Editorial: Contagion of catwalks

If, as George Bernard Shaw contended, fashions are induced epidemics then this country should brace itself for a major infection. Fashion Week begins today. That means a contagion of catwalks, camisoles, champagne and cool that has, at long last, firmly registered with some of the world's leading fashion epidemiologists.

Fashion Week brings not only buyers to Auckland but also the influence peddlers. Fashion and style media representatives - 110 from 11 countries attended Fashion Week last year - can be money in the bank for our designers and manufacturers. A favourable comment from the right person in the right place may be directly measured in sales and commissions that build on an already impressive $300-million-a-year fashion export business.

The influence is not limited to clothing. As the Weekend Herald's canvas magazine demonstrated, fashion and style are by no means the sole preserve of clothing. Now, there is a style continuum that runs from cars and furniture to toilet brushes and vodka bottles.

Even within clothing design, new avenues must be constantly explored. For instance, the winner of last night's fashion export award, Karen Walker, is moving into eyewear to complement the broad range of products she sends to 45 cities around the globe.

Our fashion industry and the annual Fashion Week have a good story to tell. Creative people with business acumen are branding themselves and this country with remarkable success in certain lucrative parts of a highly discerning and demanding global marketplace.

This week the home market glories in that success. No doubt there will be overblown talk of New Zealand taking the world by storm and predictions of vast, often unbelievable new streams of revenue. Unnecessary, given the real success which is already at hand. But excitement and hyperbole are part of the fashion condition. Prepare to be infected.

Herald Feature: Fashion Week

NZ Fashion Week