Fashion Week: Reclaiming the runway

Model Derya wears a look from the Vinka collection in the New Zealand Weddings bridal fashion show. Photo / Babiche Martens

When is a fashion show not a fashion show? When it's a show held outside by the Portaloos as your audience queues to get inside.

Stolen Girlfriends Club surprised guests last night with a "pop up" show that acted as the relaunch of their menswear - before the main event with the womenswear inside.

The show closed day two of NZ Fashion Week, with a collection titled Here Lines the Bones, drawing its inspiration from the bones, or foundations, of their brand - knitwear, faux fur, and, as designer Marc Moore describes them, "sexy bitch dresses". The show opened with 10 well-known, older model faces, a nice touch in a week that has seen very young models (some as young as 14) in garments similar to baby clothes.

Popular label Ruby opened the day, with the debut of their new womenswear label Liam - a strong, grown-up show from the label's designer Emily Miller-Sharma, with a focus on simple shapes and soft, feminine fabrics. Standouts included the focus on tailoring, something not enough young designers do, and a live performance from the ethereal Chelsea Jade Metcalf of the band Watercolours.

Ruby followed, with a futuristic collection that felt much more grown up than previous seasons, but still with the brand's youthful spirit - think metallic leather shorts, holographic accessories and geometric prints next to oversized, pyjama-style coats and classic angora sweaters.

Celine Chapman made her NZFW debut with a collection that looked to the dark side of 1990s pop culture (supermodels, The Craft), a theme that Jimmy D designer James Dobson looked to as well, albeit with a much sweeter bent.

Dobson's collection, called It's a Kind of Magick, was one of the standouts of the day, a collection of soft and dark for the designer with a long running love of the colour black - but this season he introduced various piece in blood red, and a beautiful digital print similar to ancient tapestries from Auckland artist Andrew McLeod.

Lonely Hearts made a welcome return with their Matrix-inspired collection; a real grown up progression for the label which has become beloved for its quirky take - the collection featured lots of leather, simple knit dresses, boozy, burgundy colours and subtle 90s touches - like a killer soundtrack of the Prodigy and Tricky.

Trelise Cooper looked to Americana for her diffusion Cooper line, with lots of New Frontier-inspired denim and accessories. Her mainline Trelise Cooper collection featured various floral, botanicals, quirky animal prints and dark versus light aesthetic. But it was her new collection, dubbed Boardroom ("an affordable collection for the executive women") that drew the biggest cheers - a Dolce & Gabbana-inspired group of models in nothing but a black jacket, heels and stockings.

Today's shows include the debut of Christchurch-based Mister, and a big-name evening including Zambesi, Huffer and Workshop at the Town Hall.

Who's that girl?

Antonia Prebble has been working the local designers each day, including Kate Sylvester and emerging label Maaike. The actress has been backstage with designers after their shows, as the nzherald.co.nz's special reporter. Watch her behind-the-scenes take on the week at nzherald.co.nz/fashionweek.

The longest wait

The Trelise Cooper show which ran an hour behind schedule. The backdrop was still being finished half an hour after the show was supposed to start.

Just arrived

New Zealand-born, New York-based blogger Gala Darling who arrived in the country at 5.30am yesterday.

Value pack

The gowns on show at the New Zealand Weddings show which were worth a whopping $250,000.

In the front row

A battle of the celebrities between Lonely Hearts and Trelise Cooper: a hip crowd at Lonely Hearts included Kate Sylvester, singer Ladyhawke and actress Madeleine Sami and a typically social page friendly crowd at Trelise Cooper featured Charlotte Dawson, Sally Ridge, Kate Hawkesby and a few other TVNZ presenters.