High Style
This year’s Air New Zealand Fashion Week launched in unique style, with a catwalk show aboard one of its primary sponsor’s commercial aircraft. More than 120 passengers watched a sneak preview of the 2008…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Moko in Vogue
A French fashion designer’s use of moko in advertisements for his latest collection has caused a stir in NZ. Jean Paul Gaultier’s campaign shots, featuring male and female models with Maori facial tattooing, have…
Designing Women
New Zealand Herald writer Fiona Hawtin reports on the unique nature of the NZ fashion scene for the International Herald Tribune. “Of the 45 labels showing at the seventh New Zealand Fashion Week ……
True Romance
Ponsonby Road’s Harrowset Hall was featured in the New York Times travel section this month. Described as “a romantic den of feminine clutter”, Harrowset Hall stocks cotton nightwear, robes and bed linen. The shop…
Tee King
New Zealander Glenn Jones has won the US-based Threadless t-shirt design competition a record 17 times. Jones, the creative director at Auckland’s Dashwood Design studio, gets regular fan e-mail and has been featured on…
Jeweller Finds Wonderland in NZ
British jeweller Alice Hughes has created a range of bespoke pieces inspired by NZ plants and sea life. She established Alice in Wonderland Jewellery in 2004 after undertaking an apprenticeship in NZ, where she…
Zambesi Marches on Moscow
NZ fashion label Zambesi has netted its largest ever international account. Zambesi will be stocked in Moscow’s soon-to-open Cara & Co concept store, which describes itself as a “deluxe boutique for intellectuals.” Label owners…
Fashionable Folk
Australia’s Frankie magazine features an 8-page spread on NZ “fashionable folk” in its April/May issue. Students, models and DJ’s are asked to name their favourite hang-outs, shopping haunts and things about NZ while wearing…
Designer of the Moment
NZ fashion newcomer Cybèle Wiren (of label Cybèle) has caught the attention of international media with her Winter 2007 “Blue Blood” collection, first shown at last year’s Air New Zealand Fashion Week. Runway Reporter.com…
Let Them Wear Possum
The Independent reports on NZ’s thriving (and environmentally kosher) possum fur trade. “Elsewhere, designers who work with fur earn the wrath of animal rights activists. But in New Zealand, they are considered national heroes.” Imported from Australia…
Sweet Success
Wellington-born designer Rebecca Taylor won over crowds and critics at this year’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW), with a collection described as a “standout” by industry bible Women’s Wear Daily. A graduate of Wellington…
Philharmonia in Fashion
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra has launched a new initiative to dress visiting international soloists in NZ designs. For the APO’s recent ‘Russian Spectacular,’ pianist Marina Kolomiytseva wore a Liz Mitchell gown and presenter Elena…
Power Couple
Hamilton-born Nicole Colovos has been appointed joint design director of Helmut Lang with husband Michael, making her the first Australasian designer in history to head a major international fashion label. After fashion editing at…
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…
Sideline Venture
NZ’s best known sportswear brand, Canterbury of New Zealand, registered on leading international trend analysis site WGSN’s radar with its entry into the US market. “In a sea of denim and tees,…
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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…
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…
Must-see Designs
An impressive write-up in hip Italian trend forecasting magazine, Sport&Street, describes Air NZ Fashion Week as “a must-see fixture on the international fashion calendar.” Highlights include Zambesi (“Elisabeth Findlay, the epitome of an individualist…
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,…
Frock Stars
NZ designers made one of their strongest showings yet at this year’s Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. Sales for NZ’s top brands were well up, with Kate Sylvester now believed to be Myer’s highest designer…
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.
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.
Je Le Prends = I’ll Take It
NZ fashion labels Sabatini White, Nom*d, Ng, and WORLD staged an acclaimed joint exhibit at the prestigious Tranoi trade show in Paris. Sabatini White was particularly successful, securing orders of more than $110,000 and…
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 -…
“Shining a Light on the Edge of the World”
Oyster takes a behind-the-scenes look at the “Invisible Heroes” of NZ fashion. Featured are Benny Castles and Lou Davies (Assistant Designer for WORLD Man and Woman respectively), Jenny Cook (Karen Walker), Gregory Brooks (Nom*D),…
Taylor-made in New York
Empire waists, lace trim, pinafores and velvet jackets featured in Rebecca Taylor’s www.rebeccataylor.com collection in her runway show at New York Fashion Week. The New York-based Wellingtonian has also added the Bush…
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…
Coolest of the Cool
Hip Aussie fashion magazine, Yen, named Zambesi the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week’s best overall show. “Zambesi: the coolest of everything – the clothes, the casting, the hair and makeup, the understated theatricality and the…
Aotearoa in Vogue
The November issue of Australian Vogue contains a sumptuous 30-page spread on NZ. Topics include our “so hot right now” film industry, the best places to eat and drink in Wellington, Auckland, and…
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…
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: ” … took as her…
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…
Hot Stuff
Alice Goulter, Wellington fashion grad and newly appointed womenswear designer for Mossimo Australia, makes Cleo‘s monthly hot list. “Expect to see a difference when her designs hit stores in October.”
