For their “Butter not Bombs”  collection designers Anjali Stewart and Rachel Easting erred towards the darker side initially before swinging into a prettier dimension with a cohesive range which  touched on the free-falling ‘60s for inspiration.

The show more or less divided itself quite neatly into three parts – the initial garments were distinctly harder – black featured heavily, and the styling with the ubiquitous kiwi biker boot added to the feeling of anger. The black lace top paired with the black silk circle mini-skirt was hidden under a longer-line waistcoat, again in black. A voluminous swing trench coat in black all but obscured a pretty layer beneath. Twenty-seven names take on the new shoulder was done with ruffles, cut-outs, puffed sleeves and clever gathering - even for the boys (it would take a lot of convincing to get my husband into one of those), and the waistcoat figured prominently to create a definite silhouette. I particularly liked the boyfriend shirts with their sleeve detailing and the cropped and cuffed skinny pants, but I absolutely fell in love with the pretty silk tunics, pin-tucked blouses and ruffled skirts in winter white and blush and the silk velvet dirndl skirt in the softest rust.  The statement piece in this section would have to be the swingy peach oversized trench…a mirror image in styling but complete contrast in mood to the heavy black one that opened the show.   



The sixties vibe was most apparent with the broderie anglaise dress and the “mods & rockers” short suit in peach with black lapels, worn with a white shirt & tie.  The army green military jackets that were worn over the softer layers in this collection looked much like those you’d buy in an army surplus store, they looked well loved and pre-worn, complete with that faded tonality and softness rather than the overly styled versions of recent seasons. There was much to covet here – whether you prefer softer layers or harder edges, twenty-seven names has you covered for winter 2010.

Jackie O'Fee for FashioNZ

For the latest Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2009 updates, go to www.fashionz.co.nz

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