| I Heart NZ |
| Written by Nicola Hyland | |
 While Fashionistas have always flocked to Paris, Milan and NYC for stylish threads, a new fashion capital is emerging - NZ.
Oh it's just so funny hearing all those really witty Kiwi jokes. You know the ones… about sheep... and how much we allegedly love them. I've been in Australia for almost two and a half years now and you'd think I'd have heard just about every woolly-themed insult - but no, some amateur Aussie comedian still always manages to crack open a new one. Well, we might not be good at cricket, we might not have as much melting sunshine and yes, we might have more sheep per population then anywhere else on the planet, but there is something that we can do well: Fashion. The New Zealand fashion industry has a reputation for not taking itself too seriously; for having a sense of humour, ingenuity, as well as a duty to reflect the unique environment. While many kiwis would prefer their favourite labels to stay local secrets, Ask Bronny has discovered a few New Zealand designers making their mark on the international scene. Three labels legging it on foreign catwalks and High-End fashion stores internationally are Karen Walker, Trelise Cooper and World. These distinctly different designers emphasise the diversity gracing the leafy shores of Aotearoa: Karen Walker Crowned the queen of the NZ fashion industry, Karen Walker has cemented her reputation for "unpretentious" and "effortless" fashion with collections shown and sold in New York, London, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. Karen,s style is High Casual – she combines tailored looks with street wear, with an emphasis on simplicity and being unaffectedly "cool". Walker,s look is often ambiguous and androgenous. She combines girlish fabrics with masculine lines, with one of her signature looks being stylish man-pants inspired by the "Land Girls" of World War II. Walker likes to think of the women who wear her clothes as “anti-it girls” – heroines unlike the glamorous star-seekers who ooze loads of effort and fake tan. Famous wearers of Karen Walker include Madonna, Liv Tyler, Sienna Miller, Drew Barrymore and Kelly Osbourne. Walker even has a range at the infamous Barneys of New York [where Rachel from Friends worked: ooh la la]. She has also expanded her collection to include a range of jewellery, eyewear and even house paint. Recently Karen has also designed for Swandri, an iconic brand as synonymous with New Zealand as Driza-bone is with Australia. World Housed in "The Factory of Ideas and Experiments", the World brand -established by husband and wife duo Denise L'Estrange–Courbet and Francis Hooper - lives by the mantra: "We fought fashion and lost". After working in the UK and Hong Kong with the likes of John Galiano and Commes des Garcons, the couple returned to NZ in the 1980s with the vision of creating an avant guard fashion label. World prides itself on clashing colour and eccentric irreverence. The brand grew from funky t-shirts and quirky curios, to the kitschy flair and dash of kiwiana that has become the unique World style. The company has a 'take it or leave it' philosophy: they don't claim to be anti-fashion [like the Pussy Cat Dolls, ew] but are always trying to redefine their own take on style. They celebrate experimentation and flying in the face of current trends. World has shown and sold collections in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Italy, the USA, Russia, Japan and China. Their most recent collection is entitled ‘Please don’t send me home” and celebrates the magic of tweed. Those crazy rebels… Trelise Cooper All bouncy curls and rosy cheeks, Trelise Cooper is the true girly-girl of the NZ fashion scene. Self-taught and still unfamiliar with the mysterious working of the sewing machine, Cooper began with a quest to achieve a "feminine democracy" in fashion. Her clothes are designed to reflect happiness, with an emphasis on rich, plush fabrics evoking themes of romanticism and nostalgia. Although noted for her bright feminine hues and ribbony detail, her most recent collection is inspired by the darker shades of Victorian Gothic, with a slight bow to the hedonist fashion of Marie Antoinette. Trelise has produced catwalk collections for Sydney, Paris, the United States, Milan and Singapore. The brand has jewellery, underwear, eyewear and even infant-fashion collections. The signature Trelise style has been worn by the luminous likes of Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon and Blondie’s Debbie Harry. Other cool brands to come out of the land of the Long White Cloud include Zambezi, Kate Sylvester, Cybčle, Catalyst and Huffer [who received a nice wee celeb endorsement by Mr Orlando Bloom]. My personal faves are Starfish, Ruby and Ricochet. Check them out if you are ever in a sheepish mood. [Ha ha… or should I say Baa baa] |
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