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By Poppy Smith

When you think of New Zealand you think of burly rugby players doing the Haka, the best pies in the world, Lord of the Rings country and fantastic sheep's wool. Fashion isn't the first thing that springs to mind, and for a country with a population the size of Birmingham that's hardly surprising. But in the last few years, New Zealand designers have been making noise that the international fashion scene can't ignore. You may have heard of names like Zambesi, Nom D and Karen Walker, all established and highly desirable labels in the southern hemisphere that have been seducing London boutique shoppers for the past few years. Well, they have been busy laying the foundations for a new generation of Kiwi designers coming up and getting ready to make it big in Europe.

Out of last autumn's NZ fashion week (which happens only once a year), the five hot new names of everybody's lips for 2006 were Mala Brajkovic, Hailwood, Cybele, Deborah Sweeney and Lonely Hearts Club.

Mala Brajkovic

After a brief stint at Central Saint Martin's, Mala Brajkovic was offered a job alongside Karen Walker. After three years as Walker's design assistant, Mala decided she was ready to go it alone. Her first collection, 'How's Tricks?', for which she enlisted the illustrative prowess of Sydney based print designer Elke Kramer, was based around her childhood fascination with whoopee cushions, magicians and their scantily clad assistants. Her most recent show, 'Cyborgs Rule, OK!' was full of outrageous outfits, making a fantastic statement of aesthetic intent. Although some of the more sci-fi garments in the 'Cyborgs' collection won't sell to the average woman, other elements, like the cropped motorcycle jacket in shiny vinyl with oversized zips and toggles, are eminently desirable and so hip they hurt.
With only two collections behind her Mala has already opened a shop in Auckand's trendiest shopping district, and has been brought over to the UK by Antipodium, the Soho based showroom and pr consultancy that specializes in Australasian designers. "Mala's a really strong talent. Her collection is really well thought out in terms of stories, and it's something fresh," says Antipodium's PR manager Rae Begley. "After what we've seen at London Fashion Week we think there is a gap for someone like Mala."
The self-titled collection incorporates everything from dresses and tailoring to jumpsuits and accessories, while 'Mala Jeans' is predominantly jeans and tees. The combined result is a slouchy, sexy ready to wear collection of sharp cuts, soft denims and a little touch of Eighties excess in all the right places.

Hailwood

Another new label Antipodium have bought over to the UK is Hailwood. Designer Adrian Hailwood is a rising star in his Native New Zealand (and another darling of Karen Walker) for his unique takes on jeanswear and sportswear for men and women. Hailwood does the "whole bloody lot", from conception, design, organising production, to selling the range. His collection for New Zealand Fashion Week 2005/6 concentrated on his own fabric designs with dyeing, cutting and treatment techniques, and manufacturing his own footwear and accessories. His sexy, fresh and cohesive collection 'Berlin' drew spontaneous applause, and was described by Los Angeles celebrity stylist Cameron Silver as "very new wave", [he said] "the combinations used were interesting and unexpected".

Revered for his prints, one in particular is causing quite a commotion amongst the ladies in the vicinity of his Ponsonby Road shop in Auckland. It's a picture of a woman in a bikini bra and pants, eyes closed, smoking a cigarette with her arm elegantly outstretched. She's beautiful and feminine but at the same time she's also sexy and, because of the cigarette, even a little rough. "It's casual and glamorous at the same time," is how Hailwood, who also works as an illustrator and in an art department for television commercials, describes his work. He was also approached by Absolut Vodka, renowned for working on projects with leading fashion designers over the years, to join nine other emerging designers from around the world to design a bag, so he packed his bags and high-tailed it to Sweden.

Cybèle

Designer Cybèle Wiren's passion for clothing began as a young child, learning to sew on her mother's treadle Singer, and observing her father's work as a weaver. On first look her designs look childishly pretty, feminine, and simple. It's only on closer inspection that you can see a darker, more intricate side lurking: the unique construction of looped double shoulder straps on an otherwise unassuming tank, a mustard yellow polo-neck jersey dress lurking under a black draped top, and acid-wash fabric embroidered with floral shapes atop a Lurex-shot chiffon shift dress. So how did the little girl on the Singer become a designer who is at once feminine, streetwise, complex and dark? Perhaps it's down to her fine arts background, where, during her degree she began to incorporate the medium of dressmaking into her art practice, exhibiting garments in shows, installations and staged events. Or perhaps it's her time with designers Tina Borg and Obus. Whatever it is, her designs are being lapped up by the youthful, sophisticated and discerning in 14 boutiques across New Zealand.

Deborah Sweeney

After a stint working for Jill Stuart in New York and designing for Top shop and H&M in London, Deborah Sweeney returned to her native New Zealand to establish her own label. That was only three years ago, and since then she has produced five edgy but wearable collections, and has been labeled 'one to watch' by the fashion press. Using the skills of her graphic designer/photographer husband, Niels Meyer-Westfield, Sweeney creates individual looks with her unique prints and unexpected styling - pairing a blue t-shirt and denim waistcoat with braces, or putting a striped vest under a belted black spaghetti-strap dress.
Her show for Winter 06, entitled Spanish Caravan, was an eclectic mix of bright and bold items, which mixes cowgirl themes with elements of the 1940s and 80s. Pieces included gold fuchsia and tartan silk cocktail puffballs worn with grey T-shirts; a black button-through dress with white-trimmed ruffle front, check capes finishing on the hip, a lumberjack shirt with ruffle front and green floral dresses.

Lonely Hearts Club

Lastly but by no means least, Lonely Hearts Club's Aimee McFarlane and Helene Morris were fellow snowboarders working winters in Colorado. "Aimee studied fashion and I studied graphic design," says Helene, "then we did a couple of snowboarding seasons together and realised that, style-wise, we had really similar ideas."
The original idea was to make street wear with interesting, original graphics. "But we got sick of just doing T-shirts pretty quickly." Although they still make T-shirts, the Lonely Hearts Club collection now contains items as diverse as silk dresses, oversize hoodies, waistcoats and winter jackets.

As a rule, McFarlane does the pattern making and Morris looks after the graphics. "We do heaps of drawing and sampling and we also dye our own fabrics," Morris says. "We have a sense of humour in common and that comes through too." Where other designers may be motivated by various types of fabrics, the women at Lonely Hearts Club are moved by the pictures they create. "When I think about the graphics, I definitely have a piece of clothing in mind," Morris says. "The two factors feed off each other."
The resulting look is feminine and slightly twisted, but still with that street wear edge. For winter 05/06, their first outing at NZ fashion week, they produced 'Washed Up', a show with an an early 80's feel emphasised by their use of stirrup pants and over-sized jackets, baggy dresses to the knee and hoodies. Pussy bow blouses were reconstructed as pussy bow dresses with bows at the back of the knee on floaty hobble skirts.

Poppy can be contacted at: poppys@hotmail.com