Cooper cracks US
Trelise Cooper is the latest NZ designer to come to mainstream US attention, after her work graced the cover of venerable style barometer Women’s Wear Daily. Entitled ‘Southern Charm,’ the accompanying story charts Cooper’s growing popularity in the States, where fans include Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Reese Witherspoon and Angela Bassett. According to the NZ Herald, Cooper is only the third Australasian designer to make WWD’s cover in the magazine’s 90-year history (Collette Dinnigan and Sass & Bide have also appeared).
(11 August 2004)

WorldEdge: Sydney Fashion Week
The Australian Review headline: "Kiwis upstage hosts at fashion week". World's youthful postmodern colour blast made the cover of the all the major papers. And Zambesi's bomber jackets coupled with their trademark structuralist dresses made almost everyone's 'best off' list including the New York Post's. And "punky-cool" Karen Walker among the draw-cards missing at this year's event.
(April/May 2002)
       

Everybody wants a piece of you
"New Zealand has given us plenty of stuff. Russell Crowe, Crowded House, Maori bouncers who scare the crap out of you. They can have it all back if they will only let us have Nicky Watson." Meanwhile, husband Eric Watson hunts the Australian stockmarket.
(March 2001)
 

 


Sideline sneers no music to ears at Fashion Week
Karen Walker has created another visual and aural sensation. Things got interesting when she provided the fashpack with a CD player and headphones from which they could select their own music. The only trouble was some attendees had no idea how loud they were talking, which provided much mirth for those who chose not to listen to the music.
(10 May 2000)
  

Coming to fruition
At 27 Pamela Bell has found her niche. It's in Wanaka, snow-boarding and designing cross-over snow/street clothing. Pamela says her label Fruition means "reaching a goal, attaining something you deeply desire". 
(January 2000)
          

Australian Style the New Zealand Way
"If you look over those lists of favourite shows, as picked by two key international delegates, something even more interesting emerges: a third of the top-scoring designers were born outside Australia. Kiwi born and trained Dinnigan moved here as an adult. Walker is a New Zealand designer who lives in Auckland."
(2 May 2000) 
   

Dispelling the dark 
An exhibition featuring New Zealand designers Nom*D, Doris De Pont, World and Zambesi is on now at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The exhibition, entitled, Together Alone: Australian and New Zealand Fashion, highlights the practices of eight leading New Zealand and Australian fashion houses. The diverse approaches to fashion represented through these fashion houses at once dispels the stereotyped references to the 'casual and carefree' nature of Australian fashions and the 'dark and gothic' label frequently attached to New Zealand design. With over forty works on display, the exhibition spans the period when independent fashion design from New Zealand and Australia moved beyond regional boundaries, influencing how fashion from the area has been perceived in the last decade. Together Alone runs through April 18. 
(December 2009)

Secret chic 
Air New Zealand Fashion Week held in late September in Auckland, is reviewed by The New York Times' blog 'The Moment', which deemed designer Kate Sylvester "the country's best-kept fashion secret". "Especially noteworthy were the oversize sweaters and chunky merino knickers at Stolen Girlfriends Club and Stitch Ministry's merino wool bodysuits, trimmed in 'eco fur.' Areez Katki, the week's biggest revelation, is also a knitter. His one-off dresses made using oversize knitting needles were spotted on local 'It' girls in and around the tents and were showcased for fashion week in the window of Auckland's coolest new store, Children of Vision." 
(1 October 2009)

Black is the new black 
Fashion directory FTape celebrates the work of 23 independent style publications, including New Zealand's Black Magazine, inviting each "style bible" to "showcase a selection of their most iconic fashion editorials to date". Black Magazine emerged in a flurry of black and white as a quarterly fashion, beauty, arts and culture magazine back in 2006, publishing bi-annually from 2008. People often ask Rachael Churchward and Grant Fell, the founders of the magazine, about the title 'Black,' and their thinking was simple: "Black is the colour of New Zealand, black is the staple colour of fashion, black is the colour of the sand on the beach where we live at Muriwai, West Auckland, Aotearoa. Our national rugby team is called the All Blacks and our cat Oscar is, you guessed it, black. As Rad Hourani said in issue nine of the magazine 'Black is mysterious, chic, sleek, modern, simple and eternal.'" 
(September 2009)

This charming man
Cambridge-raised Michael King, chair of Fashion Cares, the AIDS Committee of Toronto fundraiser that sits at the intersection of fashion, culture and the city's queer community, is described by Canada's Globe and Mail as a cross between George Michael and designer Tom Ford but with a New Zealand drawl. Renowned for his vague accent, restless résumé and tomcat smile, King made his name as a magazine publisher and squire of fancy women. But these days, David Hayes finds, he's the owner of neo-burlesque-club Jezebel, out to conquer Toronto's hottest street, the Ossington strip. Toronto, King's idea of transforming a sleazy strip joint into a stylish burlesque house is an example. "What I love, what I'm passionate about," he says, "is looking at the world we live in and figuring out where it's going, what's next." He's a self-made man with a self-created aura whose business interests are considered by some to be smoke and mirrors (branding and the magic of creating buzz) and ephemeral (glamour and celebrity). 
(8 August 2009)

