Karen Walker's amazing Japanese fans

In this social network driven world of 'friends, likes and fans' it is both refreshing and endearing to discover the type of fans New Zealand designer Karen Walker has attracted in Japan in particular. So fervent are these followers that they regularly send Karen beautifully crafted hand-made presents as a token of their appreciation for her designs and the label in general. Some of the messages and images are impossibly cute, some detailed excursions into the active and creative minds of the fans, others personal travel stories - Karen Walker on tour. We asked Kate at Karen Walker to scan a few of these fabulously creative gifts so we could present them to you here on Blacklog. Enjoy...

Listening to the sky with Fistful Of Bird

Sam and Jeremy Galvin, the brothers behind emerging Auckland label Fistful Of Bird aren't your usual fashion designer types. Yet, their background in the art and film worlds and a shared history travelling the globe immersing themselves in the school of life ensures their label is exactly, purposefully, a reflection of themselves and a breath of fashion fresh air to boot. The siblings started only two or three years back with the denim and t-shirt label Descendant which quickly grew in concept and style before morphing into Fistful Of Bird. With the new FOB AW 11 range 'Audible Skies' the step up is notable in terms of design, textile, shape and breadth of the range. Jackets, including a cropped bomber (always a winner) join cloaks, artisan denim (waxed and hand-distressed finishes, pigment airbrushing), diaphanous t-shirt dresses and slouchy woollen jumpers to offer plenty to their growing legion of fans. This pair are indeed reaching for the skies. Photos: Russ Flatt Model: McInnes @ Nova

Pearly Queen of Mulberry

Two queens and a jack

Those of you that have read the latest issue of Black will have noticed the story about our London Correspondent Lucie Marquis (above left) and her foray into creating 'walls' of fashion in various locations with Supermarket Sarah and designing t-shirts and jewellery as one half of the Pearly Queens. Lucie is a talented designer and plans to launch an eponymous label in the future. In the meantime she started work this week as a senior designer at Mulberry, suggesting the British label knows talent when it sees it. Very proud of her and can't wait for the Lucie bag!

If only...like Deadly Ponies

Deadly Ponies' Liam Bowden has given us his three remaining scarves - as per this image from Black 13 by Stephen Tilley & Rachael Churchward - to give away to Black Mag FB page or Blacklog readers. All you have to do is fill in this sentence in a comment on the post on our Facebook Page to be in to win one:

If only..................like Deadly Ponies!

We'll choose the three most interesting ones this Friday. Offer open to anyone, anywhere...here's a pic of the scarf itself....we have one of each colour: beige, mint green and rose...

Jess Grubisa's otherworldly glamourous 80's African Queen

A Jessica Grubisa creation

All backstage photos by Matt Benns

When Whitecliffe's third year fashion student Jessica Grubisa designs a collection she always does so with one woman in her mind. This year, her fantastic collection entitled 'More Money, More Problems' was built around an "otherworldly glamourous 80's African queen," that basically, "jogged in Chanel." To accessorise her signature pieces Grubisa busts a move with high top fade afro headpieces and black full-face make-up, creating a classic hip-hop (think BDP, Schooly D) vibe entrenched in the mother continent. "The headpieces are my interpretation of a high-top fade - the birth of hip hop in the 1980's - everybody donned high, flat afros. I love this look and wanted to have a bit of fun with it," says Grubisa.

She also astutely interprets the classic dookie chain with her roped pieces, "the dookie chain was the largest status symbol chain worn by only the manliest of men in early 1980's hip hop. I love these chains and wanted to explore them in natural fibres with a primitive texture. I chose to work with raw wool and manipulate such a delicate material to look as heavy as a chain. I love playing around with gender roles and in this way I gave my woman the status."

Central to the collection is a a colourful, graf style afro print created lovingly by Grubisa herself, "the print is my baby. Hours and hours of colouring led me to discover digital printing, a way I could create my own fabrics. The whole idea was to combine early graffiti and tribal Ndebele patterns to create something unique - that looked like I had taken a felt pen and drawn on the clothes. If you look closely at the patterns you can see my felt marks, the colours and style best represented the idea of 'fresh' to me."

The Ndebele tribe of Central Africa also featured in her thinking when it came to the cowskin and fake fur pieces in the collection. Within the tribe, "when a man becomes a man they kill animals and don the skins around their necks, showing status and ranking tribe to tribe. The bigger the skin the bigger the man. I believe status for women, in a modern context, is handbags and shoes - usually the bigger the better - luxurious accessories that I believe share the same primitive connection. I wanted to explore this, and create bags and accessories that turned my girls into women."

Jess worked on several shoots as assistant fashion editor in the current issue of Black and will definitely work on many more. Seeing this collection though, it is clear Grubisa (below) has a big future as a young NZ designer who thinks outside the square (sorry, no pun intended), has ideas and concepts for Africa (ditto) and is undeniably one to watch.

Rookies On A Roll

Renuka Pana

After attending the AUT Rookie 2010 show at Rhubarb Lane last Thursday night we were left with the simple, inspiriting feeling that New Zealand fashion's future is bright indeed. It is a feeling borne of a higher standard emerging year-on-year from Auckland's two top fashion schools, and Wellington's Massey course, among others around the country. On Thursday night the quality of design, craftsmanship and creativity that marched down the runway (to great show music) from the 36 AUT Rookies was of a high standard across the board. Every designer showed promise, some showed a lot of promise and there were a plenty of winning garments and outfits to be seen. This year's Rookie show was also a quality event in other aspects; multiple bars and catering, grandstands, containers as film screens (that featured an opening Year 3 student's film, shot by Garth Badger), one of the most interesting front rows in a while, and a well-lit skinny horse-shoe catwalk all made for a classy, competent fashion show. We also loved the DPS programme that featured photos of the designers and a space for notes. We did make a few notes and asked AUT to send through an image from four of those designers, just a few that piqued our attention on the night. Congrats all round to AUT staff, tutors and students....

