Fashion Writer and Blogger, Wellington.





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Created exclusively by New Zealand-based label Nature Baby for U.S. fashion retailer J.Crew, these organic neon-bright striped cotton bodysuits ($29.95) are now availble locally at The Department Store.

Created exclusively by New Zealand-based label Nature Baby for U.S. fashion retailer J.Crew, these organic neon-bright striped cotton bodysuits ($29.95) are now availble locally at The Department Store.

Clashing can work this winter - mixing bold colours and striking patterns offer a sharp update on head to toe prints this season. If done cleverly, It doesn’t have to look too busy or garish, which was perfectly showcased by designers on the runway recently from Prada to Oscar de la Renta.

Clashing can work this winter - mixing bold colours and striking patterns offer a sharp update on head to toe prints this season. 

If done cleverly, It doesn’t have to look too busy or garish, which was perfectly showcased by designers on the runway recently from Prada to Oscar de la Renta.

For all things collegiate and stylish head to the Glassons custom varsity pop-up shop in New Market this Friday until May 3rd as they offer super cool customised tees with an array of transfers and colours, from letters, numbers, to smiley faces, lightning bolts and more! Showcase your customised tee by tagging your snaps with #glassonsvarsity!

For all things collegiate and stylish head to the Glassons custom varsity pop-up shop in New Market this Friday until May 3rd as they offer super cool customised tees with an array of transfers and colours, from letters, numbers, to smiley faces, lightning bolts and more! 

Showcase your customised tee by tagging your snaps with #glassonsvarsity!

A DAY AT THE VOGUE SCHOOL OF FASHION Chloë Hamilton ventures into a day at the very first Vogue school of fashion. 45 students who recently embarked on the first 10-week Vogue Fashion certificate course at the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design which is based in London’s Soho, just minutes away from Vogue House. Read the full story here  - http://ind.pn/10tcFMA

A DAY AT THE VOGUE SCHOOL OF FASHION

Chloë Hamilton ventures into a day at the very first Vogue school of fashion. 45 students who recently embarked on the first 10-week Vogue Fashion certificate course at the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design which is based in London’s Soho, just minutes away from Vogue House.

Read the full story here  - http://ind.pn/10tcFMA

PUNK: CHAOS TO COUTURE Even with a costume theme as provocative as the one “Punk: Chaos to Couture” presented last week, many of the 2013 Met Gala’s guests were powerless to resist the siren call of the glamorous, elegant evening dress. True, the night saw its share of original punks plenty of spiky, studded, and safety-pin adornments de rigueur. The latest exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum looks at how the punk movement emerged from the music scenes of New York and London and how it took designers in new directions. Punk: Chaos to Couture runs at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, until August 14 - http://met.org/11OsITu

PUNK: CHAOS TO COUTURE

Even with a costume theme as provocative as the one “Punk: Chaos to Couture” presented last week, many of the 2013 Met Gala’s guests were powerless to resist the siren call of the glamorous, elegant evening dress. True, the night saw its share of original punks plenty of spiky, studded, and safety-pin adornments de rigueur.

The latest exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum looks at how the punk movement emerged from the music scenes of New York and London and how it took designers in new directions.

Punk: Chaos to Couture runs at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, until August 14 - http://met.org/11OsITu

