The Best of Fashion Week 2014

With the curtain down on New Zealand Fashion Week for another year, fashion editor Rebecca Wadey picks her highlights.

Best start

With their balaclava-clad drummers, Nom*D got NZFW off to the best possible start. I love Nom*D for always challenging their crowd but I must admit I was scared when I was handed ear plugs at the door and dropped one while waiting for the show to start – surely losing an ear drum is too high a price to pay for fashion? But they weren’t needed. All in all, the show was an aural and visual delight. See photos of the Nom*D show here.

Best finish

Kate Sylvester’s literary confetti (above). Pages of the book that served as her inspiration (The Secret History by Donna Tartt) rained down upon the crowd making the most beautiful finale NZFW has seen. Lucky front row guests were treated to their own copy of the book as well as a beautiful ‘tart’ from Little Bird – a nice change from the sugary food for purchase on site. See photos of the Kate Sylvester show here.

Best off-site

Stolen Girlfriends Club staged the only large off-site show this year so benefited from the novelty factor. It was a slick and amazingly produced event for an intimate crowd of 1500 (!) at the Western Springs Speedway. It was a ballsy move by the boys – plan B included asking the crowd to wear branded ponchos made from rubbish bags in the event of rain. See photos of the Stolen Girlfriends Club show here.

Best models

Lots of beautiful models trod the runway last week but the two I consistently couldn’t take my eyes off weren’t newcomers: Penny Pickard and Avril Planqueel. If they walked the catwalk in the aforementioned garbage bags I’d run out and buy four.

Kate Sylvester photo by Michael Ng.