Exciting! Four local labels, all new to the New Zealand Fashion Week runway, gave an excellent show this August. Exciting because a good show is not only stimulating and entertaining, but promises fresh new fashion - with original design content - to buy next season.
Sure, the four labels in question have as many differences as they do similarities. Liz Wilson’s Eugenie is the only one to occupy its own bricks and mortar retail store (in Mackelvie Street). Kate Megaw of Penny Sage has been in business for many seasons and was an editorial darling long before Fashion Week. Lucilla Gray, fairly recent graduate that she may be, bunnyhopped our local Fashion Week completely for her first show and went straight to London Fashion Week. And Wynn Crawshaw of Wynn Hamlyn is only in his third season.
“I am (virtually) giving a round of applause to Wynn Hamlyn, Eugenie, Penny Sage and Lucilla Gray for ‘wowing’ me,” wrote Brooke Testoni, heavyweight Australian-based influencer and VIP media at Fashion Week. The ‘wow’ the labels have in common? Their designs are womanly yet edgy. They have their own individual handwriting - you won’t mistake a Penny Sage for a Witchery nor a Eugenie for a Zara. These brands aren’t driven by trends aside from what is tickling their designers’ creative funnybones, so the styles will only improve with time - they’ll never scream ‘last month’. (JULIE ROULSTON)
Show: Eugenie
Designer: Liz Wilson
What: Bright red mulleted hot punks. Standouts: slinky denim including eye-catching paneled jackets, fresh colour combinations and louche crushed velvet.
Show: Wynn Hamlyn
Designer: Wynn Crawshaw
What: Tailoring and quirky knitwear in
a rich palette. Arty clothes to wear with flat shoes. Standouts: innovative use of fabric: at the extreme, a belief-defying Axminster carpet coat.
Show: Penny Sage
Designer: Kate Megaw
What: Pristine minimalist separates with highlights of lustrous satin cast against earthy texture. Standouts: slender keyhole bodice maxi dresses and a boat -neck jumpsuit.
Show: Lucilla Gray
Designer: Lucilla Gray
What: Sculptural yet languid shapes.
A hint of 70s romanticism. Standouts: one of the most covetable, contrast-lapeled coats we’ve seen in a long time.
A unique, dramatic print.