Fashion Show anything but Ordinary

The Alice in Wonderland Fashion Parade saw fashionable Hawke’s Bay folk pack into the Hawke’s Bay Opera House for a show that didn’t disappoint. Dish Catering’s Alice in Wonderland inspired canape’s and Alice in Wonderland characters set the scene for the evening, which showcased the best of fashion from local fashion stores, up-and-coming fashions from students of Havelock North High School and edible designs.

While the ladies in the crowd mentally put together their outfits for both a balmy Hawke’s Bay Summer, but also what to wear at the upcoming Ladies Day’s and Spring Classic Racedays, men took note that the metrosexual look was back.

Ex HNHS student Michael Pattison delighted the crowd with this fun and flirty collection Trix and Dandy. “We wanted to showcase a cross-section of fashion in available in the Bay”, show organiser Aimee Stewart advised, “Hawke’s Bay locals don’t need to travel out of the region to have access to up-to-the minute fashion labels or looks, we have everything we need right here. One of the objectives of the show is to encourage people to shop local and support our local businesses“.

Young designers from HNHS held their own against top NZ and overseas labels and showed that the schools Technology and Art department provided the inspiration and encouragement for students to think outside of the square and push the boundaries in fashion.

The inclusion of winning entries from the Edible Fashion Awards showcased another Hawke’s Bay Event and the audience was blown away by the high standard and weirdly wonderful showcase.

Hawke’s Bays very own NZ’s Top Model contestant Ruby Higgins glamed up the catwalk, although the boys stole the show with their antics on the catwalk, which included Ruby being piggy backed in the finale.

Approximately $10,000 was raised for the Havelock North High School Foundation from the evening, and the show organisers were thrilled with the support for the event. “We would like to thank the public for the support of the event and of the Foundation, a lot of work goes into staging the fashion parade and we are building it to be the premier fashion event in Hawke’s Bay.”

The show also provided fashion stores in the region to showcase their summer collections and “the stores obviously put together outfits which appealed to the audience, one store sold eight outfits on Friday morning from the show, which in this market is something to celebrate”.

Planning was already underway for the event in 2011, so if you missed out this year, make sure you don’t miss out next year, this is an event which promises to deliver a fashionably fantastic evening in the Bay.

For more photo’s of the event check out our Photo's and Video's page