Mayoral bling just the thing

Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard says the hand-made robes are lighter and more modern than his old ones. Picture / Martin Sykes

Dick Hubbard did a tour of duty last night - in robes fit for a Lord Mayor.

Political ambition may have been one reason he agreed to be measured up in civic office bling, and he was not backward at coming forward.

"I put it to you that these would be worthy of the new Lord Mayor of Auckland," he said of his robes.

At his third Fashion Week opening, he was more good-natured cheerleader than Auckland grandee and in his fancy get-up won votes for being a jolly good sport.

The felted merino, possum and silk mayoral robes - with crystal-encrusted decorative panels and possum fur trim - were designed by AUT fashion student Michelle Boyes and took more than 150 hours to make.

The four panels comprise 6000 Swarovski crystals all individually attached by Boyes to form images of a pohutukawa blossom, Rangitoto, a City of Sails seascape and the Skytower.

The Mayor was suitably appreciative, saying the old mayoral robes, which date back to the 1950s, were heavy and getting a bit moth-eaten, while these were warm and light.

He liked them so much he kept them on for the council meeting last night and means to wear them again.

"It's contemporary but not undignified. With robes like this I wouldn't want to leave office," he said.

"It's not every day you see the mayor with bling-bling," said a proud Boyes.

This is the second year Mr Hubbard has modelled a student's design. Last year he turned into an Edwardian gent.

"I think he looks great," said Boyes.

Her only worry was that the mayoral chains might damage the panels she painstakingly sewed. To prevent that, they can be removed for safe-keeping and possible display.

Boyes' brief was to come up with a unique garment. She decided to stick with the traditional robe, which has medieval origins, but update the fabric and include the Auckland scenes.

"I like to make things that stand out," she said.

She sourced the fabric from Woolyarns in Wellington, which concocted a special colour dubbed "mayoral red". It's not as bright as the scarlet of the old robes.

The fabric is 50 per cent merino wool, 40 per cent possum fur and 10 per cent silk. Boyes knitted and felted the fabric, then sourced the fur trim from Opotiki's Basically Bush and the crystals from Swarovski.

Her sore fingers are testimony to the hard work involved in beading.

The adult student, who hopes to work in costume design once she graduates from her bachelor of design course, was spotted while she was working part-time for Trelise Cooper by a VIP guest at Fashion Week in 2001. That guest, Hilary Alexander, the New Zealand-born fashion editor for London's Daily Telegraph newspaper, commented on Boyes' outfit and got her thinking it was time to turn her design hobby into a career.

With the backing of her family, she began the three-year AUT course, which culminates in the Rookie show for graduate students on Friday afternoon. Then Boyes has invited fellow students back to her house to celebrate the end of a big year and the beginning of their careers in fashion.