NZ INDIGENOUS FASHION ATTRACTS AUSTRALIAN INTEREST With entries for the 2013 Miromoda Fashion Design Awards competition due to close on May 31, organisers have been approached to advise and assist with the planning of the inaugural Australian Fashion Week in April 2014. As a result, Miromoda has extended an invitation to their Australian counterparts to attend both the Fashion Design Awards Competition in Wellington as well as the Miromoda Showcase at NZ Fashion Week  (NZFW) in Auckland.  “The big picture is an indigenous New Zealand/Australian fashion relationship ticks off a good chunk of the Pacific region, so this is an exciting commercial step for us,” says Miromoda co founder Ata Te Kanawa. The Miromoda (Indigenous Maori Fashion Apparel Board) entity which formed in 2008 and debuted at NZ Fashion Week, with its eight competition winners and runners up across four categories in 2009, will head to NZ Fashion Week in early September for the fifth year. “Soon after last years Miromoda showcase, NZFW contacted us to say we will be billed as a Big Ticket Show in 2013 so the interest from Australia was probably just a matter of time.” Te Kanawa says that adding countries like Fiji, Samoa and Rarotonga to the mix  “is hardly world domination but a step that will inch closer to South East Asia, take in Hawaii and make a decent sized indigenous fashion statement in the Southern Hemisphere.” She also shares that she recognised the tone of the organisers of the inaugural Australian Indigenous Fashion Week during their first phone call. “They sounded like I did in the beginning, tentative, nervous and unsure, so no surprises they are interested in our model which we are happy to share and one that is supported by NZ Fashion Week founder, Dame Pieter Stewart. As an avid Miromoda supporter and competition head judge, Dame Stewart was motivated in 2008 to show international fashion media and buyers something they would not see at any other international Fashion Week. Te Kanawa says it’s likely Dame Stewart has initiated a new indigenous awareness and genre in fashion. Clearly, one that has not gone unnoticed across the Tasman and possibly beyond.  Former high fashion retailer, buyer and manufacturer across Europe for 20 years, and fellow Miromoda competition judge, Anthony Mosinkhof, says he is personally recommending Miromoda to his networks in the Netherlands and Germany in particular. On the local scene, Te Kanawa says indigenous wine label Tohu have pledged support to be aligned with Miromoda. “Fashion will always have a powerful media presence, so entertaining Miromoda’s allegiances with indigenous wine, food, art and music is a no brainer.” Image: A Pia Boutique collection debuted at 2012 NZ Fashion Week as part of the Miromoda Showcase. 
Designer Pia Naera recently added a retail store in Parnell to her 12-month online store. 

NZ INDIGENOUS FASHION ATTRACTS AUSTRALIAN INTEREST

With entries for the 2013 Miromoda Fashion Design Awards competition due to close on May 31, organisers have been approached to advise and assist with the planning of the inaugural Australian Fashion Week in April 2014. As a result, Miromoda has extended an invitation to their Australian counterparts to attend both the Fashion Design Awards Competition in Wellington as well as the Miromoda Showcase at NZ Fashion Week  (NZFW) in Auckland.  “The big picture is an indigenous New Zealand/Australian fashion relationship ticks off a good chunk of the Pacific region, so this is an exciting commercial step for us,” says Miromoda co founder Ata Te Kanawa.

The Miromoda (Indigenous Maori Fashion Apparel Board) entity which formed in 2008 and debuted at NZ Fashion Week, with its eight competition winners and runners up across four categories in 2009, will head to NZ Fashion Week in early September for the fifth year. “Soon after last years Miromoda showcase, NZFW contacted us to say we will be billed as a Big Ticket Show in 2013 so the interest from Australia was probably just a matter of time.”

Te Kanawa says that adding countries like Fiji, Samoa and Rarotonga to the mix  “is hardly world domination but a step that will inch closer to South East Asia, take in Hawaii and make a decent sized indigenous fashion statement in the Southern Hemisphere.” She also shares that she recognised the tone of the organisers of the inaugural Australian Indigenous Fashion Week during their first phone call. “They sounded like I did in the beginning, tentative, nervous and unsure, so no surprises they are interested in our model which we are happy to share and one that is supported by NZ Fashion Week founder, Dame Pieter Stewart.

As an avid Miromoda supporter and competition head judge, Dame Stewart was motivated in 2008 to show international fashion media and buyers something they would not see at any other international Fashion Week. Te Kanawa says it’s likely Dame Stewart has initiated a new indigenous awareness and genre in fashion. Clearly, one that has not gone unnoticed across the Tasman and possibly beyond. 

Former high fashion retailer, buyer and manufacturer across Europe for 20 years, and fellow Miromoda competition judge, Anthony Mosinkhof, says he is personally recommending Miromoda to his networks in the Netherlands and Germany in particular.