Be seen in Wickstead
Twenty-five-year-old Auckland-born fashion designer Emilia Wickstead's "elegantly demure collection of refined, pretty silk separates is already being seen at some of London's most fashionable locales," writes Julia Neel for British Vogue "as the well-heeled luncheon set catch on to the Central Saint Martins-trained designer's burgeoning must-have status." Baradene College-educated Wickstead "is winning the style set over; the just-for-me, bespoke factor is also hard to resist." "Since Vogue featured Petra Ecclestone wearing one of my dresses, it's been frantic," says Wickstead. "I've had women buy their entire wardrobes from me; from suits to full-length evening gowns and sophisticated day dresses, they buy everything." Wickstead was an intern at Vogue in New York and Armani. Her label, Emilia Wickstead was launched 10 months ago in Chelsea.
(May 2009)

Painting Piha 
Tauranga-raised Lancôme artistic director Aaron De Mey, who featured in the October edition of Mindfood magazine and whose past clients include Winona Ryder, Keira Knightly and Kate Moss, has released his debut colour collection based on the iron sand beaches of Piha. The collection includes a limited-edition sparkling dark lip gloss and nail lacquer. De Mey credits the diversity of the fledgling local industry as an ideal foundation for the years he spent overseas: "Working on music videos, editorial shoots with people such as former Prime Minister Helen Clark for the cover of NZ Style, and fashion editorials for magazines such as Pavement was invaluable. Those diverse experiences in make-up prepared me for the competitive fashion industries in New York and Paris." De Mey sees his new role at Lancôme as building upon the existing class and strength of the already formidable brand. "I want to push the teams [and] implement new techniques and ways to apply make-up," he says. "I hope to excite everybody at Lancôme and everybody who loves the brand." De Mey moved to New York in 1997, where he first worked on renowned makeup artist François Nars' make-up team for the New York Fashion Week shows. 
(April 2009)

Bringing back bold 
Artistic director of Lancôme Auckland-born Aaron de Mey, 35, "is one of the new breed of male creative directors shaking up the beauty" who "longs to halt the relentless tide of beige, to put the individuality back into make-up and encourage women to be more daring and experimental," writes the Times Online's Sarah Vine. Wilson really does push boundaries, and is well known for his originality and daring — highly prized qualities in the world of fashion and beauty. His slight, blond presence is to be spotted everywhere, from Vogue shoots to backstage at runway shows, creating standout looks for groundbreaking designers. Prada, McQueen, Givenchy — he's worked with all the greats. And now Lancôme. So far, his work for the cosmetics house has been boldly unapologetic, the antithesis of the no make-up look so popular in recent years. The pigmentation is intense, the textures bold. The lip glosses have a lacquer-like quality, more like paints than make-up, designed to be worn with extreme confidence. "I really wanted to take Lancôme back to its roots, back to Paris. I love those French girls you see in the street who wear a designer dress with an easy shoe — that spirit, that easy, non-precious beauty." 
(18 April 2009)

Dream covered 
Auckland-based designers Stolen Girlfriend's Club — a pop culture label co-founded by Marc Moore, Luke Harwood and Dan Gosling — are represented on the cover of Nylon Japan's latest issue, with Japanese singer and fashion icon Koda Kumi wearing a T-shirt from the Club's collection. Designer Marc Moore said the cover was a dream come true. "Finally we get some of our clothes on the cover of a magazine. It's taken a while, we have always wondered when or if it would ever happen,' Moore said. "We are working hard on the Japanese market, so to have our T-shirt featured on the cover of Nylon Japan will only help our campaign. Definitely a great way to start the New Year." Stolen Girlfriend's describe their beginnings on Myspace: "We started out as an art band but nobody liked our music. So we tried to be artists but got sued for copying Basquiat. Then we wanted to be pro surfers but everyone was doing it. So we traded it all for high fashion/low income." 
(January 2009)

Swamp style 
Auckland-based fashion designer Karen Walker is included in Russh Australia's January/February edition as one of the magazine's "favourite creatives" asked to share her current obsessions and influences. The inspiration for Walker's last collection 'The Believers' was Muddy Waters' 1968 Electric Mud. Walker explains: "With its dirty voodooish blues and its cover images, swampy, sweaty and strange … It's the inside photos that are the most hypnotic, a series of images showing Muddy having his hair done. He's not having a trim as one would expect, Instead his hair's in rollers and a hair net, and in one shot he's under a lady's hairdryer. The incongruity is what I love." The Spring 2009 collection features in Teen Vogue's 'Style' section.
(January/February 2009)

Cool on the catwalk
The 2008 Air New Zealand Fashion Week in Auckland is followed by Australian Vogue who review the second day of the event at Trelise Cooper, Stolen Girlfriends and Deborah Sweeney shows. Cooper supplies "something for everyone with craftsmanship and commercial nouse" writes Damien Woolnough. "Sweeney's tracksuit pant tights and wolf-print t-shirts are a simple and ultimately fun way to step back in time." While "the new cool kids on the block, Stolen Girlfriends took Aucklanders back to the street again. Not for those with a fear of draughts (lots of rips) or tartan." This is the fashion show's eighth year.
(September 2008)

