25.10.2002 By JANETTA MacKAY
You know Fashion Week has arrived when the celebrity models hit the runway.
And when the celebrity boyfriends are in the audience.
In true New Zealand style, the drawcards were locals Mandy Smith and Charlotte Dawson, rather than imported supermodels.
The former Black Sticks hockey star and the television presenter had their sports-star boyfriends, Team New Zealand skipper
Dean Barker and former All Black Mark Robinson, in tow.
The Trelise Cooper show drew one of the week's biggest crowds to the L'Oreal-sponsored event, packing the Auckland Town
Hall's three tiers.
Broadcaster Paul Holmes and partner Deborah Hamilton snared front seats among the overseas guests. Xena actor Lucy Lawless
sat behind former Sex and the City stylist Rebecca Weinberg.
Smith and Dawson, a former top model, managed their glides in layers of beribboned floral and lace confections with ease. Only
nervous smiles and the audience frisson set them apart from the other models parading under crystal chandeliers.
Afterwards the smart set headed across town for the perfect antidote in an edgy Nom D show in Parnell.
Last night, the fashion set again turned out in force at Nicholas Blanchet for the week's final individual show, where Lawless sat
frontrow in menswear and a moustache after Weinberg bet she wouldn't dare.
"It's time to put to bed the earth mother image," she said.
The real business is being done offstage, where designers and those exhibiting at the attached trade show are hoping overseas
buyers will confirm early strong interest with orders.
The apparel trade earns New Zealand $260 million in exports, of which the high-fashion end makes $40 million.
Today, the public gets a chance to see what all the fuss is about. Parades in the Aotea Square marquee will present highlights
hourly from 12.15pm.
Then Style on Stage at 7.30pm in the Town Hall will present highlights of next year's winter wear, unveiled during Fashion Week.
