In a year marked by milestones from some of the country's top creative brands, New Zealand Fashion Week has wrapped for another year after three days of highs and lows.
Despite Dame Trelise Cooper's moment of madness on Tuesday night in featuring Native American and Canadian First Nations' feathered headdresses on the runway, it was a relatively subdued week, with several designers using their shows to quietly celebrate anniversaries - including 10 years of Juliette Hogan, 15 years of Hailwood, 21 years of Kate Sylvester and 35 years of Zambesi.
The best shows were from those who focused on the fundamentals of what has made their brands successful. Stolen Girlfriends Club's outdoor epic at Western Springs Stadium on Tuesday night - the only off-site show of the week - had the appropriate and much-needed fashion week buzz, while Zambesi's Wednesday show set a confident standard for the many less-established designers who also showed this week.
Kate Sylvester is another for the next generation to admire, closing the week on a happy high on Thursday night. Her collection focused on her signature aesthetic clash of prim and tough and literary obsessions, with the show closing with a shower of confetti made from chopped up book pages - a fittingly optimistic end to a week of ongoing creative and financial successes.
