I first met NZ designer Katie-maree Cole when she won a fashion show I was judging, and I hired her in my boutique. She went on to win numerous awards, get top in her year at fashion school and now launches her range, "Painted. me"…
I first met NZ designer Katie-maree Cole when she won a fashion show I was judging, and I hired her in my boutique. She went on to win numerous awards (including Hokonui Fashion Awards), get top in her year at fashion school, get chosen as a finalist in the Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders competition by Karen Walker, and launch her own label.
It was obvious from the get-go that this was a young woman with talent.
After a successful season selling merino basics that her customers loved to wear and wear, Katie-maree Cole now launches her first directional range, entitled "Painted. me" with painterly strokes of colour in a pretty palette and beautiful range of designs.
Katie-maree Cole says her collection Painted. me for Spring Summer 2010/11 is "a playful capsule collection tinkering with the transformation clothes can bring."
"Influenced by the imaginative novel ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ and the Japanese flirtation with individual style, it gives women garments that are quirky and feminine with a personality they can own"says Katie-maree.
The label started in January 2009 with a trans-seasonal collection of NZ merino basics. 2010’s Painted. me collection brings a more diverse range of silk, cotton and linen garments, attracting a customer youthful in age or spirit.
Painted. me will be available in Auckland and Wellington and from her website www.katiemareecole.com which is to be launched in August.
You can also see the range on Youtube here
We often say, ‘this young designer or that young designer is the one to watch.’ With Katie-maree Cole, we’re not just paying lip service. She really is a talent and deserves to go far- so watch this space.
By Megan Robinson, 29 June 2010
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