Designer Juliette Hogan minds her manners

Juliette Hogan runs her business from her parents' home in Karaka. Picture / Babiche Martens

Designer Juliette Hogan's ruse to finish her collection didn't quite go to plan. She invited friends over for a dinner party and screening of an episode of TV's Project Runway. Bright idea, unravelled by some wayward guests.

"The sewing part didn't happen. A few drinks got the better of them and I wouldn't let them touch the clothes. Let's just say we ended up discussing the finer points of fashion."

In Project Runway (TV3, on Friday) a bunch of would-be fashion designers compete for a place in New York Fashion Week. Hogan is leading a similarly hectic life right now: she is preparing a collection for her first solo show at Air New Zealand Fashion Week next Tuesday. Hogan is a huge fan of the TV show and its silver-fox co-host Tim Gunn, from the Parsons School of Design in New York.

"He is exactly like he is on the show ... a lovely guy."

The 27-year-old from Karaka and the debonair New Yorker first met in 2001, when Gunn was on the judging panel that selected Hogan from 20 hopefuls competing in the Karen Walker/Steinlager "Dare to Be" fashion event. Hogan won a scholarship to the senior year at the famous Parsons School in 2002 - a rare award given only to those whose academic work is exceptional. It was previously won by Tom Ford.

In a glowing reference from 2003, Gunn said of his protege: "She possesses the rare ability to work very creatively and conceptually and to embrace the everyday demands of the real world. Her understanding of textiles and her fabrication skills are excellent, too, but I hope that her power as a designer is seen as her primary strength."

This older statesman of style is rarely effusive - except when it comes to Hogan. "She is one of the most remarkable individuals with whom I have had the privilege of working," he says.

Hogan is still trying to figure out ways of luring the fashion luminary Downunder. "It would be amazing if he could come and watch my show."

Hogan is a commanding presence - tall, blonde, and disarmingly honest. She happily runs down the contestants' clothes on the episode of Project Runway - "they were crap, shocking designs". Asked if her fellow students at Parsons were anything like their TV clones, she isn't coy.

"They were exactly the same. Americans are incredibly confident, very sure of themselves. It's a bit much when you get a roomful of them."

However, Hogan clearly loved everything about New York - even the student digs she shared with a beauty queen from Texas. "She walked in wearing red stilettos but she turned out to be lovely."

After Parsons, Hogan worked with expat Kiwi designer Rebecca Taylor in New York. Returning home, she worked for Chris and Helen Cherry as a pattern and design assistant before establishing her own label in 2004. She runs the business from her parents' home in Karaka.

"It's a big old family house and in the lead-up to fashion week, I've slowly taken over one half of the house."

In the corner of her workroom is her mother's 30-year-old Bernina sewing machine, still in its dinky red carry case. As a design student at Massey University, the machine was Hogan's constant companion. She is an oddity among designers; she actually loves to sew.

"I'm a completely different person behind the sewing machine. I become very calm, I don't find it stressful at all. And I do my own pattern cutting and sample making."

Hogan's winter 2007 collection celebrates a return to the etiquette and decorum of the 1940s, when manners meant everything.

"It's about being on your best behaviour and staying in fancy pants hotels."

For a weekend away, Hogan has packed a suitcase of clothes that cover all social situations, from a sensible wool flannel mini shift dress to a playful romper suit. Her signature silk floor-length gowns will take any self-respecting lady through the evening with aplomb.

A solo show is a daunting prospect for any young designer, but Hogan says she's on track thanks to a supportive team. She is nervous, but it's exciting to finally face the runway alone.

"It's definitely going to be a 'me' show - one that reflects my personality and how I wish people to see the clothes."

* Juliette Hogan's show at NZ Fashion Week is at 2.30pm tomorrow afternoon.