Behind the scenes of our latest editorial

The Lucire team got together to shoot our swimwear editorial for summer at the luxurious Sanctum apartments in Wellington. With a close knit team of young creatives the shoot ran like a dream, with enough time to spare for a bit of silliness and a few chuckles. The weather was good to us, giving us warm sunshine amid fast moving clouds and only cooling off towards the end of the shoot. A chance encounter and a casting on the street by one of our team found us Ruby, our extraordinary model. She was photographed beautifully by the talented Doug Rimmington, who sadly is leaving us to shake up the London fashion scene.

Our model Ruby, Lizi and her box of magic

Sanctum apartments - location location!

First look of the day

Ruby on a snack break

Huddling for warmth and waiting while Doug checks the lighting

Fashion Week Here We Come!

It will be double trouble in Auckland next week as fashion editor Samantha Hannah and myself take the city by storm. Come and find us amongst the bustle of high heels, It bags, clouds of hairspray and camera flashes; or catch my daily blogs for photos, reviews and picks of the day.

Egypt and Junk Food

From theosophical musings to clever wearable junk food, Wellington based jeweller Daniel Nagels is getting us all excited with his creations. He is laser cutting perspex and wood, and casting cheeky treats in solid silver. Though Nagels has gone international, now stocking in London as well as Good as Gold in Wellington and via his website, he will still remain exclusive as his production ranges are so small. We hear he may be casting his Egyptian laser cuts in solid silver soon. Get in now while you can. www.danielnagels.com

Predicting the future - what will you wear?

Last week, Jack (director of Lucire) and I were asked to judge and mark the presentations by Massey University's 2009 fashion students predicting trends for 2010/11. Their presentations were intelligent and thought-provoking. It was clear that they had researched widely, not just on worldwide clothing trends, but on politics, technology developments and the global economy. While nobody can ever forecast the exact trends that will be picked up in the future, theirs were calculated guesstimates, and were very much in line with my ideas and predictions for the next couple of years.

While some students communicated their trend predictions better than others, the gist of it was this:

What we will be seeing in 2010/11 in catwalk trends, and in 2012 in street trends will emerge as refined versions of the trends we are seeing today. Just as 2008's grunge/rocker look developed into the glunge/slasher trend that we see in 2009 at Rodarte and Dion Lee, styles will not change dramatically, but will come forth as sophisticated developments from existing styles.

Rodarte Spring 2009

The current resurgence of the 1980’s luxe rocker, with leather, rips and studs will develop into a trend of lady-killing opulence for 2011. Alexander Wang could be credited with spurring this trend in his Fall 2007 collection. After Wang, every designer worth their salt began sending leather pants down the runway. It took a while to filter down, but now both leather and pleather trousers are available on the high street. 2011 will give us a more gentlemanly approach to this trend – think Gucci’s look in A/W 08 channelling Keith Richards and Jimi Hendrix, or Rhys Ifan’s character Gavin in The Boat That Rocked. Whereas now we are just beginning to feel velvet again, 2011 will bring it to us in a big way – expect to see it worming its way into menswear as well. Military and matador jackets will be rootled out of dusty cupboards, in fact anything with embellishment will be crazed over. 2011 will give you leather boots that jangle and fabrics that glisten.

Alexander Wang Fall 2007


Gucci Fall 2008


The Boat That Rocked

There is a certain degree of contradiction in many trends we are seeing today – particularly noticeable at Australian Fashion week for S/S 09/10, where loose flowing fabrics were roped in with heavy leather belts, and feminine florals were balanced out with heavy heels and patent footwear that screamed dominating sex. 2011 looks like it will be a concoction consisting of all things girly, garnished with a dash of intelligent punk in this contradictory trend. The fetish feel of the future will be a lot more subtle than today’s standard, morphing from our current dominatrix undertone to a loftier “I’m sexy but tough - don’t mess with me” attitude for 2011. See Balmain Spring 2009 for a peek in on the new look.

