wrapping to backcombing and hot-setting."
Gunn works alongside the designers throughout the year on lookbooks, shows and campaigns, so has a good idea of where they are at conceptually.
"It's a very collaborative process with ideas bouncing back and forth in the weeks leading up to the shows. I like to meet with designers and their stylists a few weeks out to pin down a look that will capture the essential character of their collection."
She says the lookbook shoot brings together elements of a collection, being the first time clothes, hair, makeup and styling come together. This is anywhere from two weeks to two days before the show and is where glitches get ironed out. She jokes her "life would be at risk" if she revealed too much, but promises "amazing set designs, quirky hairstyles and killer frocks for sure".
- Janetta Mackay
NEISHA HENRY
Smashbox's Neisha Henry tells us why makeup is an integral part of any runway show at NZFW
Neisha Henry heads the Smashbox team of 15 makeup artists and four assistants who will work on the Sera Lilly show, contemporary collections Blak Luxe, Neverblack and Matchi Motchi and the designer selection shows.
She has been with Smashbox since 2005 and oversees the day-to-day running of the American brand in New Zealand. She is now a Smashbox International Pro Artist, her first big show having been in Bangkok.
This is Henry's second year working on NZFW; overseeing the makeup for Nom*D's short film show was a highlight in 2009.
She explains the process of coming up with a look: "We first meet with the designers and production teams to find out and discuss their collections and inspiration behind their show. From there we throw around ideas and create looks on face charts and then these go into trials on models where final looks are chosen." The process can take up to three weeks.
Come showtime, the team will usually have a call time of two hours for about 20 models, but on bigger shows such as Sera Lilly's which has 45 models, work starts three to four hours beforehand.
Henry says her aim this year is to be "a little more creative in the way we use colour with catwalk style," while inspiring looks that can be recreated at home.
- Janetta Mackay
NEVERBLACK
Keep an eye out for newbie label Neverblack, showing for the first time at Fashion Week this afternoon
Neverblack is a new label from Gisborne, making its NZFW debut today. The result of a collaboration between three friends, the label brings together their singular talents and industry experiences which incorporate design, production and graphics.
However, the term "newbie" may be a little bit misleading. One-third of the label is Chelsea Thorpe, who showcased her own label at NZFW in 2007 and 2008. That label is no longer - Thorpe took a break from fashion to open a cafe with her sister called The Winemaker's Daughters - but it helped her learn a few things about how NZFW works.
"One of the major lessons I've learnt is that it's a way to generate awareness and media support as opposed to it being a way to make financial leaps. It helps grow the profile of the label which at the early stage of creation is vital. It isn't always about the money," she says.
Thorpe is joined by Jeremy Maclaurin and Martin Chapman, who also have a streetwear brand together, called NVAH. For Neverblack, Maclaurin acts as the creative director, Chapman as graphic designer and Thorpe as garment designer. Her influence can be seen via the sense of femininity and romance in the clothes. The name, too, reflects this feeling of lightness.
Explains Maclaurin, "We wanted a name that reflected what we wanted to put into our ranges. Neverblack having the connotation of always looking on the upside of things and being comfortable and confident in what you wear."
So what can we expect from today's show? The collection (the label's second) is called Queen of the Night and is based on the moonflower that blooms for one night and then dies.
"The flower is pollinated by bats, which is a great contrast to the light, floaty pieces that will reference the opening moonflower."
- Zoe Walker