In sheep code
New Zealand clothing label Icebreaker is enabling its customers to trace their purchased merino garment back to one of the 120 sheep stations where the fibre was grown by entering the individual 'Baacode' number found on each item's label onto the Icebreaker site. Through photos and video, customers can see the living conditions of the particular animals that produced their wool, meet the high country farmers who run the sheep stations, and follow the production process to the factories that knit, dye, finish, cut, manufacture and ship the garments. "For us, sustainability is about transparency and being able to show the whole design of the business, which starts with the growers and continues through every step of the supply chain," explains Jeremy Moon, Icebreaker's founder and CEO. 
(10 September 2008)

Must have di stagione 
Wellington design company Ataahua, owned by Bernadette Casey, has created a range of sustainable products made from repurposed coffee sacks, and Casey's Cuban coffee roasters' Trilby is gathering some fashionable followers. The hat is touted in The New York Herald's style section as a "sharp way to stroll across the street, newspaper in hand to a late brunch in say, Valle Nevado ... 'Each tailored hat is an original', promises their website, 'Patterns vary from hat to hat.'" The Italian Laboratory of Trends claim it is the "must have of the season." 
(19 July 2008)

Fur-envy
Inspired by the success of NZ possum-fur products, Australian designers have incorporated the "soft, mink-like" pelts into their own winter collections. Most notably, Lisa Ho imported NZ skins for her range of winter stoles and jackets. The New Zealand Nature Company can take their fair share of credit for raising the possum-fur profile - their infamous nipple-warmers and g-strings have made international headlines, and word is their $3,000 possum-fur bed-spreads are the latest in luxe on the American and European markets.
(4 December 2002)
          

 


Skin jewels
Seen on Gwyneth, Bjork and Lauren Hill, New Zealand-educated J Maskrey's Skin Jewelry described as "one of the most original innovations of recent years". Also check out the fashionUK feature.
(20 December 2000) 
      

Cold-blooded chic 
New Zealand clothing manufacturer Rodd & Gunn have designed the country's priciest piece of luggage ever made, from the skins of ten crocodiles. With the price for the large bag set at AU$30,250 and the small bag at AU$24,750 it raises the bar of excess. Over 150 hours of design and craftsmanship were put into the crocodile luggage and with only two being produced, they're about as limited edition as it gets. Even the managing director of Rodd & Gunn Mike Beagley admits he isn't sure who would buy such a bag. "I think it will be a hereditary piece that someone will buy and hand down to their children, and then their children's children. It has a lifetime guarantee so it will be a family heirloom," The bags will take pride of place in Rodd & Gunn's new Sydney International Airport store, hoping to catch the eye of a "discerning traveller". "If it doesn't sell within a month, we'll move it to another store," Beagley said. "If it doesn't sell there, I guess I'll have two great pieces of croc luggage to add to my collection." 
(8 October 2009)

Dressed in art 
World of Wearable Arts founder Suzie Moncrieff, 60, was a single mother on the DPB and a struggling sculptor when she decided she wanted to "take the art down off the walls" of her gallery in Nelson and put it on the body instead. A musician with no formal theatrical or business training, Moncrieff went through the phone book looking for sponsors, literally knocking on the doors of "big business". "I didn't even know you needed to make an appointment," Moncrieff says. She was knocked back; back then, business was interested in sport, not arts. Finally she told a Nelson cafe owner, Eelco Boswijk, of her troubles. How much did she need? Boswijk asked. A lot, Moncrieff told him —  $1000. "He came back with a cheque and handed it over," she says. "He is a great supporter and is now a patron." WOW now operates with a multi-million dollar budget and appears to have its pick of New Zealand corporate sponsors. It generates an estimated $10 million for Wellington traders over its ten day run. Moncrieff and her team are now concentrating on building the event's international presence. International designs made up 55 of the 165 entries this year, and came from India, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates, among other countries. 
(6 October 2009)

Artistic revolution 
For the first time in its 21-year history, the Montana World of WearableArt (WOW) competition, held in Wellington from September 24 to October 4, saw an international artist take the supreme award. Alaskan carpenter David Walker's Lady of the Wood was comprised of mahogany and lacewood with 52 strips of maple and cedar veneer for the hooped skirt and a wig made from wood shavings. WOW founder and director Suzie Moncrieff said there was no sign of a recession at the awards show, with 37 designers from all over the world attending. "It was very exciting for an international designer to win, reflecting how truly global the event has become." Time magazine's Stephanie Stephens described WOW as "a fabulous event that's equal parts couture, choreography and craziness." "WOW, Moncrieff says, "is a glorious rebellion against the mundane." First time Wellington entrants, Hayley May and Fiona Christie were runners-up in the supreme award and won the creative excellence section, themed fold, with their intricate garment, Second Skin. The piece, designed by the film-maker and architect, resembled a reptile as it sheds its skin. 
(17 September 2009)

Pam does Auckland 
Air New Zealand Fashion week, which runs from September 21–26 at Auckland's Viadiuct Harbour Marine Village, could see Pamela Anderson and Richie Rich's eco-friendly swimwear line Muse participating in the line-up. It's an interesting move by the festival which last year had more of an urban street flavour than a bouncing Baywatch-vibe. "If there is one thing we've learnt at Air New Zealand Fashion Week it's to adapt and change in difficult times," says ANZFW managing director Pieter Stewart. Fortunately heavy-hitters such as Kate Sylvester, Karen Walker and Nom*D are also on board. Stolen Girlfriends Club, Trelise Cooper, Zambesi and Huffer will also show. 
(31 July 2009)

