Day two at New Zealand Fashion Week 2011

By Milly Nolan

As NZFW 2011 enters its second day, Milly Nolan brings you the latest trends in fashion, hair and makeup emerging on the catwalk. MiNDFOOD reports.

INGRID STARNES

Having honed her craft of pattern-making and design at Kate Sylvester, Ingrid Starnes set out on her own in 2009 and today showed for the first time at New Zealand Fashion Week, receiving much praise for her attention to detail such as lace edging, vintage floral prints and panelled tailoring. Clearly having a love for feminine wears, the collection, titled Arcadia, was a beautiful array of silk blouses, dresses, pencil skirts and cropped trousers in a palette of mustard, khaki, navy, peach, moss green and cream – each worn with either bare legs or grey tights and coloured pump heels. Each piece hinted at a return to the lady-like glamour of years past, yet with a contemporary twist which to date has seen the label popular with those that like to dress well and dress appropriately.

Hair and Make-up

Directed by Shirley Simpson for M.A.C Cosmetics, the models’ complexions were natural, yet radiant with ever-so-slightly bronzed cheeks. Some models wore orange eye shadow washed over the entire lid to create a blown-out effect, while others had purple, aqua or yellow. The lips were kept neutral bar the odd bright red lip.

The hair was pulled back messily and tied into an equally messy knot at the nape of the neck. “We wanted the hair to be strong but feminine,” said Greg Murell from Ryder. “To achieve this look we pulled the hair back off the face but kept it dishevelled in a loose, deconstructed chignon.”

COOP

For many people, today was the first time they had heard of Coop. However, behind-the-scenes the two young designers who have founded the label, Alexandra Dunn and Lauren Connelly, have been extremely busy. Their first collection was Summer 2011, which they made in just six weeks and it was on the back of its success that they decided to do a winter collection as well, allowing them only ten days to pull together in time for NZFW. The fact that neither Dunn or Connelly have barely slept for the last ten days was not all reflected in the collection which showed promise for a bright future. Titled Smash Planet, Dunn said that the inspiration for the show came from “natural things – rocks, icebergs, water and things like shifting tech-tonic plates.” This intrigue with nature’s surfaces, patterns and movements, was reflected in the irregular shapes of the garments, the juxtaposed fabrics (sheer chiffon paired with heavier, padded materials or velvet with silk) and also through the predominately dark palette of grey, charcoal and smoky tones, with the exception of flashes of coral, magenta and purple. The hemlines were either short and risqué or floating and asymmetrical. While the collection had a slight 90’s grunge feel to it, the embellishing and intricate designs gave it a more glamorous edge. Will there’s still a lot of learning to do; this will be a young duo to keep an eye on.

Hair and Make-Up

Taking inspiration from ‘futuristic girls from 2050’, the make-up by Amber Dreadon of M.A.C Cosmetics was paired back – the skin left pale, creamy and flawless as if untouched by the sun. The eyebrows were the most prominent feature, fashioned into a heavy triangular shape. The eyes donned various shades of charcoal eyeshadow and the lips kept a neutral shade with a touch of clear lip gloss.

The hair, directed by Lauren Gunn from Stephen Marr, had a wet look to it and although it was pulled back off the face it was wispy and untidy, with a strong knot shape at the back. “It’s a really strong 90’s look, not a romantic or loose look like we have seen in the past,” says Gunn. “It almost has an out-of-this-world alien feel to it, which matches the rock edge of the clothes.”

BLAK

Combining their powers, the Blak and Blak Luxe label, designed by Teresa Hodges, put on an enchanting show, much like a magical fairytale as their ethereal designs in lace, velvet, silk chiffon, wool, crochet and leather floated down the run way to Bjork and Patrick Wolf.

Silhouettes shifted from tailored shirt-dresses to blouses, bodices and flowing skirts, asymmetrical hemlines and floor-length dresses  – there was hardly a pair of trousers in sight. The palette reflected the inspiration of ‘secrets and shadows’ with colours of midnight blue, dark green, black and grey illuminated by gemstone tones such as amethyst, ruby, garnet and amber. True to the label, the signature leopard print was also apparent along with a print of galloping horses and an intricate design of arabesque patterns and cobwebs designed by Liz Wilson. While whimsical and elusive, this was edgy glamour at its best.

