Last week Stolen Girlfriends Club held their NZFW show in a grungy basement/car park. Titled ‘Dirty Magic’, the show had a dark carnival atmosphere (light show, check, neon signage, check) and the collection strong goth, punk, and witchy influences. Plaid, leather, full length velvet dresses and paisley patterned mesh featured heavily, accessorised with safety pins, piercings, and mohawks. Eye makeup was especially memorable and dramatic, with an extreme interpretation of crying blood.
New Zealand Fashion Week has been an adventure! I’ve met fantastic people, and seen some incredible things (both on and off the cat walk). Day three was the last full day of shows – with six on the schedule. It was my last day down at Fashion Week – with the exception of last night’s Huffer show/party in Takapuna. Here are a few of my favourite things from day three.
Salasai’s collection was one of the most memorable from the week. It told a cohesive story, with a very American Gothic feel to it (reserved, pretty, and somewhat haunting). The hay-as-an-accessory, and ‘Sunday Best’ styles reinforced the motif. As far as wearability goes, there’s plenty in here to look out for including a zig-zag pattern, and a very cute black & white blouse with a bow on the collar.
I have had a LOT of fun over the past week at the New Zealand Fashion Festival. Without even getting started on the fashion, just being amongst the hype of it all and meeting like minded people is genuinely thrilling!
I attended 3 of the 5 shows, and was out 4 out of 5 nights + Saturday morning at the last M.A.C Technique seminar + the Designer Garage Sale. I loved the idea of being able to buy what you see on the runway the very next day – and most designers were offering a $40 discount or gift with purchase as a bit of encouragement..
MAC Opening Party (My version of this shot is of far poorer quality on my iPhone!), photo from Getty Images
New Zealand Fashion Week happened for me in a less then conventional way. I hadn’t planning on getting amongst it (having ~10,000 words worth of assignments due that week kind of killed that for me), but I somehow managed to attend the Moet & Chandon Launch Party, and the MAC Launch Party, make good on an invite to Andrea Moore, attend two of the Friday shows and hang around the venue long enough with a media pass to meet some pretty cool people.
Of course, I was also digesting fashion week vicariously through the fashion media. Here’s a short-list of a few things that really caught my eye…
This week its Fashion Festival Week (a consumer event, totally separate from Fashion Week) and the past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. In a surprise turn of events I wound up attending a couple of shows, taking photos and tweeting for the festival’s social media manager.
Wednesday night I saw Stolen Girlfriend’s Club show their ‘Last Night’s Party’ collection at the Britomart Country Club. Even though I’d seen the collection before, seeing it on the runway was something different.
Superette is the kind of store where you can’t help but be jealous of the super stylish ladies behind it. The boutique hosts an impressive line-up of designers, and amongst them are Bec & Bridge, Deadly Ponies, Stolen Girlfriends Club, TwentySevenNames and Wildfox.