STYLE JOURNEY
I’ve always loved winter, although my reasons for this are strictly sartorial. It’s a season that New Zealand designers do so well, and around this time of year I can never resist layering up in as much local fashion as possible. Wearing some of my most coveted winter woollies of the moment is our cover star, Ashleigh Good, who in between takes at Auckland’s Percy Vos boatshed talked to us about being a model mum, and what it was like walking the Chanel runway while seven months pregnant (In Good Company, page 86). That’s right, Ashleigh’s daughter Emily was doing Paris Fashion Week before she was even born, and at 18 months old, she now has her first Fashion Quarterly cover. A natural in front of the camera, Emily’s shot was in the bag early and she slept through the rest of the afternoon, snugly wrapped in a dream combination of Juliette Hogan cashmere, Harman Grubisa Tibetan lamb and Zambesi alpaca.
Of course, sub-tropical Auckland seldom allows for such full-noise outerwear, so what’s a girl to do? Venture south. On location at Cape Saunders in Dunedin, we tested our model Renee’s endurance in what felt like sub-zero temperatures (Area of Interest, page 50). While in Dunedin we also attended the 17th annual ID Dunedin Fashion Week. A highlight was hearing international guest judge, Emilia Wickstead, speak about her growing fashion empire. She sheds more light on this in our Q&A on page 129.
In putting together this issue we were determined to see as much of our country as possible. Rotorua’s Redwood Forest proved the perfect backdrop to showcase this season’s new bohemia trend (Free Spirit, page 102), while our winter coat story could not have been shot anywhere but Mangawhai Heads (Top Coat, page 72). We also travelled to Wellington, where three established and emerging designers took us on a guided tour of the city (Capital Gains, page 82). Being the avid shoppers that we are, the best part of this New Zealand fashion road trip was popping into all of the incredible, independent boutiques we saw along the way (Retail Roadie, page 134).
Of course, there’s no shortage of creative Kiwis currently killing it on the world stage, as Phoebe Watt discovered when she interviewed LA based makeup artist Amber D (page 114), London-based photographer Kerry Brown (page 42), and New York-based fashion designer Sean Kelly (page 90). Closer to home, Lucy Slight investigated the latest craze in appearance medicine – sexual rejuvenation procedures (page 168). I am proud to shine a spotlight on this previously taboo topic as female empowerment is a cause that I am passionate about. Whether it’s a new beauty treatment, the words of an inspirational career woman, or just a bit of winter wardrobe inspiration, may you find a source of empowerment on every page of this issue.
On that note, I am excited to introduce Fashion Quarterly's newest subtitle, Miss FQ. The little sister of FQ.co.nz, Miss FQ borrows from the fashion credibility and aspirational values of Fashion Quarterly but gives a fun, fresh and accessible take on living stylishly. We look forward to bringing you affordable fashion and beauty, celeb gossip, street style, and diet, fitness and travel inspo when Miss FQ launches on May 1st.