New Zealand Fashion Week: Chelsea Thorpe, Salasai, Jaeha, Telise Cooper & Zambesi

By Carol Lee

jaeha

Day 3, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2:57 p.m.

I saw some good shows today. Chelsea Thorpe, Salasai and Jaeha were all part of this thing called the "Hot Set" and that was my favorite so far. These are all fresh out of fashion school, young, emerging kids. Chelsea Thorpe’s collection was simple, sophisticated and sexy and had dresses that I liked a lot with these bulbous petal sleeves that reminded me of big ‘ole peonies… very Phillip Lim I thought, but people here were comparing her to Karen Walker.

Jaeha’s Edward-Scissorhand-inspired collection was full-on as they say here in NZ. It was the strongest and most original set I’ve seen yet. If you took away all the madness what with hairnets, S&M boots and deadly hardware, the clothes were actually very well constructed and feminine. Jaeha had great models too.

There was a big break in the afternoon so Kitty and I went into town for a change of pace and scenery. Kitty took me to a vintage boutique that was full of 20s and 40s stuff. I almost bought an oversized angora cardigan in lavender but the sensible me kicked in and we walked out empty-handed. The last show of the day was Zambesi. This one was off-site (held in a big warehouse-y space) and was even more anticipated than Nom*D. Also, the clothes were even more dystopian and misshapen than Nom*D. The designers of these two labels are sisters and both are two of the most sought-after names among the NZ’s cool corporate types. It’s comparable to architects wearing Comme des Garçons in the states. So tomorrow I’m interviewing Rachel Hunter and have a few more appointments lined up. It’s going to be a hectic day.

Above: Designs from the Jaeha collection