Former Otago Polytechnic fashion design student Fiona Ralph quickly made an impact in the world of ink.
Following the 2007 iD fashion event, in which she showed a collection featuring ''trashy fabrics and excessive frills'', Otago Daily Times ''Faith and Reason'' columnist Ian Harris was moved to quote her.
Ralph had urged a return to ''the glory days of the '90s supermodels ... voluptuous, healthy, womanly goddesses with big hair and beautiful curves''.
It may have been Ralph's invocation of the ''goddess'' that attracted Harris' attention, but perhaps it was also evidence of greater forces at work, nudging the young designer in the direction of the printed word.
Not that her design work had not caught the eye. She was several times awarded at the Hokonui Fashion Awards, including for a ''fishing-themed men's outfit''; and showed in the Emerging Designers section at iD.
But Ralph said herself at the time, in another ODT article, that she wanted to put her talents to work in fashion magazines.
So it transpired.
Ralph is now a fashion writer for The New Zealand Herald's flagship fashion vehicle Viva and in that capacity recently attended New York Fashion Week.
It was fashion on a scale she had not previously encountered, though the surprise was that in some ways the step up was not as significant as expected.
''It probably burst the bubble a little bit, but the surprise was that it was not as much bigger as I expected it to be than New Zealand.
"Backstage was like a backstage show here. Maybe just a little bit bigger and maybe some taller, more fabulous, more famous models, bigger make-up and hair teams.''
Ralph was in a good position to judge.
Since graduating from the polytechnic course and returning to Auckland, she has been involved in New Zealand Fashion Week, including working backstage.
''I thought, 'You know, New Zealand does an amazing job when we are up there on that stage'.''
But New York was bigger: in terms of the sheer number of shows and presentations daily, day after day.
''That was definitely my biggest experience,'' she says.
''Especially the Prabal Gurung [show], it was quadruple the size of the shows here, with the audience and the catwalk.
''You couldn't go to them all and we obviously didn't. That's the other thing, there were some shows I was able to go to through contacts here - I was actually over there with Tresemme, looking at the hairstyles they were doing backstage - but there were so many shows that we were not able to go to, we would have no chance of getting an invite.''
Ralph did not set off with a wishlist of designers to see.
''It was more to soak up the experience. And funnily enough, still being obsessed more with media than being the designer, it was about being the journalist in the front row, that's the really exciting thing for me, watching out for the familiar faces and just seeing how that whole fashion week runs.''
The queens of New York Fashion Week journalism, the likes of Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, eluded her gaze, but the celebrities were certainly there.
''It was funny, at one point we were stuck in a taxi and there was a massive crowd and some police officers outside a Ralph Lauren store. We asked the police, 'Who is in there'.
"We thought it must be a famous shopper, and it was Ralph Lauren himself. I called out the window, 'My name's Ralph, too'.''
The trends on display for the coming northern hemisphere summer were not necessarily a radical departure from what is in stores here, Ralph says.
''There is so much sportswear still, which has already been around, that casual look, the opposite to the last few years of crazy platforms.
"It's a bit more minimalist and everyone in the front row was wearing white, and mid-length skirts and pleats.''
India seemed to be a big inspiration for some.
''Perhaps not everyone, but three shows I went to.
''Otherwise, there was still lots of that highly technical fabric, which kind of ties in with the sportswear trend.''
A highlight for Ralph was her close encounter with New York's fashion ground zero.
''I only went to one show at the Lincoln Centre, which is the hub ... but I think one of the highlights was seeing the street-style circus that goes on outside.
''So many photographers and bloggers and people just hanging out there to get their photo taken. I did not get mine taken, so I didn't quite fit in. I watched.
''It was just cool to see that, because you have seen photos of that and all the blogs and magazines. It was really cool seeing the reality.''