Hair and Make-Up

The hair by Joico hair director, Luana Coscia, matched the theme of the collection perfectly. Worn out, the hair was full of volume, matted slightly and parted to the side with a knot tied next to the forehead. Beautifully constructed crowns made of twigs graced some of the heads and as the show went on, the hair became more dishevelled as it was caught in the twigs as if from costume changes. Whether this was deliberate or not, the effect added to the magic of the show. “I love the hair texture and wrapped, knotted half up/half down ‘turban-esque’ feel of this look.  It works so well with the BLAK collection, which is based around the Grimm’s Brothers’ fairytales – supernatural, romantic, spooky, whimsical,” says Coscia.

Keyed by M.A.C Cosmetic’s Amy Sprott-Smith, the skin was beautifully flawless, paired with dark brown eyeshadow, which was smoked out into a winged effect to give a painterly look to the eyes.

Beige blusher adorned the cheekbones while Prince Noir lipstick (a plumy wine shade) was pressed onto lips for a stained effect.

HAILWOOD

Far from New Zealand’s often dark and grungy designs, Adrian Hailwood’s show was full of beautiful, extravagant and highly covetable garments. The show had a very sophisticated element to it and while the silhouettes varied from bat-winged dresses, tassel-fringed jumpsuits, capped-sleeve swing dresses, ponchos and capes to origami-esque pieces, each garment was sexy and feminine in its own right. A heady mix of colours and prints worked together perfectly – a nod to the Spanish matador and images of women taken by LA photographer Alex Prager, both of which provided inspiration for the show – a mix of Californian glam in the 60s and Spanish traditions. The two figure-hugging finale dresses – one, a long black detailed dress with a fishtail hem; the other a two-toned black and teal dress were absolutely, insanely incredible. The types of dresses that when worn would turns heads in envy.

Hair and Make-up

“I’ve called this Palm Springs Bed-Hair’ says Stephen Marr’s Lauren Gunn, who directed the show. “Hailwood’s collection is inspired by 1940’s matadors but with a Californian twist so I decided to go with hair that is worn down and waved through the front and parted down the middle. It’s not so much bohemian or hippies from the 1970’s but more the cool kids in California. There’s also a nod to the Givenchy Couture 2011 show.”

Directed by Kristen Stewart for M.A.C Cosmetics, the complexion was kept very minimal paired with combed up brows, black cat winged eyeliner and crisp and bright red lips that cemented the Spanish theme.

JULIETTE HOGAN

A clear favourite with the crowd, Juliette Hogan’s collection, was as always classic, ladylike, wearable and also practical with its warm winter wears such as hand knitted turtleneck rolls, chunky knits, tweed jackets, leather vests and collarless pea coats. Sticking to what she does best, a lot of the designs (such as her renowned pleated skirts and dresses) were similar to her previous collections but were stepped up a notch through added detail such as detachable leather collars or full-swing hemlines. Worn with socks and shoes, the clothes had a preppy schoolgirl vibe to them – imagine librarians whose bookish appeal is both sexy and chic in its innocence. The cropped narrow trousers were beautiful and well-tailored, but hard to imagine on anyone other than a size 8. The palette of khaki, paprika, camel, grey, brown and mustard (which seems to be the colour of choice for next winter) were juxtaposed with whimsical floral prints and a spotted, leopard-like design.

Hair and Make-up

The hair was simple yet stunning – conservative yet with a twist. “As always with Juliette’s shows there is a nostalgic element,” says Stephen Marr’s Lauren Gunn who directed the show. “The quiff and bouffant that we created hints at the 60’s while the tortoiseshell barrette that holds the pony tail in place is very school-girl, prim and proper.”

Matching the collection’s theme of being polished and perfect, Josie Wignall for M.A.C Cosmetics kept the skin flawless with a matte finish. The eyes were dusted with soft brown and pure white pigment. Oak coloured lip liner was used to create the perfect put which was coloured in with coffee coloured lipstick.

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