Key looks from Perriam’s winter 2015 collection were presented as a strong capsule collection which ensured she was one of the most talked about designers of this year’s iD Dunedin Fashion Week line-up.
Designer Christina Perriam is known for her knitwear but clearly showed she has a special talent for working with leather too.
First up she showed a leather dress in rich marsala which she designed for the New Zealand Light Leathers Designer Section. It had people swooning. Thirteen designers participating in the iD Fashion Show were invited to design a special piece using luxurious Light Leathers deer pelts.
While all the garments in her Perriam collection had touches of New Zealand-sourced merino wool, she used a range of other fabrics and textiles to diversify the collection, incorporating merino leather into some of the garments for the first time. Rarely used by the fashion industry, merino leather has a natural pebbled character.
“It’s an amazing texture … when you look at a merino sheep, their skin is so wrinkly and that’s why the texture of the leather is really interesting,” Perriam says.
Other features included touches of metallic gold, black on black, prints, panelled arms and pom-pom trims.
Perriam says she chose New York as her inspiration because of the compact madness of the city, and the softness with the harsh within.
“When I was in New York I was drawn to the pretty parks in amongst a concrete jungle, so my collection features some soft touches and sparkles of gold with some harsh black, clean and structured lines,” Perriam says. “For me, the Perriam Woman Winter 2015 range is all about taking the madness out of the city.”
It’s the first time the Wanaka-based designer has shown her new luxury lifestyle brand Perriam at iD Dunedin Fashion Week after it was launched in October 2014. Last time she took part in the event was 2002 under her previous label Christina Perriam.
It’s not surprising that after Perriam’s capsule collection had had its moment on the catwalk that talk turned to shopping!
Pictures: Chris Sullivan
