Pedestrians on Ponsonby Road were privy to the odd sight of 25 models walking along the pavement wearing paper bags on their heads last night.
The models were en route from Stephen Marrâs hair studio to Golden Dawn for the second of this weekâs Marr Factory spring/summer 14 shows by leading Dunedin fashion label NOM*d.
The paper bags were in keeping with NOM*dâs underground style, though the primary purpose of the bags was to protect the make-up if it rained as well as hiding the hair and make-up to maintain an element of surprise.
And what a surprise it was â a stylistic Stars Wars clique inspired by the fictional alien race the Hutts complete with mask-like make-up and galactic braids. Garments from NOM*dâs âNo*Senseâ collection featured Star Wars icons with slogans like âStay on the leaderâ and many named after âHuttieâ characters and words.
âThatâs where the name No*Sense came from because Hutties are very intelligent, they understand all languages but they choose to only speak their own,â NOM*d designer Margi Robertson said. âThis is what the philosophy of NOM*d is, it really doesnât matter what else is going on [in fashion]. We just choose to do our own thing, not really following trends but also setting some ideas.â
The presentation was a perfect melding of cult-tures â NOM*d and Hutt, while maintaining the essential elements of the NOM*d silhouette. âItâs important that the garments look NOM*d. We need to be really diligent as far as maintaining our signature look,â Robertson said.
Hair stylist Jason Chong Li of Stephen Marr described the look he created for the collection as âa little bit Star Wars, a little bit alienâ and a âlittle bit weirdâ. âItâs not about making a girl look pretty,â he said.
Lead make-up artist Kiekie Stanners, national artist for M.A.C Cosmetics New Zealand, brought the Star Wars vibe to life by creating mask-like effect with make-up.
âWe wanted it to look like it was stuck on as opposed to painted on make-up,â Stanners said. âThe key product we used was M.A.C Full Coverage Foundation in white. By building that up on the skin and then layering it with a lot of invisible set powder itâs really flexible and long-wearing. It doesnât crack or move too much.â
Thatâs not all. It also glowed in the dark too, which was revealed during the showâs finale when the lights went out.
Weâre picking that many pieces from this collection will become collectors items, not just by fans of the label but also Hutties who are apparently out there, somewhere in the galaxy not too far, far away.
Main picture credit: Olivia Hemus