Weekend Rewind: Great New Zealand fashion crimes

As the host of game show Every Second Counts Paul Henry graced our screens in some fairly unforgiving ensembles, most notably this shiny suit/white loafers combo.

As another NZ Fashion Week draws to a close, NZ On Screen’s Nicky Harrop opens the closet on some of our more questionable on-screen style choices.

While none of us are immune to a fashion faux pas, fortunately they're not usually paraded in front of millions. Those in front of the camera aren't quite so lucky. Many a local celeb has fallen foul of style, only to be captured on screen in perpetuity. Not surprisingly, many of the following examples draw from the 1980s - the decade taste forgot - but the threat remains very much alive (we're looking at you Mike Hosking).

On the subject of news presenters, he may well be the current king of breakfast TV, but like most of us, Paul Henry has some shockers lurking in the rear (and not quite so rear) of his closet. As the host of game show Every Second Counts he graced our screens in some fairly unforgiving ensembles, most notably this shiny suit/white loafers combo from 1987.

See Paul Henry in Every Second Counts here:

It was the hairstyle that stopped a nation. In 1983, former All Black Grahame Thorne presented TVNZ's sports news flaunting a freshly curled perm. The ensuing national trauma inspired headlines, irate phone calls, and ill-advised "curls are for girls" banners at rugby games. Sadly the perm's freshest incarnation is now lost to the archives, and this slightly grown-out version is the only remaining evidence of a horrific moment in Kiwi fashion history

See Grahame Thorne's perm here:

And it's not just our TV stars; the music industry has been responsible for its fair share of damage too. Exhibit A: Dave Dobbyn. No denying he writes a great tune, but he's a serious repeat offender in the fashion stakes. Be it the too-tight t-shirts of Th' Dudes, the patterned trousers of DD Smash, or that cowboy-print shirt from the Slice of Heaven video, many a misstep has been made. These days Dobbyn sports a comparatively stylish demeanour, perhaps having reached the peak of his crimes with 1988's Loyalvideo.

Warning: contains garish knitwear and an eye-watering mullet.

See Loyal here:

Simon Barnett took home last year's Dancing with the Stars trophy, but not before exposing us to a string of chest-baring pantsuits. History reveals it's not the first time he's made a fashion blunder - this footage from his days as a What Now? presenter finds him clad in acid-washed denim, and sporting frosted tips.

See Simon Barnett on What Now? here:

Proudly flying in the face of fashion for several decades, The Mockers' Andrew Fagan has compiled a lookbook that would make Trelise Cooper cry. Or would it? Those frilled cuffs and jaunty scarves, the jewel-toned velvet coats - would they look entirely out of place on a Trelise runway? Fashion felon or futurist? You decide.

See Andrew Fagan here, in The Mockers One Black Friday video:

Gloss brought the late 80s glamour-soap to New Zealand, and with it a wardrobe full of frights. Such were the height of the shoulder pads, it was at times hard to determine whether the female cast had necks. Hair was so big convertibles were the car du jour. Lines between day and evening wear became dangerously blurred. While it's hard to isolate key culprits among so many, special mention must go to Simon Prast as Alistair Redfern and Miranda Harcourt playing vixen journalist Gemma Stace.

See the debut episode of Gloss here: