COOP finale on the runway at the Theatre of Fashion.
Trelise Cooper and her team excel at creating spectacular runway shows that always deliver beautiful sets, gorgeous styling and of course, incredible collections. This past week the TC team took over Q Theatre on Auckland's Queen Street to deliver some brilliant shows which showcased their spring/summer 2016/2017 collections and began with COOP by Trelise Cooper's show The Takeover on Monday night.
We've come to expect great things from COOP designer, Kayla Jurlina, who has been designing the label since 2013, and has developed a cool kid feel about it while still making it fun, accessible and full of must-have pieces each season. For her spring collection Jurlina went for her own take on disco punk with sports luxe references, creating a range that had a girl gang attitude and loads of charm. Sporty boxing inspired looks were juxtaposed with sweet gingham checks that would be picnic appropriate, while a playful tentacle print and skull motif tshirt added to the youthful rebellion.
Summer sees COOP getting into festival mode and it's a theme that works well for the brand with tropical prints and mash-ups of stripes in cropped tops, shorts and relaxed dresses among the looks. Playsuits, ruffled shorts and dresses that tied with shoulder bows made for particularly covetable pieces. Whether the COOP girl is heading for the beach or the dance floor there is the perfect outfit to be found amongst this collection's carefully curated pieces. It's fascinating to watch Jurlina play with silhouettes and details each season, with each COOP collection becoming more confident than the last. This one will be sure to please COOP's ever growing army of fans.
Designers Kayla Jurlina (left) & Trelise Cooper (right) at COOP's show.
Tuesday night saw Trelise Cooper's mainline label and diffusion label Cooper by Trelise Cooper take to the runway at Q Theatre. An incredible inflatable floral set by Tomuri & Co greeted guests on arrival into the space with further inflatable flowers suspended from the ceiling above the runway. While florals may be a much-used theme for spring, we have never seen them used so creatively for a set before and it set the tone for the ebullient collections to come.
One of Trelise Cooper's many skills is to create fashion that feels joyful and there is no better season to be celebrating joy than spring. She opened the show with her colourful Cooper by Trelise Cooper collection which was a riot of prints in relaxed silhouettes that were perfectly styled for a summer holiday. It was impossible to look away from the myriad of outfits that were incredibly detailed and drew inspiration from Italy's stunning Amalfi Coast, with each look complemented by Trelise's new sunglasses range adding to the vacation spirit.
Florals, birds, stars, palm trees and sublime Italian landscapes all featured in the bold prints that graced the runway in a series of winsome dresses, playful shorts and delightful tops. Trelise likes to give her customers many different options which makes for a lot going on on the runway but so many visual treats. The collection itself is what we would expect from Trelise's diffusion line which is meant to be more casual and everyday than her mainline range. The silhouettes are contemporary and easy to wear while still having the lace, embellishments and feminine shapes that make them feel like Trelise Cooper garments. This particular collection was high on the fun factor, with leather binding and Missoni-esque knits new features for the season. This collection definitely made us wish it was summer and time for the beach again already.
Cooper by Trelise Cooper on the Theatre of Fashion runway.
There really is no-one else in New Zealand who does party dresses quite like Trelise Cooper and after getting the crowd hyped up with her convivial Cooper collection, next up was her Trelise Cooper range which upped the glamour factor. Beautiful floral prints, delicately pretty lace and intricate embellishments featured on Trelise's collection of heavenly dresses and separates in romantic silhouettes that drew inspiration from the whimsy of Alice Through the Looking Glass.
It's easy for ladylike looks to get a bit too prim but Trelise steered her collection towards refined and sophisticated with the rainbow of prints keeping things light-hearted. The over-sized floral adornments wouldn't have been out of place on Carrie Bradshaw who we can always imagine strutting in one of Trelise's creations, and no doubt there will be many ladies who are inspired by the styling too. There were touches of mid-century Dior in the full-skirted looks paired with jackets cinched in at the waist which is always a flattering shape. A repeat of last spring's appliquéd white floral looks this time in different shapes were sublime, while the winsome striped jackets and skirts with bow motifs were a delight.
It's exceptionally hard to come up with enough superlatives for Trelise Cooper's collections as each one is magnificent and a feast for the eyes. After the success of her Theatre of Fashion shows last year it's no surprise that she wanted to repeat the idea again this year, after all there's no better antidote to a chilly New Zealand winter than Trelise Cooper's jubiliant display of divine fashion that brings the sunshine to the runway. There will likely be many Trelise Cooper fans wishing that these stunning pieces were in stores already, thankfully the first drop is due to arrive later next month and we can't wait either.
Trelise Cooper's mainline collection on the Theatre of Fashion runway.
Images supplied.