Stopped making sense 
Former Christchurch model Jenna Sauers, 23, has revealed that she was the face behind feminist website Jezebel's correspondent "Tatiana", who acted as a mole during the 2008 New York Fashion Week. "She's smart! She's thin! And she's beholden to no one," the site had exclaimed. And, over the ensuing months, this pseudonymous insider developed a cult following with her explosive, brilliantly written accounts of what really happens to models in the fashion industry. Last week, though, "Tatania" finally revealed all and that she was done with the sneaking around and the furtive copy filing; done with modelling altogether, in fact. Sauers spent two years modelling for magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour and InStyle, and her Jezebel posts left little doubt that this is a world that pledges (and, in some cases, delivers) so much, but is also governed by a moral compass so "screwed up", as she puts it, it's frightening. Sauers was a 2003 graduate of Rangi Ruru Girls' College.
(29 July 2009)

Spanish coup for Kim 
New Zealand fashion designer Jaeha-Alex Kim, 23, was one of 10 finalists at the second El Boton-MANGO Fashion Awards held in Barcelona and though not the winner, Kim's collection has been selected to be produced alongside the winner's and distributed in MANGO's 1250 stores throughout Spain. Called "playfully quirky, yet darkly feminine", the JAEHA collection for MANGO Winter '09/10 is based upon ideas taken from his Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2008 collection "Call me princess, my daddy said so" which have been expanded and tweaked for an international audience. "Just to be named as one of their top 10 international finalists was amazing," says the young designer. "When I got home and they called to ask if they could produce my collection for their stores anyway, I was just speechless … It is an amazing honour and a huge step for me as a designer." Kim graduated from Auckland's University of Technology in 2006. He has featured in Asian Fashion Designers by Daab Publishing, Germany. 
(May 2009)

Barbie the muse 
New Zealand fashion designer Karen Walker has recreated several outfits from her Autumn Winter '09 collection 'she's cracked' to dress Barbie in celebration of the iconic doll's 50th anniversary. The ensembles include a bronze twist front dress, a grey Wedgewood dress in wool silk cloque and Powder blue Beswick dress in shattered china silk crepe. "Barbie has always been a fashion leader and so we wanted her to have the very latest outfits that aren't even in the stores yet, that were only presented for the first time on the New York runway less than a month ago," Walker said. The designs will become part of the official Mattel archive collection. 
(9 March 2009)

Height of fashion 
Kate Sylvester is approaching this year's Australian Fashion Week with bold and colourful designs based on the lives of adventures called, Take a Hike. Last year's collection Royally Screwed caused a stir angering ANZACS with military style sashes in a way that is supposed to be reserved for war heroes. "It was a completely unexpected response but I think that when the dust settled people realised that actually it was a beautiful show. The great thing about fashion though is it's always on to the new and so I'm just really looking forward to being on the runway again," Sylvester says. Proving that talent will always outlast controversy, Sylvester came back with Winter '09's Black Swans that is graceful, understated and wry in all the ways we've come to expect from her. "Black Swan is dark, beautiful and quite romantic. Inspired by black swans and black roses, it also has a very strong ballet theme. I'm a sucker for a tutu," she says.
(April/May 2009)

Seven and rising 
Auckland model Zippora Seven, 17, who has been lauded as the fashion industry's new Kate Moss, is the new face of Swedish clothing label H&M's spring/summer 2009 campaign. A topless shoot of the teenager at 16 in Russh Australia caused controversy in May 2008, but the images, considered "beautiful" by Seven, have done nothing to dash her rise to stardom. Just 167.5cm tall — at least five centimetres shorter than the usual minimum for a modelling career — Seven has shoots for French, Italian and Australian Vogue in her portfolio. She finds the comparisons with Kate Moss flattering but hopes to carve out her own identity. "I just try to be me. I don't try to be anybody else," she said. Seven has also worked on Stella McCartney's See By Chloe campaign. She represents 62 Models in New Zealand, Viva in Paris and Priscilla's Model Management in Australia. 
(January 2009)

Provocative on paper
Designer Karen Walker's 'Masters of Disguise' eyewear shoot has inspired the editor of hip New York-based publication Paper Magazine to base an entire issue on the collection. Walker's creative and quirky take on undercover detective disguises tickled Paper editor, Kim Hastreiter's funny bone and sparked their magazine's 'Pretend' theme. "I was inspired to create this issue's theme when I received a really hysterical eyewear collection from a fun designer in New Zealand named Karen Walker," writes Hastreiter. Karen Walker launched her Spring/Summer 2009 collection at New York Fashion Week. TimeOut New York's 'Tony Blog' says of Walker's show: "A designer's popularity can truly be measured by the number of fashion folk who come to your show while Tropical Storm Hanna dumps loads of rain on New York City ... I saw a line three blocks long of people waiting to get into the Karen Walker show. Fashionistas and downtown hipsters teetered on four-inch heels (in the pouring rain), waiting to get in. That, my friends, is dedication." 
(September 2008)

