Designing Women

New Zealand Herald writer Fiona Hawtin reports on the unique nature of the NZ fashion scene for the International Herald Tribune. “Of the 45 labels showing at the seventh New Zealand Fashion Week … 39 of them are designed by women and almost all are owner/operator businesses,” she writes, noting the stark contrast with the traditionally male-dominated fashion industries in Europe and the US. High-profile examples of this trend include Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Elisabeth Findlay (Zambesi), Helen Cherry and Trelise Cooper. “Boundaries don’t exist so much for women [in NZ]. We can excel in the arts as much in business sectors,” said Wellington designer Alexandra Owen who, together with Chelsea Thorpe and Kirsha Whitcher, is part of a new generation of NZ women running their own fashion labels.