Highlights from Wellington Fashion Week 2014 by Simonne Walmsley on location for Threadnz at the 3rd annual WFW, held in Shed 6, on the Wellington waterfront.
Marco
The first of the day’s events for me was the AW ’14 Designer Selection, showing a range of New Zealand designer labels stocked in Greytown’s Marco Boutique – owned by Cam and Craig of Wellington Fashion Week itself. Featuring Kingan Jones, Lucy McIntosh, Vaughan Geeson, Deborah Sweeney, Jacque Swan, Noa Noa and Nineteen46, the show was a great collection of well-selected designs, mixed and styled together. Photo by Masanori Udagawa.
AW ‘14 Collections # 2
This was a great line-up of collections from Maison Scotch (stocked by Goodness Boutique, Petone), Robyn Mathieson, Noa Noa, Nineteen46 (pictured below: photo by Masanori Udagawa), Highnoontea and Goodness.
My stand-out collection of the day though was Nineteen46’s Get Knitted. Stylish and incredibly wearable, the maxi-skirts look like they’d go anywhere beautifully – out to dinner, in your suitcase for Winter getaways, or just as happily stay at home on the couch with a book. The drop-crotch pant was an everyone-must-try piece (including me) which looked incredibly versatile, and the range of gorgeous top layers would see you through Winter looking fantastic. I also imagine for the models, after the heels some have walked the runway in this week, the Blundstone boots which featured as the perfect complement for this range, would have been a relief too.
It was great to see more of Noa Noa after the Marco show, and I loved being able to see the Highnoontea AW14 collection.
Two of my favourite pieces of the day were shown by Robyn Mathieson (below) – a stunning leather neck/shoulder wrap which not only looked incredibly unique but would definitely cut out some of these Wellington winds this season. Phone photo by Simonne Walmsley.
The Carpenter’s Daughter
Plus size label The Carpenter’s Daughter kicked off day four in excellent spirits. Attracting a bit of extra attention with Cabinet Minister Paula Bennett (pictured below: Photo by Masanori Udagawa) walking the runway, there was definitely an enthusiastic crowd in the house.
The Winter ’14 collection was a celebration – an upbeat collection of colour, texture, style and pattern. The label showed their commitment to catering to a wide range of styles and tastes within their niche by showing everything from leopard and tartan to sheers, and daywear to evening. Underscoring the wearability of their pieces, from street to office to evening, models walked in everything from high blue clear-heeled shoes to Doc Marten boots.
Below: The Carpenter’s Daughter. Photo by Masanori Udagawa
My favourite look from this show was definitely the striped tights. Red and black horizontally striped tights teamed with a floaty midi length mustard skirt and black boots were great fun, and I thought the black and white striped tights under a long sheer black lace slip a bit later in the show was a great cheeky wink from the label.
Bridal Couture
As is a bride on her wedding day, this show by The Wellington Wedding Show was something very special. On entering, we found the runway lined with rose petals and softly dancing light from candles nestled in trios of different sized hurricane vases. The set up for this show added both drama and romance, and successfully set it apart from others from the first moment.
Featuring designs from Rasha Taylor, Confetti Bridal, Helen Forster, Jessica Bloom, For Every Minute lingerie and Sally Eagle Bridal, there was a serene, romantic atmosphere throughout, full of beauty, as stunning bridal gowns, evening wear and lingerie walked the runway.
Below: Jessica Bloom bridal. Photo by Masanori Udagawa.
Below: For Every Minute sleepwear. Photo by Masanori Udagawa.
Below: Rasha Taylor bridal wear. Photo by Masanori Udagawa.
My favourite look of the day was a shorter 50’s style wedding dress by Helen Forster which won my heart completely.
Styled by Charlotte Wood Events, Charlotte initially addressed the show guests thanking the many contributors to the show which she described as like a “wedding on steroids” before lyric soprano Elita McDonald opened the show with Ave Maria. Music was played live throughout by duo antípodas, Blair Latham and Simon Lubsy, before closing again to Elita again singing, this time You Raise Me Up. A thoroughly beautiful event.
AW ’14 Collections # 3
An edgy and youthful range of collections, guests were given a great show by a mix of emerging and established Wellington labels tonight.
The show opened with swimwear from Surface Too Deep (above photo by Brady Dyer), and continued with clothing labels Love Hotel, Phillipa and Alice, Rooney Clothing, Duncan Mclean and Brooke Barrett.
Below: the finale at Phillipa and Alice. Photo by Brady Dyer.
Rooney Clothing set themselves apart with use of bright blues and a bird print. Photo Brady Dyer.
Duncan Mclean had huge crowd support which carried a great show of streetwear to another level. Below, photo by Brady Dyer.
There was a great use of layers by Duncan Mclean seen more internationally so far than in New Zealand (think blazers and anoraks styled together), and it was also great to see some guys on the runway.
My favourite collection of the night was the smallest of the week. Brooke Barrett showed just four looks – beautifully tailored boxy shapes in bold, block colours. I definitely wanted to see more of this label, and I’ll be looking out for them.
Jewellery Store
Hosted in Wharewake on the Waterfront and open throughout the day (a great destination to find your way to between shows), Jewellery Store featured seven Wellington jewellery designers including Found Jewellery, edgy label Black Leopard design, Gem Division, Patina, D.C Jewellery, the Fledgling collective, and Davey & Roy (recently rebranded from M. et al) with their latest collection Coral & Lace.
Definitely noticeable as you first walked in was Black Leopard Designs, standing out with their easily recognisable, individual pieces made of black rubber.
Jewellery Store was a pleasure to visit, with a huge range of handmade and hand crafted designs on display. There was a lot of silver in the various collections (both sterling and pure – two designers told me they melt down and recast antique spoons to create their pieces), gold, precious and semi-precious stones.
I couldn’t pick just one favourite here so I have two: Found Jewellery’s new collection Geometry Obsession, which was being shown by designer Juliet Ramson, together with pieces from her original Found collection, which was created using recycled materials, including brass from old windows and door hinges. This use of materials caught my heart, as did an extremely cool silver ring from the original collection which I took home for myself.
Below: Found Jewellery ring. Photo Simonne Walmsley.
Found Jewellery’s pieces were also used in a show the previous night, walking the runway during the Light Leather Fashion Design Awards Show with the Amelia Boland collection. Jewellery Store was a great addition to the Wellington Fashion Week lineup.
Simonne Walmsley
13th April 2014
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