Diamond crafted illusions
Christchurch jeweller Jessica McCormack is recommended in July's Harpers Bazaar magazine, which describes the London-based designer's diamond creations as "strong and meticulous." "Driven by a desire to make precious objects accessible and wearable with anything from your jeans to your little black dress, McCormack is a real gem - creating jewel encrusted pieces which substitute the real world for her own fantasy landscape." McCormack features in the second edition of 'London Rocks', a selling exhibition featuring 18 talents at Sotheby's Bond Street location in September. And in UK trade magazine J-Dex, director of fine jewellery retailer Diamondcelebrations.com Saul Singer is quoted: "We love Jessica McCormack's strikingly creative approach to celebration jewellery. Her jewellery includes delicate earrings crafted from antique pen nibs. Heaven only knows what she has in mind for engagement rings."
(July 2008)

Walker sampled
Karen Walker features in the latest Sample publication by Phaidon - 100 Fashion Designers: 010 Curators. The idea behind the Sample series is for industry insiders to curate a selection of their favourite work within their field. Renowned fashion journalist and presenter of Canada's The Fashion Files, NZ-born Tim Blanks, picks Karen Walker and Missoni. Blanks will be attending NZ Fashion Week in October.
(July 2005)
   

Sporty
The Guardian profiles Rachel Hunter, host of new reality TV show Make Me a Supermodel. “In the 1980s, the age of the supermodel, she was as ubiquitous as Linda, Christy, Naomi and Cindy - but while they represented the elegant, Vogue-ified look, Hunter, with her thick, blond hair, tanned skin and curvy figure, was always more Sports Illustrated than Harper’s Bazaar.”
(12 March 2005)
   

Is this mike on?
Thai artist Seepphum Srisopa won the Bizarre Bra section of the annual World of Wearable Arts competition in Nelson. His winning creation - a bra with multiple microphones attached and pointing at the wearer – was inspired by PM Helen Clarke in press conference mode.
(15 September 2004)
     

Lucire gets respect
SF Examiner lists Lucire alongside Women’s Wear Daily and Lucky as one of the “respected fashion rags” sending representatives to cover this year’s inaugural San Francisco Fashion Week. Based in NZ, the online magazine has a predominantly North American readership, and is to feature in the next fashion textbook by US publishing house, McGraw Hill.
(19 August 2004)
    

Location, location, location
i-D magazine's Location issue gives pride of place to NZ's up-and-coming "kings of creation." Featured are Huffer designer Steven Dunstan, author Chad Taylor, artists Richard Maloy and Yvonne Todd, musicians Scribe, King Kapisi and The Mint Chicks, actress Michelle Langstone, and national women's surf champ Airini Mason - all photographed by fellow Kiwi, Derek Henderson. The issue also includes a Rings-inspired fashion spread shot in NZ with clothes by Nom.D and Zambesi.
(April 2004)

Tanning back in fashion  
Fish tanners in NZ, France, and Ireland are peddling their wares to the elite fashion houses of Europe, claiming that fish skin is as durable as crocodile and as strong as any man-made fibre. Recent collections by Bottego Veneta, Givenchy, and Dior featured salmon skin shoes and purses and a stingray clutch. The hides come from creatures used for food and lose any odour during the 7-week tanning process.
(7 August 2003)

Walker fesses up
Karen Walker grilled in Australian Vogue about her annual wardrobe expenditure. "I spend about $10,000 a season on my own ranges and another couple of grand a year on shoes, plus loads of vintage. All up, I guess around $24,000." A modest sum in comparison to other interviewees; one fellow designer confessed to spending between $40-50,000 a year on clothing and accessories.
(August 2003)
   

An eye for beauty
NZer David Lennie is behind a recent renaissance of works by late Australian fabric designer, Florence Broadhurst. As a director of Signature Prints, Lennie discovered an extraordinary collection of Broadhurst's work from the 1960s and 70s gathering dust in an unused warehouse. Lennie and his partner, Helen, spent 3 years cataloguing the work, and are now selling her designs to such leading Australian labels as Zimmerman and Akira Isogawa.
(19 July 2003)
   

Kiwi homme
Following Hunter and Bax Henry Hargreaves is the latest Kiwi clothes hanger to attract the lens' attention on the international fashion circuit. The New York based model has campaigns for Lacoste, Prada, Kenzo and YSL under his belt, and has spent two seasons gracing the catwalks for top designers including Calvin Klein and Byblos. Model Watcher praises his versatility and air of mystery, calling him "one of the most coveted faces of this minute."
(May 2003)
    

Colour me bad
The outlines of stylist/illustrator Kate Ruth are adorning hip US magazines Nylon, Soma and Fader. As well drawings by the Victoria University grad have graced the clothes of such edgy popstresses as Shirley Manson and Pink and were recently collated in an "adult" picture book, Colouring With Kate.
(Dec-Jan 2003)
   

Guilt-free fur
Ah, to be able to wear fur without fear of red paint. The possum's status as NZ's chief environmental menace has encouraged the fashion industry to use its fur for everything from bags to nipple warmers. Christchurch company Snowy Peak has successfully marketed knitwear made from possum fibre blended with merino wool, and is now focused on export. CEO Peri Drysdale: "There are some markets which accept possums and some which don't […] Australia is encouraging." A stylish homecoming for the pesky possum? 
(10 August 2002)
           

Possum fur-y unfashionable
''I should break your other bloody arm." At a Prada party Daily Telegraph fashion editor, Hilary Alexander, famously incurs the wrath of a PETA activist Dan Matthews for wearing a possum-fur sling. ''I was terrified," says NZ-born Alexander. Not so terrified that she couldn't muster indignance and a battery of facts in her next column. In NZ: "'between 60 million and 90 million brush-tail possums nibble through more than 20 tonnes of new-growth vegetation across the country every night destroying native bush and bird life.' Possums may be protected here, but they are loathed with a vengeance in the land of the long white cloud."
(08 May 2002)
    

