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Who’s been a stand-out in the year
that’s been in New Zealand fashion? What are the stars
that we loved, and the trends we’ll be seeing more of?
We look over the year that’s been in a fashion retrospective
of the local scene.
A is for rising star
Adrian Hailwood- picked by Karen Walker to accompany her
on the inaugural Air New Zealand Fashion Week Export Growth
Award trip to London fashion week to grow his business.
B is for Big Bags; we love over-sized
bags- here’s to not having to decide whether to pack our
phones, keys OR mints anymore and to throwing it all in
and over our shoulder and still looking glam.
C is for Corsage pins and brooches, culminating
with the corsages in Trelise’s goody bags that had everyone
looking like a prizewinner at the Best in Show.
D is for Denim, still SO terribly important
and improving every year, from Workshop to new ranges
from Zambesi and Karen Walker’s long dark jeans that eschew
fly-by-night whisker/distressed/printed trends.
E is for Elle Macpherson Intimates and
their incredibly chic-but-hot1950s film noir billboard
campaign that was the best this year.
F is for Forties Glam, a la high heels,
red lips, and the return to high-maintenance femininity
and the tweed that is to come.
G is for Green; although there was a
lot of green last season it continues to sprout afresh
in emerald shoots in most collections. Especially nice
in swimwear.
H is for High Waists. RIP the bumster
plumber’s crack hipster jean and hello the return to waists
just below the tummy button.
Iis for Ignoring Bad Press and Just Getting
On With It: Charlotte Dawson, Nicky Watson and Judy Bailey.
J is for John Campbell; the nation’s
most publicised crossover from news reading into the fashion
pages since Kate Hawkesby became a New Romantic. Columnist
Stacy Gregg wrote about him and Black Book writer Emma
Forrest raved about her ‘boy crush’ on the suited “marvelous”
one.
K is for Knitwear, too long a dismal
state of fashion considering the preponderance of raw
material here in sheepland, has come of age in recent
years with the world class Insidious Fix and now, again
with MildRed.
L is for Long, Long Scarves, appearing
in many collections nonchalantly draped around the neck
in a devil-may-care-I don’t-do-household-chores kinda
way. Very chic.
M is for Muffins- Karen Walker’s much
talked about nickname for the roll of fat above hipster
jeans. I’d like to add ‘salami’ for the horizontal mono-boob
in unsupportive boobtubes, and ‘hotcross buns’ for too-tight
jeans with panty line.
N is for NOMD, still so hip it hurts
and a stand-out show in a mediocre fashion week. Even
flagrant brand association looks hip when it’s Mercedes
logo chains worn by a topless model in NOMD combats and
Doc Marten boots.
O is for Over-Rated. Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy’s Carson visited for Woman’s Weekly’s expensive
launch and wore the most abysmal stuff that straight woman
wouldn’t luckily have to date; purple cashmere, sockless
shoes and tucked in sweaters. We hope it’s irony.
P is for Popsicle, cool new Japanese
street jewellery store on Broadway in Newmarket. P is
also for Ponchos; the new Pashminas have had their fifteen
minutes and are moving aside for next season’s capes.
Q is for Queens: we’ll miss the WORLD
show’s tiaras and tantrums as the pool is too small for
these fish to afford showing in so they’re only doing
offshore fashion weeks from now on.
R is for RJC’s great show of 40s glam
and feminine prints and silk scarves. Is RJC designer
Clare Kingan Jones the nicest woman in fashion, tied with
Wellington’s Laurie Foon?
S is for Kate Sylvester making us fall
in love in a cold climate with her range of animal inspired
clothes that did wild chic with class where Annah Stretton’s
boar head wedding dress ensemble did not.
T is for Trelise Cooper, New Zealand’s
answer to Vivienne Westwood trapped in Marilyn Monroe’s
body. Her ballroom dancing extravaganza show was mocked
by press but let’s face it was bloody impressive and suited
the De-Lovely theme.
U is for Underwear in a year that’s seen
a lot of competition from Love Kylie and Bonds, Bendon
is still the home favourite.
V is for Vintage; with shows covering
the historical to the contemporary, from the 1890s (Coulthard),
1920s (Trelise Cooper), 1940s (RJC), 1950s (Cherry Cotton
Candy), 1960s (Hailwood), 1970s (Carlson), 1980s (I.P.G.)
to 1990s (Helen Talbot, Annah Stretton, Barbara Lee) re-worked,
re-packaged and hopefully re-sold throughout the year.
V is also for Velvet, leaving the Underground and making
an appearance in every show.
W is for Karen Walker, still the doyenne
of New Zealand fashion -and will be the matriarch when
she’s old enough to not get into Contiki anymore- with
her safari styled range . Uber cool and a worthy first
winner of the export growth award.
X is for X-Rated Exes: the split to the
navel grey velvet dress on Nicky Watson in IPG, and Mathew
Ridge in his boxers onstage to upstage his X, Sally Ridge
who designed the bum cheek but otherwise standard knickers
on Aja Rock in James & August.
X is also for the X-Factor, that certain je ne sais quois
something special at shows, achieved by the locations
of two shows whose labels were upstaged by their er, stages.
Tied equally by the NOMD show seated on the Aotea Centre’s
mainstage and WORLD’s show in Ara Lodge, oldest Freemason
lodge in New Zealand.
Y is for Young Designers; all the best
ones weren’t at fashion week -excepting Coulthard, Cherry
Cotton Candy and Pearl or were American hip hop copyists-
and there a lot there shouldn’t have been. Look out for
Cybele, Sarah Bell, Miss Crabb and half of Grey Lynn market
in future years.
Z is for Zambesi; their 25 year birthday
show L’Anniversaire heralded a benchmark for the label,
pictured above, with Jackie Brown watching the models
walk around the bench seats in a waterfront warehouse.
Compiled by Megan Johnson
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