Jaeha 08

“Call Me Princess, My daddy Says So” Was a follow up to Jaeha’s last years breakthrough show, since then Jaeha has been gifted or some say cursed with the label of New Zealand’s next biggest talent, a hard label for a 22 year old to wear well.

Staged in the beautiful white marble St Matthews in the City Church, the soundtrack formed out of the model’s towering heels keeping a melodic clomp

The show card touted Vaselina, Folk and Fairytale princesses as muses. But the girls Jaeha and Stylist Dan Awha created had the look of runaway princesses and lacked the glamour and sophistication that you would expect from such rich inspiration. These naïve princesses were transformed into veiled sexed up lace wearing dominatrix.

Goth princesses were wrapped, draped, and sometimes tied up in interestingly cut knit and chiffon dresses, all very on trend. The various shades of purples set against green over dyed paisleys were a step away from the graphic coloring that usually dominates and defines a Jaeha Collection.

Jaeha debuted a small offering of menswear looks, which appeared to be more opulent than that of the women’s, featuring oversized satin bows and a multitude of tie-dyed tees and leggings.

The air lifted when front row Stylists and Buyers started taking note of the summer weight looks rugged up with shaggy reconfigured vintage knits (that were show samples only, a cruel trick to play on those ready to place their orders.)

Jaeha's talent was unmistakable with the finale of three floor length silk cascading gowns, the relaxed elegance of the gowns fit for gothic Russian Princess Brides.

The 9.30am streaming church windows maybe threw a bit too much light onto the execution of the garments and the show as a whole. The men’s tailored trousers and zipped jackets looked very two dimensional and unintentionally awkward, problems easily rectified with the help of a Tailor.

Jaeha’s raw talent is undeniable. Will he be able to raise the level and execution of his work to match that of his strong vision, and give New Zealand fashion the new directional designer we seem to be crying out for?

Jaeha - Winter 07

The most highly anticipated debut designer of the schedule was no doubt designer Alex Kim's label "Jaeha". The collection titled "Tie Me Up After I'm Done," from the very first outfit, this collection screamed of showmanship such as international designers Gareth Pugh and McQueen.

The styling saw models strutting down the catwalk in high dominatrix style lace up boots wearing scissors for hands and heads covered in knit shower caps as if they were ready to put on a wig but decided that it looked good to go out without it. This sense of urgency was displayed throughout, with metres of fabric draped and around the body. The relaxed fit garments designed to be worn a multiple of ways, either synched in by a belt or tied. The refined colour palette consisting of black, grey, white with the hint of purple and sky blue serves for a girl on the run with no time to mess about colour co-ordinating.

The prominent use of zips throughout the collection reinforced the dominatrix theme through sexy slim jeans which zip right up the centre of the legs, an interesting take on the plethora of designer slim leg jeans to the quite frightening gimp mask with zips attached at the eyes and mouth. Jaeha also referenced the movie Edward scissor hands by incorporating his own signature scissor prints on to t-shirts, which should no doubt have mass appeal.

Jaeha showed a strong sexed-up streetwear collection with a top-heavy silhouette and although it would have been good to see a woven garment that relied on cut more in order to truly show his talents. This show demonstrates the importance of collaboration between stylist and designer in order to create an unforgettable show, which has set the bar for what to expect from this talented designer as well as other new designers in New Zealand.

NOM*D

Turncoats - The audience in the Sky City Theatre mostly donned in black were rendered invisible in the low light of the cinema. NOM*D chose to present a film for this year’s Fashion Week with models weaving around the tiered theatre showing the 12 looks featured in the film.
The film starts with childlike models swathed in layers of white pinafores, lingerie knits, high pleat and rolled collars made with metres of fabric. These all white outfits are standout pieces in the characteristic NOM*D sea of darkness.
The childlike interaction between the models is reminiscent of the 5 sister in the dark Sophia Coppola movie the Virgin Suicides.
AS the press release stated “all children must grow up”, the film moved from the sweetness of childhood into the angst of teenage years and showed us the NOM*D we are more familiar with, reconfigured vintage, layering, deconstruction and a broken silhouette.
The path into adulthood was worn in layers of purple and red, with the * in NOM*D representing an A, for the nomadic look they took on. The acid version of these colours made the outfits look a little to now, softer versions of these colours would have complemented the timelessness of other pieces.
Nom*d is a dark bed time story, the same character on every page, always a new chapter. In some cases book adaptations don’t come to life, this did. It put across the level of thinking and complexity to what sometimes are outfits that leave you with questions, and truly showed the collaborative talent of all involved in the production of this film.

Kate Sylvester

Diamond Dogs- From the Name of this collection I was expecting a 70’s Glam Rock Look inspired by Bowie, Oh How I was mistaken. Inspiration was actually drawn from Judith Baragwanath a woman who featured on the Auckland scene in the 80’s known for her black lips. She was a woman with an upper class background but was involved in the punk and art scene.

This inspiration could easily be applied to the indie-scenesters of today but unlike today with Facebook, Party photos and the slash generation dressing up in a sub culture was once an act of rebellion not a phase in experimentation also before a time of subcultures being marketed and catered to.

I hold reservation to a designer who draws inspiration from a non celebrity, obscure or well known figure such as Judith Baragwanath, whose face was used as large patches and applied to Jackets and t-shirts. There is a varying level of exploitation - marketing and then mass producing a person’s lifelong style or essence then disregarding it for the  next seasons.