Kiwi Designers Spruce up
Zeitgiest wunderkind Tyler Brule, founder of the phenomenally successful Wallpaper magazine, launches an even more exclusive title: Spruce. A bi-annual publication focusing on the very best of global fashion, its no suprise that two New Zealand designers find their way into the inaugural edition - Kate Sylvester and Icebreaker.
(October 2001)

Strike an edge pose
In a 30 page feature Vogue Australia's August edtion focuses on edge culture. Fashion designers Karen Walker and Zambesi feature alongside artist Michael Parekowhai and muscian King Kapisi. Editor Kristie Clements muses on the uniqueness of kiwi design: "I don't know if that comes from isolation and looking outwards and not being so easily influenced by other trends. It's more like an intellectual curiosity of looking outwards and also not being jaded."
(August 2001)
 

Idiosyncratic Mambo 
Designer Reg Mombassa, "the quintessential idiosyncratic Australian artist, even though he's from New Zealand," is a key part of Mambo's international success.
(8 November 2000)
    

Designing winner's wares
London-based New Zealand jewellery designer Jessica McCormack, was recently invited to design the 2009 winner's trophy for Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden. The trophy (pictured above) featured an architectural rose as a symbol of hope with petals in sterling silver and gold surrounding a domed bud centre set with diamonds. "I am incredibly honoured and excited to have been asked to design the 2009 winner's trophy for Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden," explains McCormack, a relatively new face to London's design scene. "As a new business I can empathise with the challenges of industry that the applicants face and I have huge respect for the support and platform that Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden provides to new talent to showcase and encourage their creativity." The trophy was presented to design duo Jenny Holmes and Dimitri Theocharidis aka JENA.THEO, at a ceremony on September 21. 
(15 September 2009)

Shoes and more shoes 
Auckland footwear designer Kathryn Wilson describes her 1919 apartment, formerly home to the priests of nearby St Benedict's Church, in the latest issue of Australian bi-monthly magazine Frankie. Living alone, Wilson shares her space — "all stucco archways and wooden floors and high ceilings" — with her Cornish Rex cat, Mr Bigglesworth, who is inspiration for a wodge of "joke presents" strewn throughout the apartment: cat-themed cushions and perfume holders that sit alongside Wilson's collection of vintage mirrors and, of course, many, many shoes. Wilson is a Massey University graduate and AMP scholarship winner. She launched her debut range of leather footwear under designer Caroline Sills in 2003. Wilson now has stockists in Australia, Jakarta and New York. 
(September/October 2009)

Bloody snappy shades 
In Karen Walker's 2009 eyewear range lookbook "celebrate the sun", models bare vampire-fangs and pose with sunglasses named "Helter Skelter," "Voodoo" and "Jonestown". Shot by American photographer Derek Kettela, known for his clean and elegant style of photography, the images of the fang-filled figures mirrored by the exposed image's matching negative make for a keepsake-worthy publication. The eyewear itself is anything but eerie; with innovative nods to the past the feeling is fresh and lively, if not even a bit silly — perfect for summertime fun. Walker lives in New Zealand with her husband Mikhail, her daughter Valentina and their dog and two cats. There are three Karen Walker flagship stores in New Zealand and one flagship store in Taipei. 
(11 May 2009)

Karen Walker cracks 
"We love the beauty that comes out of catastrophe, and the brittle nature of things," said designer Karen Walker of her new show. "Cracked," as the show was themed, had beginnings in the designer's decade-deep archive, from which she unearthed a favorite print of a broken strand of pearls. The gone-to-pieces motif was tempered with strong and simple silhouettes and charming graphics, including the resurrected pearls and a colorful new shattered-china-plate print. "It was a strong collection with loads of sellable yet quirky separates. And, frankly, is there a better time for fashion that celebrates the beauty that can blossom after things fall apart?"
(14 February 2009)

Embassy glamour 
New Zealand High Commissioner Rupert Holborow hosted a World of Wearable Art show for this year's Indian contestants at his residence at Chanakyapuri. Blurring the boundaries between art and fashion, of the 10 sculptural garments unveiled by 12 designers three will be chosen for the 10-day WOW show to be held in Wellington in September. Holborow said of the entries, "It's just like taking art off the wall and putting it on the body." The piece-de-resistance came in the end when a model, her head encased in a giant mobile charger, swaggered towards the audience in an outfit crafted out of 3000 charger pins scoured from Chandni Chowk. "The idea was to show the urban youth's preoccupation with mobile phones," said Rishab Rhode, one of the designers. WOW is in its 20th year.
(22 April 2009)

Rachel for a song 
Model Rachel Hunter, 39, has launched an affordable range of clothing for budget store the Warehouse, called Rachel. "I could see a real gap in the New Zealand fashion market for stylish, well cut women's clothing that's also affordable," Hunter said. The line is the second brand within the Warehouse's Design for Everyone programme, which aims to make quality design available to all consumers. In 2007, Hunter launched swimwear label 'Lola'. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
(23 September 2008)

