The Huffer School of Business - NZ Fashion Week show 2010

Huffer finale. All images by James Blackwood

The final day of fashion week was all about Huffer for us. As per last year we were ready to go by 12.30 so we went to The Longroom for our traditional show day lunch with Huffer designers Aaron Styles, Ella Moore and Aimee McFarlane and were well looked after by Des Hoeflich.

All week the speculation about the weather for Huffer's ambitious outdoor show had been rife but the boys had done their homework and show producer Jade Hurst got a final call from alternative weather forecaster Ken Ring in the afternoon. The weather would turn on sunset and be perfect for the show he advised, with the added suggestion to run as late as we could. He was dead right, the moon came out and the weather was perfect although in the afternoon the wind was still very strong and blowing the chairs over in large clumps (above).

Come show time and 1,000 people filed into the courtyard of the magnificent Owen Glenn Building, the Auckland University Business School. The show began with a couple of shuffling zombies carrying picture frames akin to those that framed the names of key sponsors such as Audi and Telecom on the massive projection wall nearby. We love Dan Buckley's concepts, he is a true creative and is always thinking outside the picture frame, as it were. The lovely ANTM winner Krista White opened the show proper wearing one of new women's wear designer Aimee McFarlane's sweetest pieces, a peach coloured belted dress that flowed behind her as she powered down the catwalk. Aside from being a very nice person, Krista is one of the best walkers we have ever seen.

Other highlights included a series of knits and dresses that featured a pretty blush pink leopard print, a black leather miniskirt and jacket combo, a green wide-collared trench and a long-waisted men's leather jacket straight from Chic Street. Stylist Rachael Churchward created a series of patches with Huffer's Steve Dunstan, Dan Buckley and H.D that paid tribute to Raf Simons and numerous sub-cultures. Girls wore long socks, sleeves and bows, large and small. Boys wore cuffed jeans, plaid shirts, braces, bomber jackets, anoraks and Casio watches. Footwear by Kathryn Wilson, Beau Coops, Converse, To Be,  SGD and Tristan Blair.  Greg Murrell's Ryder team created a loose, wind-blown fraternity look, some of which was pinned back to the neck, also with a bow and the MAC crew created a pared back natural look to suit. All-in-all a strong showing from Huffer with the addition of McFarlane looking like a master stroke.

Special thanks to James Blackwood for these great photos...

Ye Olde Fashion Week Roundup 3 - Thursday

Last Thursday Night's Party with SGC: Photo - Hannah Johnston

Thursday started off with Twenty-Seven Names on site with a collection called 'The Fearsome Five,' although the 'Fearsome Twenty-Seven' would have been just as apt. High school was the overall impression but not High School Musical or Glee, more the Shannon Doherty/Tori Spelling incarnation from the 90's version of Hollywood 90210 replete with college jackets and blazers, school bags and white school socks.

The girl gang at Twenty-Seven Names

Pretty dresses, a hallmark of the Wellington duo, were ubiquitous in two-tone polka dot, a cute heart/cherry print and a multi-shade diamond print that matched the polka dot vibe. Many of the blazers were finished with  classic school blazer trim and the finale, with the girls storming down the runway en masse, felt more than a little reminiscent of the girl gang in Heathers. Twenty-Seven Names are creating a perfect niche for themselves that obviously connects with their growing legion of fans but also has considerable international potential. The after-party looked like a lot of fun too.

 Above and below: Salasai 

all images six6photography.com.au

The rest of the day was spent fine-tuning things at Huffer with Rach and Atip W before going to the off-site Salasai show at the Hilton Hotel. We've missed Salasai in previous years but have become increasingly excited about Kirsha Whitcher's design talents. The Hawkes Bay native's vision for the range was an interesting amalgam of symmetry, fifties chic, gothic splendour and well tailored everyday must-have's. Kirsha had a great crew together for the show, it was beautifully styled by Dan Ahwa,  the hair concepts by Lauren Gunn were the boldest of the week, make-up by the MAC crew superb and the jewellery of Nick Von K, stunning. The casting was also strong and it was good to see Hunter McLeod, the winner of Fashion Week's new talent comp get a run, he did well. Overall Salasai was an eye-opener, the show was a cohesive and exciting statement of Whitcher's talents and a massive step toward the upper echelon of current New Zealand designers. Not so much one to watch as one to follow.

 Above and below: Stolen Girlfriends 

all images; Hannah Johnston

We'd heard that Stolen Girlfriends was over-invited and it was best to get up there quick so we grabbed Atip and raced up to the Mercury Theatre for the much anticipated show by the Stolen generation. Turns out we were early so we hung out with Michael Whittaker and his brother Steve supping Kim Crawford out of the signature Stolen jam jars. Once finally seated the magnificence of the old theatre itself created a great sense of occasion and as the lights went down a bunch of whooping ensued, Stolen Girlfriends fans are passionate souls. The collection entitled 'Last Night's Party' was entirely different from their previous collections which is one of the things we love about the Auckland trio, always different, always conceptual, always thinking. A hydrangea and cigarette print (only SGC would think of that) spread itself across a number of garments including Vinnie Woolston's final groom outfit. Fur made an appearance notably in a sleeveless ensemble that Pebbles and Bam Bam would have happily rocked down to the bowling alley and the raft of knitwear that appeared in creams and whites was classy and wearable. Standout items included a red leather jacket with a white collar, maroon velvet trousers and the white hoop-front dress worn by the 'bride' at the end. Zara Mirken styled the show beautifully, Greg Murrell and the team at Ryder created hair that was 'office out front and party up the back" and the MAC team again delivered. A great show and this could well be Stolen Girlfriends best selling range yet.

