KEY POINTS:
After a four year absence from Air New Zealand Fashion Week, the pressure was on World to produce a showstopper - but did they deliver?
I must be honest: I have never been to a World show before. But as a young fashion obsessive at University, I always used to be amazed at the theatrical nature of their shows.
I'm not sure if this show matched their infamous over-the-top shows of the past - no drag queens, no massively over-the-top hair and makeup (but still amazing).
But it was still a triumphant return to the Fashion Week runway for the showmen of the New Zealand fashion industry.
There was the prerequisite sparkle and colour that World is renowned for - the sequence of models at the end of the show wore suits and coats covered in Swarovski crystals - but all with a sombre edge with intricate black faux hair pieces, gothic makeup and Marc Jacobs inspired peg leg pants.
The solemn tone of the collection reflects the collection's name, There Is No Depression In New Zealand - also the title of well-known song from 1980s band Blam Blam Blam.
It's also no doubt a play on designer Denise L'Estrange Corbet's well documented battle with depression (referenced throughout the show with quirky pill badges on mens jackets).
But this is still World, a label that lampoons the silliness of the fashion industry by making it even sillier - so the sombre tone was of course injected with bolts of jewel colour, oversized bows, and my favourite piece, the tiny man bags that the male models teamed with their bright tailored suiting and military headpieces.
Welcome back to fashion week World.