Bec and Bridge at Australian Fashion Week S/S 09/10

Balmain Spring 2009

With the hullabaloo the world is making about the dire straits our planet is in, it is no wonder fashion is developing a conscience. We are already seeing a rise of the eco-trend, with organic cottons, bamboo and other sustainable fabrics being more widely used. 2011 will see an explosion of this trend, with the development of sustainable fabrics and a refinement in the design of eco clothing. This new movement is all for earth’s preservation, and it is important for us to show others how much we care. We are going back to our grass roots and competing to be more eco friendly than our neighbour. Back in our grass roots the colour scheme comprises of browns, creams and hints of nature’s sky blue. Deep forest green and the greys of the storm clouds also feature. Fabrics are loose and sustainable in organic cottons, linen, re-used rubber, and plastics. The look is bookish and intellectual; the character is a traveller of the world, and stems from Burberry’s spring 09 and Marni’s resort 2010 collections.

Marni Resort 2010

Burberry Spring 2009

These trends are merely a forecast and a framework for what is to come in the seasons ahead. Not all catwalk looks make it onto the main street, certain designers are always going to throw something at us that is left-of-field, and there will always be erratic micro-trends at street level to surprise and inspire us. Let this be a guide but not a restriction to the adventurous directions in which your wardrobe can go.

Images from style.com

Currently Channeling - Matador

Bored of your winter drabs? Amp up your adornments to bullfighting proportions with heavy metal detailing and brocade.

Images (in order) Bbc, Afp/Getty, Jalouse mag, GQ Italia, Vogue, RackandRuin

Fashion Crash Test Dummy - The Pleather Effect

Erin Wasson in leather trou

Generally summing up images of Kiss and other eighties rockers, leather trousers are a look that I didn’t think would come back anytime soon. So naturally I was surprised when Erin Wasson, model-of-the-moment and just-about-everybody’s-style-inspiration was seen at an event sporting a pair.

Inevitably the rage for leather filtered through to the masses, with the leather often being replaced for pleather by those who can’t afford it. Having been a child in the eighties I never got the chance to try this trend the last time round, so I was determined not to let it pass me by this time. I scoured vintage shops and Trademe hunting for real leather pair, but gave up my hunt when I spotted a pleather version in a boutique in Sydney. They were in the habit of slipping down my bum a bit but they would do.

The item of interest sat in my drawer for almost two weeks before I found a suitable occasion to wear them. It was a casual dinner with friends who accept my sometimes strange attire, eating Japanese. And then the friend’s beaus turned up, and it wasn’t so intimate or casual. That was about when my pants ripped. In the crotch, as I attempted my first acrobatic act in them - of sitting down. I decided then that pleather pants were either the sort of trousers that one never sits down in; only stands all night looking cute in the bar, or this particular pair was just made very badly. Giving them the benefit of the doubt I suspected the latter. I told no-one about my breezy crotch, just wrapped my check shirt around my waist and finished my meal. I went home early that night.

The next day I shut myself in my room with the sewing machine and re-enforced every seam. I then added belt loops to help the pants stay up, and finally hemmed them up to fit with the current ankle length trouser trend. That night with renewed confidence I tried again. Going for the original Erin Wasson look I wore gladiator heels, a loose worn T and piles of heavy jewellery. This time my shiny pants were much better behaved and attitudes towards them ranged from exuberant back slapping and envious cooing, to sheer horror. Interestingly enough it was mainly men that hated the PVC.

After a bit of playing dress-ups, I realised that while being slightly clammy to wear for too long, these trousers are surprisingly versatile. Throwing on a casual T and some knitwear and flats with them one day works just as well as flouncing them up a bit with a ruffled blouse, a sassy tailored jacket and some strappy heels. Providing you steer away from the head to toe bogan rocker look and keep a feminine aspect to your outfit at all times, you’ll be well on your way to pleather success. Remember, plastic makes perfect.

Military Trend, Berlin

I'm aware that I need to dedicate a post to exciting menswear, as I have been collecting great inspiration and images for some time now. I couldn't wait to put this one up though, I am mildly obsessed with military jackets at the moment, and they are so much less tacky on men.

So boys, rootle about in the second hand shop, scour trademe, or joing the Salvation Army brass band just to get your hands on one of these jackets. Wear them as you would your leather bomber - with jeans, T's, and knitwear. A pair of rocking boots wouldn't go amiss either.

Image from Fashioning