Ye Olde Fashion Week Roundup 2 - Wednesday

World flowing like the September winds

Come Wednesday morning we were very keen to catch Ruby and even made the effort to get up early at Muriwai but time, traffic and a bunch of phone calls about the impending Huffer show transpired against us making it in time. More Huffer pre-prod meant that we weren't able to make it down for Jimmy D, although from all accounts it was a great collection for the young designer.

The weather forecast according to World

We did make it along to World however at the Great Room of the Langham Hotel. What a perfect venue for World with its faux chandelier lights, classic round conference tables and high tea/champagne waiter service. We were sat at the same table as John Banks and his wife which was a first for sure and possibly a last. It was great to see World showing again as NZ fashion needs the label's extravagance and flamboyancy. Utilising yet another raised catwalk (surely they are not back in fashion?) World didn't disappoint with more brash colour, flowing, fizzing, and glittering than fans could hope for. It may have been something to do with the horrendous weather we experienced in September but World had such inclemency covered with shiny, transparent men's rain coats, polka dot umbrellas and enough sunshine colours to light the drowsiest of days. There were some classic World styling moments with too-large heels adorned in fur, woollen bow-ties and even fur-framed glasses. Classic World.

After World, it was down to Halsey Street to catch Alexandra Owen. Quirky quilted pieces were ubiquitous. Ruffles, ruching and a series of scoop-collared jackets with signature Owen tailoring ensured the on-going hype about this emerging local designer will continue. A special mention must go to the stylist who created head pieces that enclosed the models in sheer fabric and put others behind pretty masks seemingly inspired by fencing. An assured step forward.

Back to the MAC/ghd room for a glass of Soho before making our way to Nom D. Set in the adjoining building to the Zambesi show the previous night, this was however, an entirely different deal. Installations are not new to the world of fashion and notoriously difficult to pull off. Pull it off they did. Wrecked cars, brass beds and a dinner party environment set the scene for the models to do what many of them probably secretly want to do - act. Dressed in a puffed-up leather ensemble and battered spaghetti western hat, beautiful Auckland singer Rebekah Davies' ethereal singing was a high point of any NZ fashion week to date, Avril Planqueel's French reading, perfect, and a mix of pashing girls, dominatrix performance and Karen Inderbitzen-Waller's fantastic styling offered much to the occasion. Given the limited opportunity for rehearsals that fashion week's schedule affords, it would not have been easy to choreograph and direct this show. Overall it was a bold decision and congrats must go out to Margi and the crew for taking a risk, mixing art with fashion and injecting something totally different into fashion week.

Ye Olde Fashion Week Roundup 1 - Tuesday

Video shot at Kathryn Wilson show

Okey dokey, we've been pretty slack on the blogging front over FW partly because we are on deadline, partly because we put a lot of time and effort into the Huffer show and partly because we'd rather blog about the week as a whole. We didn't get to see anywhere near as many shows as we would have liked but we did see a few. So here we go, these were our highlights of the week starting with Tuesday:

Hands across the catwalk at Cybele

Popped down to Cybele on site. A large wooden effigy/totem akin to the Burning Man stationed at the end of the runway lent a pagan tone to the room for a collection entitled Nieriya. A mix of bustier belts and bras mixed neatly with printed singlets and dresses, silk fringes, knits, jodphurs and a series of hoods added to the pagan mysteriousness of the show. Cybele is going from strength to strength each year, and with a uniformity that was personified by the models linking hands around the catwalk during the finale.

In your face footwear at Kathryn Wilson

After a quick glass of the fabulous Soho Pinot in the annually fantastic MAC/ghd room it was off to the main tent to catch a first for New Zealand fashion week, or perhaps NZ fashion in general, a shoe show - and a big one at that! Kathryn Wilson's debut was highly anticipated by the many friends and fans of the local shoe queen and she delivered a show built fairly and squarely around eighties gloss, and more exactly Robert Palmer's famous multi-guitar-playing-model video. Leotard-wearing, ponytail-swinging hot chicks strutted down a raised catwalk. For Kathryn it was really all about the shoes and the new range, visible close-up, was a party to match the bust-a-move 80's show music with bold, bright colours everywhere and plenty of bling - including a collaboration with jeweller Boh Runga. Brilliant to see a shoe designer showing and loved the video intro which timed up perfectly with the arrival of the first model.

Zambesi 2010. Images: MSN

A quick dinner with the wonderful Jodie Matthews, M.A.C Australasia supremo, and it was off to Zambesi in one of the sheds at Rhubarb Lane, as it is soon to be known. What a shame these beautiful-for-fashion-and-art buildings will soon be no longer. Zambesi as usual was big, powerful and strong. The massive runway framed some fine silhouettes as they ghosted up and down to the effortlessly obscure strains of Sophie Findlay's show music. Standouts in the women's range included woollen dresses and college bomber jackets, shiny, oily fabric leggings and dresses - and some great casual-for-Zambesi oversized sweats. The men's range featured the classic tailoring that we are increasingly attracted to under the auspices of Dayne Johnston, great pea-coats (yes, the more the merrier as a winter staple) and a fab painted cotton coat. Zambesi, great since 1979.