Dedicated follower
Wellington-born designer Rebecca Taylor is better known in New York than New Zealand according to The Epoch Times, "where she has made a huge impression on the fashion scene" dressing celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Cate Blanchett and Uma Thurman. Taylor's Spring '09 collection, presented at the recent New York Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, is inspired by memories of growing up in a "fairy tale seaside village in New Zealand where her mother indulged her desire for ethereal ballet costumes and anything soft, sparkly, warm and kitten like." The Taylor label generates an annual turnover of $12 million per year - for a Kiwi chick who arrived in the big apple 11 years ago with NZ$600 in her pocket, that's not bad at all. Taylor studied at Wellington School of Design and got her first foot in the door with designer Cynthia Rowley. The Rebecca Taylor collection has now expanded to include clothing, maternity, shoes, handbags, accessories and hosiery and is sold across the U.S., Europe and Japan.
(12 September 2008)

Boutique at the bach
Auckland-based lifestyle fashion label FEW is showing its spring 2009 collection - inspired by the New Zealand bach - at the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) trade show in San Diego. The spring designs are inspired and influenced by peeling paint, beers around the barbeque pit, musty sheets, chipped plates and everything else a New Zealand holiday experience evokes. "The spring '09 collection is our strongest yet and we are eager to share it with everyone," said FEW founder Kena Lucy. "Our designers are on point with trends and we're excited about the growth and progress of the brand as a whole." In the past year FEW has experienced rapid growth, adding retailers like the trendy California boutique Intuition and Swell.com. 
(2 September 2008)

About me 
Edge denim designer Nicole Colovos and husband Michael were guest editors and cover stars of the sixth issue of independent US magazine, Me. Created by New York art director Claudia Wu, Me profiles a different pair of creative professionals and their circle of friends in each issue. Nicole and Michael Colovos are the brains behind Habitual, one of the most desirable denim brands on the international market. In their interview, Nicole and Michael talk about everything from how they met (when Nicole was Market Editor for Harper's Bazaar and Michael an up-and-coming fashion designer) to their respective upbringings in Auckland and New York. 
(Winter 2005-2006)

Walker ahead 
Karen Walker's most recent London show has been labelled one of the top five trend setting collections for 2006 by the world's leading fashion forecast agency, WGSN. Walker's fellow style leaders include current buzz brands Miu Miu, Lanvin and Chloe, and veteran designer Donna Karan. "Walker's collection … has creative commercial appeal without being pantomime, and illustrates that what London is about today is cool street wear-inspired fashion labels that can more that hold their own with the likes of Undercover and marc by Marc Jacobs," enthuses WGSN's website. Walker's latest collection also received a 5-page spread in fashion show bible Italian Collezioni and made the cover of the industry's most respected newspaper, Women's Wear Daily. 
(29 November 2005)

Paris in love
Viva magazine features New Zealand fashion designer Frances Howie, named one of the eight designers to-look-out-for by British Vogue. Howie is designing in Paris for one of France’s oldest couture labels, Lanvin. Her work on Lanvin’s collection at Paris Fashion Week has won acclaim and was picked as one of the top three shows of the event. In 2001 Howie was named the Smirnoff International Designer of the year. 
(June 2005)

WORLD comes to Sydney
WORLD is set to bring a splash of their trademark colour to Sydney’s Oxford Street, with the opening of a new flagship store there in March.
(22 March 2005)
   

You beauty
Sindhura Gadde, a former news presenter in NZ, has been crowned Miss India World in Mumbai. She will represent India at the Miss World 2005 pageant later this year.
(29 March 2005)
   

World class vision
A shoot by Meer Zuiderwyk featured in London’s cutting edge independent photography bi-annual, 125. A truly all-Kiwi production, the Pin-Up series showcased NZ models Penny Pickard and Ngahuia wearing local fashion, with hair by Wellington’s Derek Elvy (Buoy), styling by Pulp-founder Chris Lorimer, makeup by Michelle Perry, and production by Tracy Adams. Zuiderwyk describes the shoot as “a contemporary, somewhat saucy homage to the calendar girls of the early 60s, with Cuban undertones infused with the general feel of the images.”
(2005)
   

Flights of fashion fancy
Telegraph writer Emma Forrest reports on NZ’s fledgling Fashion Week and finds that many of the shows are more than deserving of an international stage. Highlights include Zambesi (“in the Dries Van Noten/Martin Margiela family … shows twisted jersey of direct intellect”), Coulthard (“the only designer who integrates [Maori mythology] successfully with Pakeha culture”), Kate Sylvester (“utilising NZ's reputation for four seasons in one day”), Sabatini (“deeply sexy knitwear”) and Karen Walker (“immaculately tailored safari suits with medallions of winged hot air balloons, inspiring flights of fancy in a culture that can lean towards conservatism.”)
(28 October 2004)

Elegance with edge
Karen Walker and Zambesi turned many a well-coiffed head at last month’s London Fashion Week. Guardian critic, Jess Cartner-Morley, picked Walker’s show one of the highlights of the week: “[Walker] … took as her inspiration the 1930s aviatrix Amelia Earhart – ‘one of the first great 'pants' girls.’ The result was a nice balance of elegance and kookiness - Chloë-meets-Hoxton, if you will.” The Telegraph mentioned both Walker and Zambesi as “names to watch” and, in a second article, included them as part of the “fresh, feminine, and thoroughly cosmopolitan” onslaught of Australasian talent currently hitting British shores.
(24 September 2004)

