Royal wedding gown designer in Best of Style Pasifika

September 9, 2011

Royal wedding gown designer added to Best of Style Pasifika international line-up

Elizabeth Emanuel, the designer who created one of the world’s most famous dresses - the iconic wedding gown for Diana, Princess of Wales - is creating a garment from New Zealand merino and heading down under to support its unveiling at Westfield Style Pasifika 2011, a highlight event of the REAL New Zealand Festival during Rugby World Cup 2011.

Emanuel will accompany her specially-designed, one-off garment to New Zealand for Style Pasifika 2011’s International Designer Collection, alongside top international designers representing the other Rugby World Cup 2011 countries, invited by Prime Minister John Key to come up with a rugby-inspired design using New Zealand merino wool, supplied by New Zealand company Designer Textiles International.

With assistance from the British Council, Emanuel will travel to New Zealand to be present when her garment is modelled at the spectacular Westfield Style Pasifika over two evenings on Tuesday October 18 and Wednesday October 19 at Vector Arena in Auckland.

Emanuel and her garment will join world-renowned designers such as Yohji Yamamoto (Japan) and John Rocha (Ireland), and other top designers representing Wales, Scotland, USA, South Africa, Romania, Canada, Samoa, Georgia, Namibia, Tonga, Fiji, Australia, Argentina, England and Russia, to form the International Designer Collection at the Westfield Style Pasifika: Best of Pasifika event.

The garments, all inspired by each designers’ home nation as well as the ethics and values of rugby and made from New Zealand merino wool, will also share the catwalk with winning designs from the Westfield Style Pasifika Fashion Awards and rugby-themed creations by celebrated New Zealand fashion designers such as World, Zambesi, Liz Mitchell, Sabatini, Kiri Nathan, Untouched World, Annah Stretton, Lucie Boshier and Tanya Carlson.

Since making her name with the wedding dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales for her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981, Emanuel has continued to build her reputation designing for films, theatre, as well as a number of celebrities.
Show producer and artistic director Stan Wolfgramm says: “The REAL New Zealand Festival and Rugby World Cup 2011 provide an amazing opportunity for New Zealand as a nation to tell our story to the world while the spotlight is on us. Style Pasifika has developed the rugby-inspired International Designer Collection with that in mind.

“It’s incredible to have the support of these celebrated international designers whose input will ensure this year’s event is an absolute must-see for Kiwis and international visitors alike.

“The rugby-inspired International Designer Collection will be the only collection of its kind in the world, cementing our position as a nation that leads the way in creative ideas and design.”

Westfield Style Pasifika: Best of Pasifika, is one of the flagship events supported by the Government through the Ministry for Culture and Heritage for the REAL New Zealand Festival, a nationwide celebration of all the things we love most about New Zealand. It will be a truly unique show that celebrates New Zealand’s place in the Pacific in spectacular style.

Westfield Style Pasifika, now in its 17th year, is an iconic New Zealand event and the world’s largest indigenous fashion event. The awards within the event challenge designers to produce cutting-edge fashion inspired by the unique and colourful fusion of Pasifika, which is everything from this region of the world that makes us distinctive. The result is an explosion of fashion, art and culture, defining a uniquely New Zealand style.

Westfield Style Pasifika - Best of Pasifika NZ 2011
When: Tuesday October 18 (public event) & Wednesday October 19, 2011 (hosting/VIP event)
Where: Vector Arena, Auckland
For more information visit www.stylepasifika.co.nz

Rugby meets the world of fashion, music, technology and dance in two incredible nights of distinctly New Zealand entertainment. Westfield Style Pasifika - Best of Pasifika NZ 2011 has been selected as a key event for the REAL New Zealand Festival, a nationwide celebration of all the things we love most about New Zealand, on during September and October this year for Rugby World Cup 2011.

For two exclusive evenings in the final week of Rugby World Cup 2011, musicians, dancers, cultural entertainers, artists, film makers and designers will come together to showcase the best of New Zealand and Pacific innovation and creativity. This will be an event that will not only strike a chord with Kiwis, but will catapult our unique Pasifika culture onto the world stage.

ENDS

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