 Carla Tuipulotu

 Amber Hodgman

 Lauren Nuttall

And You Thought A Sharpie Was A Pen

We are always fascinated by sub-cultures and this wee You Tube clip by Greg Macainsh about the 'Sharpie' culture in Melbourne in 1974 is indeed fascinating. Set at the Melbourne Showgrounds, a few thousand mulletheads are in attendance at the Lobby Lloyd and Billy Thorpe concert, and they're pretty amped. Check the hair cuts, fashion and dancing - unreal. Thanks to our good friend Bob Sutton for finding this...

The Bogans according to Lara Parker

Black fashion director Rachael Churchward recently worked with photographer Stephen Tilley on a second Lara Parker look book for the season and we have no doubt this talented local designer is one to watch. Parker released her SS10 range in two parts, the more demure Geeks collection and this West-is-best-we-love-Stevie-Nicks-when-she's-all-dressed-up range, entitled Bogans. The range is not quite as literal as the title would suggest however and playfully flirts with proportion, texture and a lateral interpretation of bogan sensibility. Ankle-grazing hemlines, as featured on the 'Stevie' skirt are juxtaposed with the A-line flirtiness of the "Peaches' dress. The ruched "Roxanne" mini confirms Parker is as accurate with her names as she is with her designs. Black is the foundation colour of the range but the mood is airy and feminine. Perfect for blatting out to the West Coast in the Holden Kingswood with the windows down... Hair by Lauren Gunn @ Stephen Marr, make-up by Kimberley Hill for M.A.C Cosmetics. Model: Imogene @ Red 11. All shoes by Maurie & Eve. We asked Lara about the range...

Why Bogans? Bogans are back! Initially I thought it would be fun to do theoverly preppy geek and the overly tacky bogan. But once I was in the sample stage of my Bogan range I felt it was too predictable and not Lara Parker. I had to start over so I went on a bogan inspiration hunt. I had to step out of my comfort zone - can Lara Parker do a bogan range and remain true to my brand? The same girl needed to wear and relate to both Geeks and Bogans and that challenged me.

Why more black? In my case black isnot so usual. I've used black as a statement, not as a safe piece.

How would you describe the Lara Parker girl? Confident and comfortable with who she is, she expresses her different moods by what she wears.

What is the Lara Parker soundtrack? I'm stuck in a time warp. Blondie, Kylie, Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran.

Who has helped you develop the range? I do the designing at night and alone, I need space to create my vision. However, it is my genius patternmaker who has to bring it to life and my stylist has to interpret and present the vision.

Who, or what is your inspiration? I ended up using hot bogan legend Stevie Nicks, even though both Blondie and Pat Benetar divas were in the running. On this occasion they would have been too eighties.

Where can we buy Lara Parker? From either of our two stores; Newmarket, Auckland or Cuba Street, Wellington

Sherie Muijs' Building Blocks AW 2011

As mentioned in the post below, we shot the Sherie Muijs AW 2011 look book just prior to fashion week and were amazed by the continued development of this young Auckland designer. She has a great crew on board too; Des Rusk who needs little introduction to local fashion people has had a hand in the label and also Linda Jones, the highly respected lecturer at AUT's fashion school. Sherie says that Linda is currently working on her masters and the pair have collaborated for this collection on rain wear. "We have found that there aren't any absolutely waterproof raincoats, in a fashion context, that have the same sort of integrity of a raincoat that you might find in our camping or farming industries." Form meets function. So how would Sherie describe the range, cleverly titled Building Blocks? "I have designed pieces in this range that are key pieces that I think everyone should have in their wardrobe. This range is about building up a wardrobe that has staple garments in there, that you will go back to season after season. Then of course, fun colourful pieces, to brighten up a winter's day." The range will be in store Feb, 2011. Meanwhile her SS 2010 range is in store now and selling like hot cakes, you can view that range here.

Photography: Russ Flatt
Styling: Rachael Churchward
Hair: Greg Murrell
Make-up: Karenina Jackson
Model: Lauren @ Nova

Karen Walker Spring 2011 RTW - Perfect

Karen Walker's Spring 2011 ready-to-wear showing at New York Fashion Week on Wednesday was inspired by the amazing photographer William Eggleston. Eggleston is a genius, and given that his  cinematic, colour-film, Mid-West photographic foresight is the range's genesis, it is apt that NZ photographer Derek Henderson should not only contribute a hydrangea image/motif to the range but that he should also be exhibiting in New York at the same time as Walker's show. All New Zealanders interested in fashion should be proud of Walker's continued official presence at one of the world's biggest fashion weeks. Year after year she fly's the flag for New Zealand creativity and design - and never disappoints. This year's range, Perfect Day,  invokes Eggleston's daring as the first photographer to break out of the black and white haze that had engulfed fine art photography for so many years by embracing bold colours and prints, and celebrating the extremes of daily drudgery and a night on the town somehow at the same moment. Her footwear collaborations; with the talented Carrie Cooper and with British footwear company Pointer, saw the models sauntering down the runway in fab Beau Coops for Karen Walker pumps and rubber-soled creepers respectively. All-in-all a Perfect Day for Karen Walker.

A few of our favourite looks...