Kate Sylvester’s look remained, the well made coats- wool or tweed, the ruffle story, stripe story which was styled in punk fashion with coats on one shoulder, leather belts worn like sashes but resembling more of an artillery belt. Women dressed in a mix of military man style attire, with the hint of austere femininity such as lace, tiaras or jeweled necklaces, while the men cross dressed in lace slips or wore men’s clothing with just a hint of cross dressing such as lace knickers visible, riding above the waistline which I was not sure if it still held the same shock factor or relevance in today’s time - and instead looked humorously contrived .

The use of tie dye, luxe fabric in coats and checks incorporated throughout the show was something I thought had fallen out of designers favour but this clever conscious decision to use the un-desirable is perfect for the punk aesthetic.

Although this collection was more troublesome for me to digest from Kate Sylvester I enjoyed the clever lipstick print which looked like an artillery belt, the collection showed the clear mix of austerity and punk something that will definitely resonate with the kids on the scene of today.

Alexandra Owen

The intimate all white Shed One was a blank canvas for Alexandra Owens Winter Collection.She is one designer in Fashion Week who’s fit and finishing stand up to the scrutiny of a closer look, which the smaller venue provides.
The equine tougher bred models were sent out fur stoled and bridled. Loose half up 40’s style hair falling into soft curls. Older models:mid twenties, were edging closer to the intended market in contrast to the seemingly childlike models cast in other shows. Heels, De Rigueur in fashion right now, were sky high but were wrapped and taped to legs with shrink wrap and electrical tape.
Aristocratic Men’s tailoring was cut to fit a women’s body with nipped waists. jackets came out a plenty in fine felts,an almost metallic finish dark taupe worsted suiting an silk organza. High collared shirts accompanied this look in crisp white and dove grey. The broad shouldered silhouette, a nod to global trends, was taken to extreme by an exaggerated shawl collared leather blazer which was a standout piece. A tailored pleated take on a bubble skirt complemented these structured jackets and introduced volume into the silhouette.
Highlights were a full leg pant cuffed into the mid ankle that fell over the shoe and a beautifully simple white shirt with sheer panelling.
The beautiful shapes that Alexandra cuts are sometimes hidden under the veil of darkness, adding colour into the mix would show off her skill to true potential.
Alexandra’s Owens concerto accompanied presentation was slick and spoke to a higher level of fashion consumer, the show brought forward a sense of sophistication and maturity to a Fashion Week which has so far offered a lot of very on trend but ultimately disposable garments.

twentysevennames

Wellington based Twentysevennames army stomped the catwalk today with their winter collection” Butter not Bombs”.Twentysevennames chose to wear their hearts on their backs rather than their sleeves, with the backs of garments emblazoned with punk style pro peace slogans.
A relaxed confidence flowed through the show, with the models hair styled into messy top knots , minimal styling, 60's style Lennon glasses and unpretentious music: Snoop Dogg...
The Inspiration appeared to be broad and could be explained by the designers spending a lot of time in Op Shops. Military Anoraks, Oversized Men’s shirts, chunky hand-knitted knits, Vintage shrunken blazers and marching band jackets. All these looked to be thrown in the mix in refreshing ways providing a broken silhouette, with Twentysevennames then appropriating them with their own handwriting.
Colour was limited to Black, White, Cream, Dusky pink and a faded out military green. With tonal colours styled together for maximum effect.
Highlights were the man style white shirts with unexpected seaming and layering, very fresh. Knee length Capes with trench style detailing, and the 6 button high breaking jackets for both boys and girls that had a childish Edwardian charm to them.
It is good to see that Twentysevennames a label known as street wear label is moving away from relying on knits and tee shirting as show fillers. Editing these from the catwalk gives more scope to play with tailoring and begin to offer other garments than printed tee's, showing that Twentysevennames is growing up.

Cybele

Cybele kick-started the beginning of Air New Zealand Fashion week with her winter collection "Virtue."
The title of this collection was then cleverly put to test for media and spectators who had to demonstrate patience, for the show started Fourty minutes late. While being seated the set design included a large, black backdrop at the beginning of the catwalk with sprinkles of gold dots, which formed an abstract pattern. Among the time waiting I was trying to decipher this clue of what this image was in order to better understand what was to come. Was it wings, tree branches, an abstract print, It made me keep thinking about the scene in Lord of The Rings when Gandalf is trying to enter the dwarves cave. When he finally figured out the magic words a tree branch lit up on the door and it opened.
Like Lord of the Rings this collection was based around travelers, the Victorian traveler who is off discovering brave new worlds, with capes and silk dresses billowing and floating, off wherever the wind takes them. The Victorian's fascination of collecting exotic insects and fauna from far off lands called for the use of the lily and moth.
The models were dressed almost like princesses, pale skin with rosy checks, slicked back tied hair, some with a relaxed and modernised princess Leia look (another journey movie, but in a galaxy far, far away). But from the start of the first track by Fever Ray you knew these dolled up princesses were in for a perilous journey ahead. The subdued soundtrack continued with songs from Portishead and The XX. Moth wings were used as pin tucks in dresses and skirts, which gave a more sinister skeletal effect and were also used in prints which I happily found out was also the backdrop I spent so long trying to decipher. The lily instead of blooming upwards was represented facing down in a large glass neckpiece or in a group print of dangling, weeping lilies.
But just like in the movies this show was a happy ending. The execution in interesting pattern cutting is something Cybele has made a name for herself and does well in, I was glad to see the departure of double strap singlet and singlet type dresses and elated to see the arrival of tailored jackets with interesting sleeve or neck detailing.