I’m all about a long hot summer, but after the sticky, sweaty days of late, I’m truly ready to embrace a chill in the air.
Autumn is a great time to get extra mileage out of your summer favourites by carefully layering with an added warmer outer layer, and swapping out sandals and slides for a fresh new pair of boots. Textures can be mixed and matched as much as you like, fresh floral prints paired with slouchy sweaters and so much more.
At Witchery, they ask you to take a style note from the great outdoors, with many of the timeless, beautiful pieces that make up their AW20 edit sharing tones with the natural world. Leaves are falling and the associated hues are about as nature loving and flattering as it gets, with warm gold, dark green and rich red featuring heavily. A timeless wardrobe staple always comes back for more and Witchery’s Morgan Leather Boot is a must-have; throw on a pair with a summer floral and classic Aviators for an instant style update.
At local label Liam, designer Emily Miller-Sharma has created a collection inspired by her long-time friend Laura Taylor, a model, creative director and stylist in Brazil. Called ‘Laura & Me’, it looks back at the time when the two met in high school. After quickly realising their common penchant for art and design, they began creating work together and a lifelong friendship established. Soon after, Laura moved back to Brazil, but they never lost touch.
For this collection, Miller-Sharma was after a sense of what she calls ‘harmony through discord’ – unlikely yet delightful pairings in colour, texture and silhouette. Between the simple cuts and easy-to-wear fabrications, ‘Laura & Me’, brings a myriad of possibilities, and I love the rich greens and rust tones running through the collection in particular. Colour is saturated and cuts are extremely wearable – grab a 30s-style, bias-cut dress and when the days get colder, the Maas Coat in brilliant green is a stand-out option for tonal ensembles. Just add Mi Piaci’s suede tan Amigo boot for a more dressed-down vibe by day, or throw on a heel for night.
Autumn 2020 marks the first season under the much loved local label Ingrid Starnes’ refined new direction. From here on in, all Ingrid Starnes’ garments are made locally either in editions of one, for the bridal and made to measure range, or in editions of no more than 100 for all other seasonal styles. All pieces are numbered, to shine a light on the artist edition values, design decisions and process of meaningful production that goes into everything they create, all of which is immediately covetable. I love that from now on, anyone owning a piece of Ingrid’s beautiful work knows theirs is special, one of a consciously limited run, and a positive alternative to
over-production.
Hallelujah to that! The AW20 collection has been dubbed ‘Dream of Venus’, which was the name of Salvador Dali’s exhibit at the 1939 World Fair. The collection features a palette of delicate lavenders, foiled gold, burnt amber, iris blues, spring greens, rose reds and sprawling floral prints. Sculptural, voluminous silhouettes sit alongside softly structured tailoring, whilst the season’s hero print also makes a conscious nod to the arts in the form of a collaboration with a favourite New Zealand artist, Kirstin Carlin, from her work ‘Untitled (Found Flowers)’.
One of my absolute favourite local designers for wearable, unabashedly feminine pieces with a sprinkle of cool girl edge is Penny Sage, and designer Kate Megaw’s AW20 collection named ‘Ray’ definitely ticks all those boxes. My personal picks (just for starters, mind) are the rich purple Mena dress and Charlton Trench in bronze, both of which I can imagine on high rotate all season long. The trench is always a great option for the often-warmer-than-expected Auckland autumn and winter, just add the matching Charlton Hat and you’re sorted for those drizzly walks to work and back and more.
Vicky Taylor’s taylor label is always a popular choice for those that love timeless, imminently wearable pieces that will fit right in with existing taylor garments from years past. For AW20, she and her talented design team drew upon inspiration from the set design of the new work ‘As it Stands’ by Ross McCormack, which was commissioned for The Auckland Arts Festival 2019, and American Artist Joel Shapiro’s geometric abstraction of the human form. Called ‘Motion, Space & Form’, the new collection includes exclusive Italian wool and mohair top layers as well as dreamy, supple alpaca blend knits that look just as great over a summer slip dress as they do over a wide-legged, wool winter pant.
Helen Cherry is another designer who has created a beautiful trench silhouette this season, which can be worn by day with the popular local name’s iconic Ines cropped trouser, or thrown over the colourfully elegant Gloria dress after hours. Mix things up with a pair of Common Projects sneakers (available locally at Workshop) or the statement white, patent Mi Piaci boot pictured here for a little extra rock n’ roll feel.
Last but by no means least, I can’t forget the activewear category. This is mainly due to the fact that fresh gear is the best motivation to keep exercising over the colder, darker days of winter. Locally, Lorna Jane’s March collection is full of bright moments for dull days. Weekly drops will filter into stores and online www.lornajane.co.nz from 1 March, and I can vouch for the fact that there are some great pieces to choose from with bold colours and playful patterns, including the red snakeskin that is the hero of the range. Lorna Jane is also opening a new store in Commercial Bay at the end of March, which will definitely be one to watch out for.
(HELENE RAVLICH)