Look from Luke Dawson on the runway at the New Generation Show at New Zealand Fashion Week 2017.
New Generation is always one of the most interesting shows of any fashion week, it often marks the debut of exciting young labels who every so often go on to become household names. This year’s crop of designers ran the gamut of gorgeous feminine looks to tough as nails streetwear with some surprises in between.
GEOJ
Possibly the youngest designer to debut at the New Generation show, GEOJ is the freshly minted brand of seventeen year old Christchurch designer Georgia Hensley-Smith who was first up on the runway. She opened the show with a simple but chic mini-dress and black knee high boots which immediately reminded us of Posh Spice and her ‘little Gucci dress’. The collection that followed had a definite 90s feel and was entirely comprised of black. Tiered ruffle dresses in spots and mesh had a sexy femininity while the closing look of a long faux-fur coat and vinyl bustier top and hot pants prowled down the runway. How we wish we were that accomplished at such a young age.
Luke Dawson
Next on the runway was Luke Dawson who switched things up and brought a completely different vibe to the show with his playfully printed streetwear from his “The Boy from Goreville” collection. We loved the mellow feel of his men’s and women’s pieces that were just the right amount of slouchy. His models toted skateboards as did the designer himself for his bow which conveyed a youthful nonchalance. We loved the t-shirt style mini-dresses featuring his cheeky comics as well as exaggerated shoulder sweaters and cool kid hoodies. We can see lots of young and not so young fans buying into this fun new label.
Pania Greenway
We loved Pania Greenway’s beautiful collection at the Miromoda show last year and were excited to see what she would bring to the New Gen runway. We weren’t disappointed by her gorgeous collection of contemporary womenswear that featured velvet in winsome hues of moss green, midnight blue, gold and black. Her pieces felt elegant and sensual with feminine dresses in flattering cuts, pencil skirts and high necked ruffled tops that caught our eye. Sheer mesh featured over slip dresses and bralets for a current take on a 90s favourite look while glimmering sequins and metallics made for luxurious evening looks. There was a lot to love about this alluring collection.
Not For You
Bringing ten tonnes of attitude to the runway were Not For You with their layered streetwear that was slickly styled and entirely made up of menswear. Making a political statement, some of the models were carrying cardboard with messages that read ‘Not this time around’ and ‘We don’t need coins we need change’ which was no doubt timed with the current election fever. The streetwear itself was contemporary and featured distressed denim, boxy jackets, classic hoodies and long-line coats for looks that were masculine and confident. A rich maroon perfectly complemented the pared back colour palette of grey, black, blue and white. We loved the raw-edged grey blanket coat that gave us Zoolander ‘derelicte’ vibes in the best possible way.
Images by James Yang Photography.