On the local scene, Te Kanawa says indigenous wine label Tohu have pledged support to be aligned with Miromoda. “Fashion will always have a powerful media presence, so entertaining Miromoda’s allegiances with indigenous wine, food, art and music is a no brainer.”

Image: A Pia Boutique collection debuted at 2012 NZ Fashion Week as part of the Miromoda Showcase. 
Designer Pia Naera recently added a retail store in Parnell to her 12-month online store. 

WINTER WHITES  As the temperate starts to drop and the days become shorter there is something refreshing about reaching for crisp winter whites. It’s all about clean white trousers, chic cream coats and thick ivory sweaters; preferably worn together.  Take a leaf out of Eleonora Carisi’s book and highlight a white on white look with a feminine touch with pink accents and embellished nude pumps. 

WINTER WHITES 

As the temperate starts to drop and the days become shorter there is something refreshing about reaching for crisp winter whites. It’s all about clean white trousers, chic cream coats and thick ivory sweaters; preferably worn together. 

Take a leaf out of Eleonora Carisi’s book and highlight a white on white look with a feminine touch with pink accents and embellished nude pumps. 

MONDAY’S MOST WANTED Take to the streets and add a little attitude to your style with the Ragged Priest Oversized Sweatshirt in Bandana Print available at asos. Team with distressed denim or boyfriend jeans and accessorise with this winter’s staple a black beanie - http://bit.ly/10S6Gg9

MONDAY’S MOST WANTED 

Take to the streets and add a little attitude to your style with the Ragged Priest Oversized Sweatshirt in Bandana Print available at asos. Team with distressed denim or boyfriend jeans and accessorise with this winter’s staple a black beanie - http://bit.ly/10S6Gg9

Weaving holds great significance within Māori culture, the culture of Polynesian people of New Zealand, known to the world for their invaluable, diverse and contemporary arts. When the Māori cultural designs are merged with the New Zealand’s merino wool, it is likely to be the main point of difference on the world stage, according to The Indigenous Māori Fashion Apparel Board (IMFAB), a non-profit organization established by the New Zealand Government to promote Māori culture.  Speaking to fibre2fashion, co-founder of IMFAB, Ms. Ata Te Kanawa said, “Māori is the indigenous race of New Zealand and it has a distinct culture, history and aesthetic value that can be incorporated in fashion.” “Māori aesthetics combined with New Zealand merino and/or wool could provide a refreshing new look that is profoundly New Zealand,” she says.  Some of the unique designs of Māori are flax weaving, kowhaiwhai, and poutama patterns. Contemporary kowhaiwhai patterns are inspired by the decorative panels of traditional Māori meeting-houses, while Poutama is a pattern on decorative thatched panels and in Māori culture portrays steps to higher ground, heaven or achievement. Mr. Anthony Mosinkhof, a judge of IMFAB competition, says he is personally recommending Māori fashion to his networks in Europe, especially, the Netherlands and Germany. Founded in 2008, IMFAB, aims to advance the quality status of Māori fashion design and to raise its artistic and professional standards. Every year, IMFAB hosts an annual nation-wide competition to select the best designers to show at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Weaving holds great significance within Māori culture, the culture of Polynesian people of New Zealand, known to the world for their invaluable, diverse and contemporary arts.

When the Māori cultural designs are merged with the New Zealand’s merino wool, it is likely to be the main point of difference on the world stage, according to The Indigenous Māori Fashion Apparel Board (IMFAB), a non-profit organization established by the New Zealand Government to promote Māori culture. 

Speaking to fibre2fashion, co-founder of IMFAB, Ms. Ata Te Kanawa said, “Māori is the indigenous race of New Zealand and it has a distinct culture, history and aesthetic value that can be incorporated in fashion.”

“Māori aesthetics combined with New Zealand merino and/or wool could provide a refreshing new look that is profoundly New Zealand,” she says. 

Some of the unique designs of Māori are flax weaving, kowhaiwhai, and poutama patterns. Contemporary kowhaiwhai patterns are inspired by the decorative panels of traditional Māori meeting-houses, while Poutama is a pattern on decorative thatched panels and in Māori culture portrays steps to higher ground, heaven or achievement.