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…
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…
Fashion’s High Fliers
Air NZ has launched a much-needed overhaul of its flight attendants’ uniforms (last updated in 1991), with Elisabeth and Neville Findlay of Zambesi at the helm. The airline was recently announced as the new…
Increased Coverage This Season
“Dusseldorf, Reykjavik, Melbourne, Madrid and Hong Kong may as yet be household names only in the households taking part, but Mercedes-Benz Sydney Fashion Week, Air New Zealand Fashion Week and Sao Paulo Fashion Week…
Location, Location, Location
1 April 2004 – 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…
Chick to Watch
Massey University fashion graduate, Alice Goulter, profiled in a ‘Behind the Seams’ feature by Australian teen magazine, Chik. At the time of the interview, the 23-year-old was working as Design Assistant at Mossimo Woman,…
26 Reasons to Love NZ
Australian Harper’s Bazaar gives an A-Z run down of Kiwi style in response to last year’s L’Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week. Beneath the header “small enough to get seriously edgy, big enough to do…
The Future is Kiwi?
1 February 2004 – The latest issue of Italian trend prediction magazine and style bible, Sport & Street Collezioni, includes a significant spread on NZ fashion, with Nom*D as the headlining feature. S&S on Nom*D:…
Karl’s Eye View
Australian Vogue’s December 2003 collector’s edition includes NZ designs hand-picked by guest editor/fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld. Featured are Karen Walker’s baby-doll dresses and op-art minis, Zambesi’s cutting-edge sportswear and metallic accessories, and Kate…
Colour Me Bad
The outlines of stylist/illustrator Kate Ruth are adorning hip US magazines Nylon, Soma and Fader. Drawings by the Victoria University grad have also graced the clothes of such edgy popstresses as Shirley Manson and…
Street Cred
“Dressing icons of the now” on the streets and slopes are home-grown favourite Huffer. The street-wear label, created by Steve Dunstan and Dan Buckley in 1997, is now sold through 10 stores in Australia,…
A Tailor of Two Empires
Bafta award winning costume designer Ngila Dickson profiled (+ slide show) in the New York Times. The signature of Dickson’s work on Lord of the Rings and Last Samurai is its fluidity and authentic…
Runway Successes
19 October 2003 – The usual suspects stood out from the crowd at the 2003 L’Oreal NZ Fashion Week in Auckland, with WORLD (above), Nom*D, and Zambesi flying the edge flag for innovative and individual…
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…
Big Ups for “Small but Perfectly Formed” NZ Fashion Week
The Age calls L’Oreal NZ Fashion Week a thorn in the side of its Australian counterparts, warning that its “peculiarly talented protagonists” are in danger of showing up bigger fish across the Tasman. “Fashion…
Teen Queens Fly High
The latest designs by Deborah Sweeney and Karen Walker feature in Oyster magazine’s August/September issue. Sweeney’s aviatrix-inspired ‘Fli-Girl’ collection – a salute to original fly-girls Amelia Earhart and Jean Batten – teams mini parachute…
Zambesi: the Story of a New Zealand River
Australian Financial Review Magazine devotes 5 pages to edge fashion label Zambesi. “They have been called the Belgians of the Asia-Pacific region . Over a quarter of a century, cult fashion…
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 , the 19-year-old has hit the big time in the US, scoring…
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….
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….
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 196s…
Paddo Pleats to Please
Leading Sydney retailer, Belinda Seper, is stocking hand-pleated designs by “New Zealand newcomer” Rachel Pederson at her new store in William Street, Paddington. Pederson’s work will hang alongside that of Michelle Jank, Easton Pearson,…
Walker’s Goes AWOL
Nylon magazine is all praise for Karen Walker’s gender-bending Runaway collection, calling it “a perfect blend of daddy’s old fishing jackets and backless chiffon mini-dresses.” Based in Auckland, Walker attributes her edgy designs to…