Hillary the height of fashion
Newcastle designer, Nigel Cabourn, has released a limited-edition clothing range inspired by Sir Edmund Hillary’s conquest of Everest in 1953. The collection was launched at an exhibition in Tokyo honouring the event’s 50th anniversary earlier this year, and will be stocked at high-end department stores Harvey Nichols, Jones and Selfridges. Cabourn visited the Auckland Museum to research his designs, which are made out of genuine British military fabrics.
(8 October 2003)
   

Wahine takes Manhattan
Pania Rose, Australia's latest supermodel has an Aotearoa genetic advantage: "After securing local campaigns for Country Road and the all-Aussie undies label [Bonds], the 19-year-old has hit the big time in the US, scoring work with cosmetics giant Revlon and American Elle magazine [...] Inheriting her Maori mother's dark features and gorgeous curves ... Rose has impressed with her "versatile" look.
(25 August 2003)
      

Zambesi deals in dark delights
NZ fashion house Zambesi lived up to its reputation for thoughtful sewing of the seams with an inspiring show at Sydney Fashion Week, netting a lucrative distribution deal with Canada's largest department store chain - Holt Renfrew - in the process. SMH described the label as "dark, brooding and worth keeping an eye on."
(26 April 2003)
    

Karen's Kiwi Christmas
Observer "unwraps Christmas in NZ" from the comfort of Karen Walker's Waitakere Ranges home. "It's a guaranteed white Christmas … the manuka trees are frosted with delicate white blooms so that the hillside appears covered in a dusting of snow." To the ubiquitous mix of pavlova, pohutukawa and barbeque, Walker has added a 10ft tall Christmas tree to the roof of her house: "There would be no point in having the tree inside, we won't come back indoors until March."
(15 December 2002)
   

"I am an illusionist"
"She is a ball of fire in Chinese pajama pants; she is a whirling dervish, a Nepalese tonka with a million faces, a human mandala." The work of LA-based artist Joanne Gair - the Kiwi behind Demi Moore's painted suit on the cover of Vanity Fair and award-winning make-up in Madonna's music video, Frozen, is the subject of an exhibition at Hollywood's PhotoImpact Gallery. "Kiwi Joe," has painted such famous bodies as Madonna, Heidi Klum, Elle MacPherson, and Naomi Campbell and had the the finished flesh canvases photographed by Herb Ritts and Annie Leibovitz. "Revered in the world of makeup-artists" Gair feels she is ready to return home: "New Zealand is Gair's muse. The color, the ritual, the intimacy with nature."
(20 October 2002)
 

Walker talks trends
In a bid to understand the fashion industry's "pandemic schizophrenia," SMH picks the brain of Kiwi style guru, Karen Walker. "It's all about zig-zagging. If it was white last season, it'll be black this season. All a designer is, in any discipline, is somebody who gets bored quickly [...] The younger, cooler, more underground designers have much more influence than people think … [they] are basically unpaid designers for a lot of the bigger companies." Walker could be talking about herself: a buyer from Tommy Hilfiger recently bought $12,000 worth of her designs in one swoop from Browns in London.
(29 October 2002)
   

Sheedy chic
Karen Walker's latest collection - "Dust" - profiled in Oyster. The look is inspired by Ally Sheedy's character in The Breakfast Club : "the indoor girl who hides behind her fringe and bites her nails". "Dust" is the result of Karen Walker's collaboration with stylist Heathermary Jackson of The Face magazine. 
(June/July 2002)
        

Down-underwear
New Zealand-edged designer Collette Dinnigan (trained at Massey University Design School, formerly Wellington Polytechnic) enlists Dane Helena Christensen to model her new 'supersexy' collection of underwear, 'Wild Hearts' for Marks & Spencer. The collection is photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth.
(25 January 2002)
             

Designer of the Year
New Zealander Frances Howie takes top honours at the Smirnoff International Fashion Awards, the world's largest showcase of new designer talent. The $115,000 first prize  includes automatic acceptance into the renowned Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London.
(10 December 2001)

Apocraphylactic realism
Another Aussie icon from Godzone: NZ-born Reg Mombassa is best known for the distinctive designs he creates for the Mambo surf-wear brand: bright, surreal visions of suburban life and beach culture. He is frequently controversial: a work depicting a naked Australian Jesus as plump and middle-aged raised the ire of many. An exhibition of his work in Sydney is revealing the depth of his work. "People in the art world seem to think of me as that T-shirt guy. That annoys me. I think whether its on a T-shirt or in a gallery its just as interesting."
(4 November 2001)
              

World desire
Melbourne's RMIT Gallery hosts Desire, a show on fashion as art, featuring "a beautiful dress by World New Zealand, constructed from a continuous zip that spills out onto the floor".
(25 March 2001)
           

Fashioning the seams
"My work always tends to be about throwing extremes together," says edge-designer Karen Walker. "I always find that the most exciting thing is when you take a $5 T-shirt and elevate it into something else...It's about pushing opposites together - that sort of irreverence, not wanting to follow the set guidelines." Also, Karen Walker in Hint Magazine
(15 March 2001)
    

 

Maximum coverage
Prodigy frontman Maxim sports New Zealand-made jewelry - two Ms, also the cover art on his new album Hell's Kitchen.
(8 January 2001)