Mr. Anthony Mosinkhof, a judge of IMFAB competition, says he is personally recommending Māori fashion to his networks in Europe, especially, the Netherlands and Germany.

Founded in 2008, IMFAB, aims to advance the quality status of Māori fashion design and to raise its artistic and professional standards. Every year, IMFAB hosts an annual nation-wide competition to select the best designers to show at New Zealand Fashion Week.

STARFISH FINAL FASHION FINALE Starfish’s showcase at Wellington Fashion Week in March turns out to be the last for the sustainable fashion label. The iconic Wellington fashion label has gone into liquidation. Internet shopping and imports have changed the retail landscape making it difficult for independent New Zealand businesses to survive. Starfish follows Wellington fashion labels Alexandra Owen and Ashley Fogel who also recently closed their doors and no doubt more will follow. Over Starfish’s 20-year history Starfish founder Laurie Foon believed the way forward for the future is ethical fashion for the sustainability of the planet. Loon was meticulous in ensuring the product Starfish produced was made from eco friendly fabrics, fair trade, sustainable, ethical and made in New Zealand. She and her talented team also produced great clothes. But sadly it wasn’t enough to sustain the brand in a depressed market flooded by well-made fast fashion cheap imports.  The label will be sorely missed and leave a massive hole in Wellington’s fashion landscape.

STARFISH FINAL FASHION FINALE

Starfish’s showcase at Wellington Fashion Week in March turns out to be the last for the sustainable fashion label.

The iconic Wellington fashion label has gone into liquidation. Internet shopping and imports have changed the retail landscape making it difficult for independent New Zealand businesses to survive.

Starfish follows Wellington fashion labels Alexandra Owen and Ashley Fogel who also recently closed their doors and no doubt more will follow.

Over Starfish’s 20-year history Starfish founder Laurie Foon believed the way forward for the future is ethical fashion for the sustainability of the planet.

Loon was meticulous in ensuring the product Starfish produced was made from eco friendly fabrics, fair trade, sustainable, ethical and made in New Zealand. She and her talented team also produced great clothes.

But sadly it wasn’t enough to sustain the brand in a depressed market flooded by well-made fast fashion cheap imports. 

The label will be sorely missed and leave a massive hole in Wellington’s fashion landscape.

Swoon! Miuccia Prada has collaborated with director Baz Luhrmann and costume designer Catherine Martin to create a collection of more than 40 unique Miu Miu and Prada cocktail and evening dresses for the upcoming film The Great Gatsby.  The dresses are inspired by selected runway looks from the past 20 years and have been designed to fit with the 1920s-era in which the film is set.  The movie is due in NZ cinemas on June 6.

Swoon! Miuccia Prada has collaborated with director Baz Luhrmann and costume designer Catherine Martin to create a collection of more than 40 unique Miu Miu and Prada cocktail and evening dresses for the upcoming film The Great Gatsby. 

The dresses are inspired by selected runway looks from the past 20 years and have been designed to fit with the 1920s-era in which the film is set. 

The movie is due in NZ cinemas on June 6.

FASHION FIX  Tapestry is a huge trend for winter from geometric brocades to metallic flourescent-florals so naturally we’re loving Peter Alexander’s latest collection. Particularly those knickers! So Dolce right now! NZ$29.99 - www.peteralexander.co.nz. 

FASHION FIX 

Tapestry is a huge trend for winter from geometric brocades to metallic flourescent-florals so naturally we’re loving Peter Alexander’s latest collection.

Particularly those knickers! So Dolce right now! NZ$29.99 - www.peteralexander.co.nz. 

STREET STYLE For a casual daytime look, try a winter trench with a point of difference clashing colours and embellishments worn in combination with a pair of staple denims. To avoid the outfit getting too busy, team with muted colour accessories.

STREET STYLE

For a casual daytime look, try a winter trench with a point of difference clashing colours and embellishments worn in combination with a pair of staple denims. To avoid the outfit getting too busy, team with muted colour accessories.