Fashion ahoy!

Ahoy, Capt. Cooper! It was ship shape and full steam ahead when Trelise Cooper showed her Summer 2011 collection on the decks of Queen Mary 2 in harbour at Ports of Auckland to 250 guests in a floating catwalk aboard the luxury liner…

Ahoy, Capt. Cooper! It was ship shape and full steam ahead when Trelise Cooper showed her Spring Summer 2011 collection on the decks of Queen Mary 2 in Auckland harbour to 250 guests aboard the luxury liner.

Trelise said her models were worried about the "hurricane" destroying their hair, on the windswept bow used as their dressing room and catwalk.

She said the Spring Summer 2011 collection is all about "feeling beautiful" and feminine fashion; elegance, and all the things that make being a woman in New Zealand so fantastic!"

An audience of over 250 VIP guests, media and celebrities including Shane Cortese and Nerida Lister, Mayor John Banks, Kate Hawkesby and well known Auckland faces gathered on the deck.

With the bright Auckland sunshine beating down, it was the one time that it was perfectly okay to wear your sunglasses in the front row at a fashion show without looking pretentious.

A band played above the catwalk as guests arrived for the show.

Below: Trelise’s Victory Lap on the horseshoe-shaped catwalk on aft deck in the show’s finale.

All the models line up after the show. Hair was by Grant Bettjemans at Bettjemans salon, and make up by MAC under Tatum Savage.

Auckland Mayor John Banks with Trelise Cooper and Ann Sherry of Queen Mary 2 shipping line, Cunard.

The gale force winds play havoc with models’ skirts

…and with their hair!

The show opened with a nod to its venue, with nautical outfits in marine and white stripes teamed with straw boaters.

Also emphasising the marine theme were swimsuits under shirts, and over-sized sequins reminiscent of fish scales.

Silhouettes were either waisted 1940s style, or a looser kaftan-style with no waist.

Below: Jewel tones in an emerald green kaftan dress.

A pretty polkadot 1940s style sundress.

Beauty note: exaggerated lower lashes painted onto lower eye.

Hair was crimped and pulled up into high pony tails and hair extensions, often in contrasting colours, trailed underneath, adding volume and length.

Some unusual feathered stilettos.

Trelise graciously invited Rachel Glucina after the ‘ribbon bow debacle’ at NZ Fashion Week where Glucina ousted Trelise for using a ribbon bow motif that was also used at Top Shop, apparently by the same embroiderer. Below, another sequinned ribbon bow motif on a canary yellow dress.

Guests mingle on the top deck with Ports of Auckland in the background.

By Megan Robinson, 4 March 2010
Photography Kevin Robinson