Finale on the runway at Hailwood NZFW 2019. Image by Getty Images.
Celebrating a milestone twenty years in the fashion industry, Adrian Hailwood hosted a hotly anticipated glamour packed show that did not disappoint. The show opened with a short video a la ‘Mannequin’ where a mannequin in Hailwood’s boutique window came to life as a well dressed model roaming around town in a sleek Lexus (he’s a showman and a savvy businessman) before returning to the shop to resume her shop window modelling duties. Then poof, a cloud of smoke appears before us on the runway and live singer Annabel Liddell of the band Miss June is setting up her electric guitar ready to put on a rousing performance.
The opening look was comprised of a short navy coat layered over a sunshine yellow silk day dress, next we see an apricot tie waist wrap jacket paired with duckegg blue trousers, a pretty floral print maxi dress with fluted sleeves and hem are an early indication of the glamour of the gowns to come. A couple more looks with fantastic coats, knits and ankle skimming trousers follow.
Though he’s proven himself adept at designing daywear by way of his tailored outerwear, Hailwood’s specialty has always been his evening wear. We see a series of figure hugging jersery dresses with interesting drapery, gorgeous silk dresses spliced with ruffles and sheer panelling, sequin cocktail styles and Grecian style gathered numbers. Silhouettes were modern and streamlined.
The colour palette saw neutrals for daywear while the evening wear revolved around black as a staple and accented with pops of khaki green, burgundy, seafoam blue, and periwinkle purple.
And then came the gowns. A black tasselled sequin design shimmied down the runway, a silk satin boatneck long sleeved dress appeared deceivingly conservative save for an alluring cowl back, a strapless periwinkle purple column gown featured a fishtail of pleated panels, a floaty fawn coloured tulle dress was so pretty and ethereal. Ending the show was a seafoam blue dress with an oversized rosette bodice and layers and layers of pleated panelling, which was simply breath-taking.
To help celebrate the twentieth anniversary was a bevy of iconic models and muses and television stars by way of Lily Montana, Sonia Gray, Theresa Healey, and Geeling Ng with the show stopping finale dress modelled by Ashleigh Good. It was definitely a fitting tribute to a stellar NZ brand.
Soundtrack: Nothing beats a live performance and Liddell’s set helped to create an atmospheric event.
Beauty Notes: The hair look for Hailwood was lead by Jason Davis and the “elumenators” from KMS. This look was polished, sleek, smooth, sophisticated and timeless, as described by Jason. It has a sense of a new type of romanticism. The look itself is a sleek, straight hair look with a side part.
The makeup team for Hailwood was lead by Lochie Stonehouse from Lancome. Lochie wanted to balance the flowy, feminine and minimal designs this year from Hailwood with a more theatrical, camp and strong look for the makeup. This year saw a couple of iconic models and actresses come out for the show so the natural skin, glossy lip and strong, smoky, black lined eye was the perfect 90’s touch to this look. Beauty Notes by Nina Franklin.
Hot Item: A pair of sheer black chiffon backed sequin pants was amazing, as was an iridescent jersey wrap dress.
Images by Lyle Adams.