The next twelve months of NZ Design will be showcased for the next four days in New Zealand’s premiere fashion event, Air NZ Fashion Week.

The extravaganza kicked off with the launch party last night (amongst copious bottles of Moet champagne) as all of the usual Kiwi celebrities and fashion-philes came out in anticipation of the most exciting week in Auckland’s social calendar.

World kicked off at the tents at 11am this morning with the first show, which as promised was extravagantly theatrical with faux-fur mini skirts, sequined shirts and even male models carrying pink handbags! Dunedin designers Nom*D are getting ready as we speak for the headline show tonight, and the much talked about Trelise Cooper will take their place tomorrow as the one to watch for the day.

If you can’t get to Fashion Week, and are looking for a little designer something, check out endemicworld.com. Stocking not just designer fashion but giftware, homeware and a range of other pieces of NZ Design, they are your online source of fashion accessories and streetwear today – a great fix when you can’t be front row at a New Zealand designer show!

Image from Flickr.

So, another example of Kiwi cool that just can’t be cringed at!

Air New Zealand Fashion Week is an annual event, now confident and unabashedly proud in its seventh year. The event showcases the best of contemporary Kiwi couture from both emerging and established designers. We may be all the way downunder (far from the catwalks of Paris and Milan), but it turns out we do know a thing or two about style, glitz and glamour.

Creativity, amazing talent, celebrities, beautiful fabrics, edgy designs, trend-setting garments – NZ Fashion Week has it all. Buyers and media come from throughout New Zealand and around the world to see what’s on offer. My picks for what to watch?

• Cybele – a conceptually focused brand with a range characterised by unconstrained imagination.
  
• Juliette Hogan – just think simplicity, style, practicality, sophistication and femininity, all rolled into one.
• Deadly Ponies – apart from the cool name, these two designers are making waves with their innovative artisan accessories.
• Elusiv – and one for the men (so often left out in the cold, fashion-wise); this Dunedin label creates clothes that are “decisive, strong and assuredly masculine.”

And there’s much more where that came from. Check out other hot New Zealand fashion.