Wondering what to wear to the office? Take note from Kate Sylvester’s sexy secretaries, in her erotic S&M-meets-The Office collection presented at the newly-revamped Auckland Art Gallery on Tuesday 4th October…
Kate Sylvester AW12 The Secretary
Wondering what to wear to the office?
Take note from Kate Sylvester’s sexy secretaries, in her erotic S&M-meets-The Office collection presented at the newly-revamped Auckland Art Gallery on Tuesday 4th October.
The bondage librarians on show were styled by the clever Karen Inderbitzen-Waller, with creative direction by Kate Sylvester’s husband and creative partner Wayne Conway, who together brought a naughty edge to the niceties of the knife pleats and ladylike dresses.
Tying in with the whole secretary theme, they wittily used a letter with red pen corrections as the show invite, and a letter from Kate Sylvester with typos corrected in red was also on seats at the show.
It was more B&D than LBD as models posed in a frieze, with red silk ties around their wrists and ankles.
And as we were in the art gallery, perhaps it was apt that the model on all fours only needed a glass tabletop to resemble David LaChapelle’s Woman With Coffee Table.
Kate Sylvester AW12 had more than a nod to the film ‘Secretary,’ with women in suits spanking models in librarian-chic and eyewear.
Hair was created by Lauren Gunn at Stephen Marr for Wella, and make-up by Shirley Simpson for M.A.C.
I loved the shoes in contrasting colours to the dresses: the blue shade that Kate Sylvester always includes in a collection with a lipstick-red dress, and a canary-yellow shoe with a blue-grey lace gown.
Penny Pickard got tied to a tree. Not just your average fashion show then.
I have a red pencil that model Penny Pickard touched as a souvenir. Wonder if that’s worth something on Trademe?
The styling was superb, particularly the seamed stockings worn back to front and the accessories of red hair ties and red pencils and gold studded hair slides.
Fashion-wise, there were more than a dozen must-haves but quite a few also-rans; the middle section of daywear looked almost frumpy on models and you know what they say; if it doesn’t look good on a model, how is it going to look on an ordinary woman?
For me, the highlight was the maxis. absolutely breathtaking. My favourite was the salmon pink chiffony number with a bondage back – what an artful juxtaposition – followed closely by a sleeveless lace maxi.
Below: Designer Kate Sylvester poses next to the model in red at the finale.
‘Animated’ conversation: Petra Bagust with Shrek & Narnia Director Adam Adamson.
As well as a winter collection launch, the evening represented the release of Kate Sylvester’s colab with wine company Millton Vineyards & Winery, and the launch of Muskets At Dawn. Guests sipped flutes of the dessert wine in the art gallery foyer before the show.
Megan Robinson 5 October 2011
Photography Kevin Robinson
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