Stand Out in Glassons

Amongst a carpet of petals, models walked to rock’n’roll at Glassons’ first ever runway, showcasing the new direction by Creative Director Adam Bryce with styling by Zara Mirkin…

Amongst a carpet of petals, models walked to live rock’n’roll at Glassons‘ first ever runway preview, showcasing the new direction spearheaded by Creative Director Adam Bryce with styling by Zara Mirkin.

The show, named for the campaign, ‘Stand Out Glassons’ took place at Van Lier rose factory in Coatesville, in West Auckland’s vineyard and orchard country. It was a far cry from the usual venues of downtown Auckland. Media were shipped out by bus, and the backstage area was a warehouse adjacent to the factory, filled with M.A.C makeup artists and Stephen Marr hairstylists.

On arrival, Instagram went crazy as guests spotted the Little And Friday catering weighing down a table strewn with rose petals; cupcakes sitting incongruously next to guillotines.

The name of the campaign itself is clever; traditionally, one might not have thought of a chain brand as particularly ‘standing out.’

But under this new creative direction, the marketing of Glassons is presenting the customer as a woman who is an individual. Rather than a brand of fast-fashion basics, these are clothes to take your stand in, and stand out in.

To this end, Glassons have secured expat New Zealander Maya Handley (nee Villager) – now in New York with a famous blog, Turned Out – to do a street style campaign shoot.

So, what were the clothes like? Plenty of dungarees, distressed denim and Grunge-goes-West with flannelette shirts over lace dresses. My picks were the quilted faux leather, the leathery backpacks, and the Varsity jackets with contrast sleeves.

There were four stories presented today, seen in the pictures below. Rustic Wanderlust has a bordeux and cream palette, Sheer Romance is a softer vintage trend, Off Duty has military gone casual, and Wild Flower has the texture of corduroy, tapestry and lace, with plenty of burgundy.

Models walked to retro-rock covers as the band played live during the runway show. The band included members of The Checks, The Rackets and more in an amalgamated group brought together by Zara Mirkin.

Words and photos Megan Robinson
23 January 2013