On May the 2nd, I attended SHOWcase 2015 – the launch for SHOW – a collaborative approach showcasing (hence the title) all dimensions of Wellington creative design such as fashion, interior, art, textiles. SHOW strives to merge these creative industries with community, lifestyle and designer collaborations.
It all started with the mysterious invitation which only informed us of a few crucial details such as where to meet- at the TSB Bank Arena – with no clue of what to expect, or where we were heading. We hopped onto the Transit buses and eventually found ourselves at Propeller Studios, a prop and event company in Shelley Bay situated on an old Army base. Upon entering, we were greeted by French waiters who served us yummy desserts by Louis Sergeant, which were washed down with Deutz champagne from Pernod-Ricard and San Pellegrino.
As part of the first half of the show we were guided through a maze of installations. This was a group show that featured fashion and design collaborations with an impressive list of designers including Trelise Cooper with ES Design (pictured above), Empire of Genius with HMS Studio, Ziggurat with Skandi (pictured below), highnoontea, Willis York, Mandatory with BoConcept, and Resene.
Below: menswear by Mandatory with BoConcept furniture.
Below: Empire of Genius with HMS Studio, and additional furniture by Skandi. This featured a collaboration between Tymone Winter of Empire of Genius and Helen Strevens of HMS Studio, with some pieces of furniture by Skandi. Streven’s intricate design featured as the wallpaper in this exhibition. Strevens also put her designs on some Winter’s beautiful silk pieces.
Below: womenswear by Highnoontea and jewellery by Flash Jewellery.
Below: womenswear by Highnoontea with Freedom (Cavalier Bremworth & Charles Parsons), and jewellery by Flash Jewellery.
Bex Brent, a member on the show team and owner of hair salon Willis York, is seriously one of the most talented people I know, hence her beautiful installation. The moss was sourced from Magic Moss in Christchurch. As Brent stated to me “Euciprides Cassels came up with the design. We used a copper tray because as the copper oxidizes the plants will look like they are floating. The legs are high grade ply. He even engraved little tree roots on each leg”. Cassels is taking commissions for tables like this. The light was Brent’s own lee broom crystal light from ECC.
Guests were able to view further details on certain elements within each installation – such as a piece of clothing or furniture- by holding their iOS device to the IBeacon technology powered by Hashbang. Models in the group show wore make-up by Natalee Fisher and her team, and hair styled by Willis York. I loved the interactive quality of this half of the show, as it felt like it really removed a barrier between the product and the consumer, while emphasizing the importance of engagement.
For the second part of the show, we were told to get back onto the buses to go to the ‘next secret location’. When we got off we realized that we were back to the same location. As random as it was, the ride gave us an opportunity to chill out in between the shows so I certainly wasn’t complaining. This half of SHOWcase brought us a dramatic finale with the Zambesi show, where guests devoured delish canapes from the Canape Company with drinks courtesy of Zambesi brand partners Rogue Society, Peroni, and Invivo.
While the first half of the show was all about immersing guests within the showcase, this half of the show put as back in our spectator seats. The show was opened by Loughlan Prior and William Fitzgerald of the Royal New Zealand Ballet ,who made a dramatic entrance, arriving in Land Rovers from Armstrong Prestige. Models walked on a Z shaped catwalk, with hair styled by Michael Beel at Buoy and make-up by M.A.C.
The successful evening was just the start of what is sure to be a brilliant undertaking, bringing us Wellingtonians many exciting things to look forward to, thanks to the wildly clever SHOW team, made up of Bex Brent, Kirsty Bunny, Ashley Church, Trina Edwards, Becca O’Shea, Joanna Shackel, and Mark Westerby.
Below: Reema Alfouir (Thread.co.nz writer) and Ashley Church of SHOW.
For more information on SHOW, head to: http://www.show.capital/
Words by Reema Alfouir
Photos by Elizabeth Coulton
Intro image above: Zambesi on the runway at SHOWcase 2015.
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