Fashion commentators Jude Hathaway and Sarah Harvey review the collections of the designers who make up Dunedin's hotbed of fashion creativity, as shown at this years iD Fashion week.
Fresh, new styles further extended the Nom*D reach. Old classics returned. Breaking the tone-on-tone blacks and charcoals was the label's own ink blot retro patterned fabric in half dresses, which introduced a zappy electric blue.
Purple punctuations were also there. Hooded capelets in coated cotton and a sophisticated hooded overcoat with a nod to the trench were among the beguiling stand-outs.
Knits, from cute checked dresses and basket-weave jerseys to long ribbed vests, looked to the label's beginnings. Coming in as a contrast were garments in gleaming lurex, silk wool blends, georgettes and burnished metallic fabrics.
And re-worked vintage gear was as ingenious as ever. Happy Birthday Nom*D!
It was inspired by an enigmatic blonde gazing out of a card of passport-style photographs, which Keucke found in an East German train station.
Keucke's imagination kicked into overdrive as thoughts turned to espionage, disguise and subterfuge.
The result is a collection of garments as versatile as they are elegant, with 1940s shapes and attitudes - ladylike and feminine with a touch of sass.
Fine merino knits, beautiful wool wovens and printed silks gave fluidity to the dresses, smocks, tops, jackets and coats, cleverly designed using curved panels and other techniques to accentuate and flatter the feminine form.
Faux fur and vinyl also sang under the Keucke touch, which has shaped her most erudite range yet.
Her full-length coat, displaying many of the design elements that make Mild Red unique, was one.
Asymmetry, fabric manipulation and spectacular styling, with the added interest of large jewellery pieces in Perspex and metal by Christchurch sculptor Graham Bennett, made for a dramatic show.
Metal also appeared in large silver eyelets on leggings and other garments.
Full focus in her "Abstract Solutions'' collection was on shape, proportion and her often unorthodox silhouettes.
A red outfit saw the reappearance of the "Guilt'' skirt of an earlier collection. This was created in the days before Mild Red's woven garments stood as strongly beside the knitwear as they do today. {C}
Outfits swung - from ladylike wool merino coats and printed velvet capelets to satin-trimmed merino smocks and pony-print jodhpurs.
A classy wool swing coat and short rain jacket vied for attention with a faux fur capelet.
A pony print silk T-shirt over a lace polo put a new slant on "country casual''. A winner was the mid-calf black skirt with black-and-white lining which reversed into a strapless party dress.
This was very cool, as was the eyelet-detailed strapless dress in burnished aubergine.
Outfits in the collection, which could well be Reveley's best yet, were worn with pony-oriented jewellery, the result of a collaboration with jeweller Zantedeschia Robini, which showed broad scope.
There was little-girl whimsy mixed with soft sensuality. Dramatic masculine elements were seen in a merino knitted vest with lurex glints, a tailored velvet waistcoat with satin lapels and a long-line, single-breasted tux.
A wealth of jackets included an eye-catching puffa-style. Retro-inspired slimline dresses in deep grey provided high-powered elegance few designers attain effortlessly but Carlson does, by deftly working beautiful fabrics with advanced cutting techniques.
Her clothes grace the body rather than just cover it. And, of course, her signature lace was there, which she does so superbly.
Soon, she heads to Auckland. Dunedin will miss not having this lady in its midst.
With her "Selector'' range, she has been more liberal than ever. So what was the catalyst for her bounding effortlessly from decade to decade, drawing on everything from dance halls to Britain's Little Rascals and Bob Marley in a too-small track suit?
A '70s geek check in greens, oranges, yellows and red was indeed the springboard for her boiled lollies colour fusion. From there, she ran with key looks.
These included a quilted jacket in '50s style, a bomber jacket with '60s references and faded denim garments of the 1970s.
Shorts were short, pants were either ultra-narrow or wide. Even the headwear had an exaggerated style that help layer up the inimitable CCC attitude.
Guest designer - Adrian (Hailwood): They loved it at Air New Zealand Fashion Week last October and it was great to see guest designer Adrian Hailwood's collection "live'' in Dunedin. Hailwood's design career started in T-shirts and his ability to do great Ts continues.
One beauty featured musical notes alluding to his theme "A Life In The Day'' from a Beatles song.
But all his women's garments are covetable, be it the metallic dress gathered on to a lower band with oversized bell sleeves or the two-piece pant suit in silver grey.
There was also the sexy ruffled blouse in grey and black stripes; and for the sartorially confident a silver metallic Nasa-style jumpsuit.
A rock `n' roll twist continued in his men's gear, slimline pants teamed with large T-shirts and jackets. And his Hailwood footwear gave a brilliant finishing touch to both ranges.
Each designer shows six outfits. Five in the main show and one in the finale.
A hand-embroidered pocket on an op-shop jacket was the inspiration for the collection.
Coats were thrown over shoulders to reveal delightful patterns and decorative buttons on the underside. Skirts were teamed with tailored jackets and hooded sweatshirts while delicate shirts made from vintage fabric were decked with bow ties, blurring the lines
between feminine and masculine in a classic runway show.
The main shades were white, grey and and maroon. Key pieces included a grey tailored jacket paired with merino trousers and a cotton and wool-blend check skirt.
The collection was classic styling with a modern twist. The features of all five outfits were the long-line cardigans, draping dresses and skinny scarves.
Smirking models were made with teased hair and striking make-up to complement the modern French feel of the collection and music, by Chromeo, was also of an upbeat European flavour.
The collection made of either superfine or knitted merino had as the main features stirrup tights and draping, cinched in at the waist with a wide belt to accentuate the female form.
The palette was simple with charcoal, olive green and burnt red. An outstanding piece was the olive green textured dress/vest and the black draped cardigan with buttons down the front.
Cosette Blackie (Aionias): "The Never Ending Circle'' designer Cosette Blackie's second collection for her label Aionias had models prancing down the catwalk with baby-doll styling in outfits inspired by the shape of a corset.
With colour blocking and free flowing styles, the collection had a concentration on browns, charcoal, cool blues and smoky greys.
The main features were the merino dresses, with a particular standout a brown merino dress with black blocking, designed to look like an elongated corset.
The metallic buckle necklaces were an added feature of a couple of the outfits, with some of the key picks including a flowing merino/lycra dress and a metallic high-waisted skirt which had a button-on pocket featuring the Aionias symbol, an art deco sunset.
Following their inspired showing at the school's end-of-year "Collections" show, five third-year graduates were chosen to show at the railway station.
Sharn Blackwell built unexpected three-dimensional shapes with her Freaks collection.
James Currie took his theme of androgyny to create striking, genderless silhouettes.
Sonia Hegan used her childhood and her large dress-up box as inspiration for her edgy collection.
Sam Mitchell took tailoring and textiles as the main focus of her garments for males and females.
Erin Wesley, inspired by the Transformers movie, designed outfits to adapt to specific environments.
- Photos by Craig Baxter. Models from Ali McD.
