To bohemia and beyond

Cybele at NZ Fashion Week (L) and high-waisted pants from Karen Walker's show at London Fashion Week.

So much can happen in a year of fashion. And 2005 is no exception.

BEST

Bohemian An interesting and pretty trend that stole from art students, rock'n'rollers and vintage shoppers, and allowed for creativity in everyone else's wardrobe.

The next generation New Zealand's established high fashion labels have been going from strength to strength, but there was some concern whether they could keep up the good work. This last year in fashion has proved they can, and newcomers such as Cybele Wiren, Kristine Crabb, Mala Brajkovic, Lonely Hearts Club, Juliette Hogan and Misery have made it clear they're going to be selling innovative, quality clothing for some time to come.

Fast fashion Super-quick retail, as seen at Portmans, Supre and Glassons, offering the trends you won't wear for more than three months at tempting prices to match.

Musical inspiration Once again, musicians are the best dressed. Punks, art rockers and guitar-toting grunge players are the new fashion icons - and that's just the way we like it.

New airline uniforms For Air New Zealand, as designed by Zambesi. At last, our national carrier represented in fitting style.

Kate Moss Who cares about what she does at parties? Just look at her clothes. This mother of one has incredible style and will be a fashion icon for generations to come.

Best shows Kate Sylvester at New Zealand Fashion Week in stunningly good form, and Karen Walker on the official schedule at London Fashion Week.

Tighter jeans Contrary to popular opinion, low-slung stovepipe-style jeans are actually comfortable and flattering if you find the right cut. And now it seems positively old-fashioned to don baggier denim.

Chain store lingerie Have you seen the underwear for sale at places like K-Mart, The Warehouse and Farmers lately? It's cute, sexy and extremely well-priced.

Local boys Seems that at last New Zealand men are paying some serious attention to their wardrobes. Even members of the All Blacks aren't afraid of fashion any longer. And local labels like Workshop and Little Brother are showing them how to dress with subtlety and masculine style without sacrificing their bloke-ishness.

Mi Piacci shoes An offshoot of Overland, this brand has taken over as the leading purveyor of fashionable footwear at reasonable prices. While the well-shod shoe cognoscenti may scoff, anyone who can't afford to blow $1000 on shoes, can walk in here tomorrow and buy a pair of the latest Prada or Chanel lookalikes for under $200.

WORST

Bohemian It started off as a unique way of wearing clothes and ended up as a yawn, with everyone wearing cowboy boots, hippie tops and talking about Sienna Miller.

It bags Over it. Why? Because, as lovely as they are, the must-have handbag is the last refuge of the fashion dictator. Every other area of fashion is open to interpretation and individualism. It's about time our accessories joined in.

White homies Still dressing like you live in Los Angeles when you actually reside in Remuera? Same old boring shizzle.

High-waisted trousers Please, please don't let this become a real trend as opposed to just a funny runway look.  Then again it seems unlikely - high-waisted trousers just don't suit anyone but people without stomachs (that is, 16-year-old models).

Middle market ruffles Taffeta, ruffle and frill overkill for the ladies who lunch. Think grown-up style, not milk maid or ridiculous girlishness. And then follow that old adage and take one thing off before you leave the house.

Big signatures Yes, designers are doing signature prints as a way of differentiating their work. At best, it's a subtle statement of creative intent, at its conspicuous worst, a walking advertisement.  And when the prints are very obvious, you're quite likely to walk into a room and see five other women wearing the same fabric - and that's just not right.

The sloganeering T-shirt At first it was funny to read people's T-shirts all the time. But the incidence of smart and cheeky slogans has dropped substantially. So unless you've got something really amusing or pertinent to tell us, keep the fact that you're a Hot Fox to yourself, thanks.

Imitators in denial Local designers who blatantly copy patterns from overseas designers - insert internationally famous label name here (Prada, Marc Jacobs or McQueen will all do) - then deny they ever saw that look before. C'mon, just be honest - because it's not like we mind if we can get a well-made and unobtainable-in-New Zealand imitation for a quarter of the price.

Early retirement One of the most brilliant women in fashion (and in general actually), Marilyn Sainty, is leaving her legion of loyal fans to get dressed by themselves. Very sad.

NEXT
Demi-couture Designers like Nicholas Ghesquierre of Balenciaga are producing incredibly constructed and beautiful garments that no one can copy. It's all about differentiating yourself from the mainstream labels and giving customers who will pay your premium prices value for money.

Grunge revival Watch out for more plaid, military styling and big boots on the runways.

Mass customisation Where you go to a fashion manufacturer and tell them what you want. Technological advances allow the manufacture to make jeans that fit you, shoes with distinctive personal badges and T-shirts in exactly the colour you specify.

Asian frontiers Fashion labels will increasingly target markets in places like China, India and Japan. After all, if you have a market of millions who will do anything to get their hands on prestige brands - including, as the New York Times recently reported, starve themselves just so they can afford to buy the latest Louis Vuitton - wouldn't you?

Designer-stylists That is, designers who can put a collection together beautifully but don't actually know how to sew.