The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
The Spice is still right
AMELIA YEOMANS looks at fashion lessons we can learn from the Spice Girls
The Spice Girls reunited last weekend to celebrate Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday, much to the delight of fans.
David Beckham shared a joyful video to Instagram of the five women dancing – Victoria along with Geri Horner, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown – and it’s clear that the world has missed seeing the iconic girl group together.
Spice style dominated the zeitgeist in the Nineties and early 2000s, so it’s only natural that it has left a lasting legacy.
Although the Union Jack dresses and miniature hemlines that once characterised the group aren’t around in quite the same way, there are countless examples of styles the group championed that are just as chic today.
A LBD is always the way to go It’s no secret that black clothes are timelessly stylish, but if anyone speaks to how sophisticated a little black dress can be, it’s Victoria Beckham, right. Her signature style works for absolutely any occasion or season, and we have no doubt that in another 20 years’ time it will be just the same. If you don’t already have the perfect LBD in your rotation, this is your sign to invest.
Comfort is key
Leopard print still rocks
Scary Spice was known for her love of leopard print in the Nineties, embracing the look in countless different ways over the years. Although Mel B’s take on the sometimes garish print was always statement and maximalist, her style proved that the print can be unbeatably chic when worn the right way. It is back in a big way for 2024, with designers including Wales Bonner and celebrities such as Dua Lipa rocking the trend.
More is more
Never ones to shy away from a statement look, the Spice Girls have taught us that often more really is more.
Although minimalism and ‘quiet luxury’ have been having a moment in the last year, an unapologetically bold outfit will always turn heads and demonstrate your style credentials. Whether it’s a big occasion or just an evening out with friends, don’t shy away from your favourite pieces in fear of being overdressed – embrace it!
You don’t have to have the same styles as your friends
NEW ARCTIC ROUTE FOR FINNAIR Head to the top of the world, 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle, with a new summer route from Finnair.
The flag carrier will start services from Helsinki to Kirkenes, located at a bracing 69°N in Norway’s far northeast corner by the Russian border, in April 2025.
A return to Kirkenes from Heathrow via Helsinki starts at £369. finnair.com
IT’S not often I’m spontaneously moved to tears, but sitting on my hotel balcony in a tiny northeastern coastal town on New Zealand’s South Island, my eyes are welling up as I watch the sun rising over the Pacific for the first time.
The panorama before me is transcendent. Towering pine trees lining Kaikoura’s promenade stand as stark silhouettes against the band of gold stretching across the horizon.
A dawn chorus sounds over the rushing waves and, with the slightest tilt of my head, the snowcapped Seaward mountain range looms into view. The vast sky is cloudless and quickly turning a piercing blue.
It’s my second morning here and jet lag has upended my circadian rhythm. Maybe I’m just very tired, but seeing this new day unfurling before me in a strange place on the other side of the world feels like a baptism by nature itself. So far I’ve only scratched the surface of what New Zealand has to offer, but I have already wilted.
Kaikoura is as good a place as any to kick off this far-flung adventure offering a bounty of Attenborough-worthy wildlife excursions. Its Maori name translates as ‘eat crayfish’ – an order with which I gladly comply twice in my threeday stint.
A two-and-a-half-hour drive from Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island, this former whaling station has transitioned into a haven for marine life.
The last whale was harpooned in 1964 and since then the town’s thriving wildlife-focused tourist trade has become a key industry.
Boat trips promise encounters with dolphins and albatrosses. Although just strolling along the rugged coastline you can see colonies of fur seals, and even penguins pop up during certain seasons. Sperm whales – permanent residents owing to an oceanic canyon plunging to depths of 2,000ft just half a mile offshore – attract thousands of visitors each year. A lucky few might even spot migrating blue whales, humpbacks and orca.
Alas, on our tour with South Pacific Helicopters, they evaded us. We did, however, pass a huge pod of dolphins, swoop through forests lining the epic mountain range and stop off for a very memorable lunch. Arriving by helicopter at a small seaside crayfish shack was like a scene from TV’s Succession. From the air, our guide Lisa
Bond, from Destination Kaikoura, enlightened us on the endangered Hutton’s Shearwater, exclusive to these shores.
During breeding season, the penguin-like seabirds become so disorientated by the town’s street lights when making the short flight from their alpine homes to the ocean they crash-land and can’t take off again. So a community effort was launched to protect shearwaters from oncoming traffic and an artificial colony was created metres from the coast.
During my stay it became apparent that a deep respect for nature, specifically New Zealand’s native flora and fauna, is taken very seriously indeed. ‘Kaitiakitanga’, as the Maori term it, not only epitomises Kiwi culture but is woven into governmental policy.
The designation of legal personhood to the Whanganui River in 2017 stands as testament. And a word of caution to travellers – strict biohazard checks upon arrival at Auckland Airport caused us to miss our connecting flight due to a pair of suspicious hiking boots.
In another nature-inspired initiative, Kaikoura aspires to earn international acclaim as a dark sky sanctuary. On a chilly spring evening we met two local astronomers who had telescopes aimed towards the darkening heavens.
After the tearful spectacle of dawn, dusk unveiled a whoopinducing, giddying celestial vista. Thousands of stars began littering the sky creating yet another stupefying sight for this city dweller. Like a pack of geeky schoolkids, we jostled for a peek through the eyepiece as Saturn revealed itself.
Aside from the natural wonders, Kaikoura extends its offerings to culture hounds too. Fyffe House, a salmon-pink Victorian-era whaler’s villa, provides a glimpse into the challenging lives of early European settlers. Literally built on foundations of whalebone, the pioneering ‘can do’ spirit of its original occupants is evident in its joinery. For avid foodies and gardeners like me, a visit to Hapuku Kitchen is essential. The highlyInstagrammable home
■ Rooms at the in Christchurch, New Zealand, start at £230 a night room-only. mayfairluxuryhotels.com
■ Rooms at the in Kaikoura, New Zealand, start at £108 a night room-only. sudimahotels.com
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newzealand.com/uk of former MasterChef NZ contestant Fiona Read provides envyinducing interior design inspo, as well as serving as a private dining restaurant and a culinary school.
Nestled among flower gardens, a veg patch, clucking hens, a citrus and fruit orchard, even a nuttery for heaven’s sake, with walnut, pecan and hazelnut trees, it’s a greedy person’s fantasy reminiscent of that early scene from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory where the