It has been held annually for the past 16 years and last week's event notched up yet another successful Zonta Extraordinary show. Jude Hathaway was there.
After a relentlessly bitter winter, the glimpses of the 2015/16 new summer ranges on the catwalk at this year's Extraordinary Fashion Show, staged by the Zonta Club of Metropolitan Dunedin last Thursday, injected patrons with a timely fashion fix.
Once again the usual utilitarian surrounds of the Kensington Army Hall received touches of glamour by way of chandeliers, cabaret-style seating and a professionally lit stage and catwalk for the show, which this year celebrated the Zonta organisation's 50 years in New Zealand.
Uniformed army personnel added to the sense of occasion.
For the second successive year the Otago Medical Research Trust benefited from the show's proceeds.
First introduced 16 years ago to celebrate the strength, individuality and tenacity of Dunedin's designers, the event once again reinforced this.
It also highlighted the equally important role local fashion retail stores continue to play in the city's vibrant fashion scene.
As the Ali McD models hit the catwalk at the well-paced, polished show the sartorial strength of the forthcoming fashion season soon became evident.
While the aesthetic of each of the established designers remained evident, every one of them showed exciting and often surprising diversity in their summer lines.
The romantically sweet and soft vied for attention with the more provocative outfits that alluded to the street and music scenes. Hints of sports lux were also there.
As always, there were the clever styling tricks for further traction.
Elegant pieces appeared alongside - or with - the casual and comfy, masculine-style bomber jackets and vests were juxtaposed with dresses in soft georgette and voile.
The inevitable black-and-white outfits were there but so were those lit up by shades of gorgeous greens, blues, burnt oranges and red; prints and stripes were also high on the agenda.
The backbone of the show was, as always, the stalwarts of the Dunedin fashion fraternity.
They were (in order of appearance) NOM*d, Waughs, Belle Bird, White By Design, Storm, the department store H&J Smith/Arthur Barnett, Company of Strangers, DADA Vintage, Carlson, Annah Stretton, Slick Willy's, Jane Daniels and Charmaine Reveley, along with splendid emerging talent from the Otago Polytechnic School of Design (Fashion).
The show ended aptly and nostalgically as outfits from the past 50 years, a number owned by Zonta members, were paraded.
The Ali McD makeup team was responsible for makeup, Aart on St Andrew attended to the hair design and the show's production was once again the responsibility of Victoria Muir, of Sequel Events.
