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Backstage with 'twenty-seven names'
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Backstage with 'twenty-seven names'

VIVA is behind the scenes at New Zealand Fashion week 2013 with directional label 'twenty-seven names'. Founded since 2006, designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Stewart cite contemporary art as the basis for their collections. The label name is a homage to the list of 27 people who helped to get their label off the ground. We learn how a trip to Brussels inspired their newest collection. Amber D, M.A.C Senior Artist Oceania tells how the make-up & hair also portrays the labels style & look.

Robert Pattinson's racy new Dior ad released
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Robert Pattinson's racy new Dior ad released

Robert Pattinson's full Dior advertisement has been released. The Twilight star is the face of the French fashion brand's Dior Homme fragrance. After months of teaser pictures, fans of the star have finally been put out of their misery with the uncensored director's cut. The actor is joined by model Camille Rowe for the promo and the two get very close in the advert.

Dior Homme Fragrance Uncensored Director's Cut starring Robert Pattinson, directed by Romain Gavras. Music by Led Zeppelin. Courtesy: Christian Dior

NY Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung Fall 2013
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NY Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung Fall 2013

Military touches are shorthand in high fashion for strength and confidence. Gurung added some exclamation points, specifically citing as his muse a woman in combat. There has been much in the news - and Gurung is a newshound - about the Pentagon's decision to open more on-the-ground options to women and also technological advances in women's body armour. "They're redesigning the whole uniform for women because all this while they've been wearing men's uniform,'' he said backstage. That led Gurung to think about women's empowerment, all the way to women he read about from the Ukraine who are coming together in self-defence against human trafficking. There were smart jackets with gold hardware and some with red-and-black brocades, crisp navy suits, and leather harnesses over stretch-crepe dresses with sexy slashes on the bodice and asymmetric peplums and hemlines. There had to be a little femininity mixed in with the aggressiveness, Gurung explained, because it's femininity that gives women their best tool "to rule a man's world.''

NY Fashion Week: Jill Stuart Fall 2013
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NY Fashion Week: Jill Stuart Fall 2013

It was that easy: Stuart woke up one day thinking about how stylish British model Stella Tennant and her friends were, so Stuart thought she would create a wardrobe just for them. She aimed to dress an aristocratic fashion risk-taker for all those parties at castles in the English countryside. "I was thinking about the beautiful dinners and the charades she and her friends play, and the great performances they see at the end of the night,'' Stuart said backstage. Her offerings include a plum-coloured halter dress covered in satin flowers, a more tailored dress in black wool with more sharply cut flowers, and a white sheer man-tailored shirt paired with black evening shorts and a full-cut long black coat.

NY Fashion Week: Nicole Miller Fall 2013
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NY Fashion Week: Nicole Miller Fall 2013

Miller's collection was called "Menswear With a Twist: Raiding the Boyfriend's Closet.'' It was the good girl meets bad boy, packing a wardrobe of tough leather jackets, pleated skirts and several fedoras for the adventure. No apologies to mum. There were particularly short knit dresses and a skin-hugging corset dress in a print called "tatooage,'' which looked exactly as it sounds. And there were outfits more in line with what's expected from Miller, including a long dress in a wallflower print with a ruffle front and a stretch-denim dress with sexy net inserts. The black matte-jersey, floor-length dress, with a dropped leather waist and notched V neck, that closed the show was the right high note to leave on. But where Miller saw "golf pants'' on a pair of loose baggy trousers paired with a burned out velvet-and-georgette blouse, the audience might have seen glorified sweats.

Fashion: The last daze of disco
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Fashion: The last daze of disco

The high-octane style of the late 70s and early 80s prevails this season as model Crystal Liu pays tribute to the doyennes of excess - exotic beauties such as Bianca Jagger, Marisa Berenson, Grace Jones, Pat Cleveland and Tina Chow.

Crystal Liu - Excess at its best
Lifestyle

Crystal Liu - Excess at its best

The high-octane style of the late 70s and early 80s prevails this season as model Crystal Liu pays tribute to the doyennes of excess - exotic beauties such as Bianca Jagger, Marisa Berenson, Grace Jones, Pat Cleveland and Tina Chow.

Fashion: Ready to robe
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Fashion: Ready to robe

Dressing between seasons means making the most of versatile pieces from lightweight knitwear to chambray separates, the type of clothing items that work well in both cool and mild temperatures.

Robe up this season
Lifestyle

Robe up this season

Dressing between seasons means making the most of versatile pieces from lightweight knitwear to chambray separates, the type of clothing items that work well in both cool and mild temperatures.