Art and Fashion Meet As iD Fashion Week Begins
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High art meets high fashion at ‘Not All White’ – an exhibition showcasing 15 years of Tanya Carlson’s exquisite wedding
dresses alongside renowned artist Michael Parekowhai’s Cuisenaire rods – which opened this weekend to mark the beginning
of iD Dunedin Fashion Week’s 15th anniversary.
A capacity crowd attended yesterday’s exhibition opening and talk at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Featuring Carlson
in conversation with curator Dr Jane Malthus, the global fashion week will also include catwalk shows, events, tours,
public talks and exhibitions, culminating in the 10th annual iD International Emerging Designer Awards on Thursday night
at the Dunedin Town Hall and the 15th annual iD Dunedin Fashion Shows at the historic Dunedin Railway Station on Friday
and Saturday nights.
“Tanya Carlson is a name synonymous with Dunedin fashion and iD Dunedin Fashion Week, as one of the founding designers
of this unique event,” says iD Committee Chair Susie Staley.
“Seeing 17 of her couture wedding dresses together – some created for New Zealand’s well-known faces such as Alison
Shanks, Kerre McIvor, or Sonia Gray – supported by Michael Parekowhai’s incredible Cuisenaire rods, delivers a powerful
start to iD’s 15th anniversary. This is high art and high fashion in collaboration and sets the tone perfectly for the
week, which will include many other high fashion and art moments.”
This year’s sold-out anniversary shows feature an international line up, including iD guests Paris-based Australian
designer Martin Grant, New Zealand’s beloved avant-garde label WORLD, and a catalogue of New Zealand fashion icons,
including NOM*d, Tanya Carlson, Mild-Red, Charmaine Reveley, Tamsin Cooper, DADA Vintage, Company of Strangers, and
more.
Yesterday’s opening events also included the ever-popular iD Designer Sale at the Dunedin Railway Station where around
450 fashion lovers reveled in a treasure trove of high profile fashion labels slashed to rock-bottom prices.
Tomorrow evening, an official invite-only launch event sponsored by the Otago Daily Times will be held at the Dunedin
Town Hall. The following morning, the city will welcome 10 models from sister city Shanghai, who will be part of the key
iD fashion shows and that evening will see the official opening of Dunedin’s first sustainable fashion hub with
Zerowaste fashion practitioner Senorita AweSUMO.
The iD Dunedin Fashion Week Hub at Dunedin’s Golden Centre Mall will host a range of activities from guest and designer
appearances, including Martin Grant on Thursday at 3pm, spot prizes, and the impressive catwalk show on Wednesday night,
‘Bright, Bold, Beautiful’, a showcase of previously unseen priceless pieces from the Darnell Collection, with iD 2011
guest Charlotte Smith.
Hotel St Clair, the major accommodation sponsor of iD Dunedin Fashion Week, will host the Designer Breakfast Series from
Wednesday April 2 to April 3 – two days of breakfasts, with presentations from iconic Dunedin designers, Sara Munro from
Company of Strangers and Margi Robertson from NOM*d.
Exhibitions include Fashionable Gold (at the Otago Museum) – a stunning array of garments selected from the Otago
Museum’s world-class collection to showcase the scope and style of ‘fashionable gold’ textiles (in conjunction with iD’s
anniversary); work from designers from the 'PARTICIPANT' Project Space on Princes Street, which showcases a group of
local and national boutique designers and makers that all work between the lines of art and fashion, including
contemporary jewellery, shoes, limited edition bags and couture men’s and women’s clothing; and Lure jewellery’s ‘Solid
Gold Hits’.
Martin Grant’s presence at this year’s iD Fashion Shows continues the high standards set by previous iD international
guest designers, Zandra Rhodes, Akira Isogawa, Lutz Huelle and last year’s UK celebrity milliner Stephen Jones. He will
also join the prestigious iD International Emerging Designer judging panel, which this year includes Singapore based UK
fashion educator Lucy Jones, WORLD’s Francis Hooper, alongside Dunedin’s own Tanya Carlson and Margi Robertson (NOM*d).
Returning to iD is television personality Carol Hirschfeld, who will host the iD Awards, while TV3’s Mike McRoberts and
Paula Penfold will host the 15th anniversary shows for the first time.
For a full calendar of not-to-be-missed fashion events – including public lectures with iD guests, the library’s popular
Geek-Chic catwalk show, tours, and exhibitions by local artists and jewellers – visit iD Fashion.
The iD International Emerging Designer Awards will take place on Thursday 3 April at the Dunedin Town Hall, starting at
7pm, in front of an audience of 1350. Doors will open at 6.15pm.
The 2014 iD Dunedin Fashion Show will take place on Friday 4 April and Saturday 5 April, starting at 8pm, in front of an
audience of 1600 each evening. Doors will open at 6.30pm. Tickets are now sold out for both events.
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