Hokonui Fashion Awards Prove The Past Is Back

Hokonui Fashion Awards Prove The Past Is Back

The 22nd Hokonui Fashion Awards were held on July 31st, with entrants this year entering from around NZ, India and Australia. The winner of the $12,000 prize package was AUT’s Alysha Gover, with a printed slouchy knit dress judge Theresa Brady described as ‘amazing up close. We all wondered how she achieved such a remarkable garment.”

Other judges, Adrian Hailwood, Anjali Stewart of Twenty Seven Names, Invercargill’s own Emily Kerse and Brady were led by first time judge, Denise L’Strange Corbet. But what were the trends to emerge from the show - and what do their entries say about the future for fashionistas?

It’s official - the eighties fashion revival has finally hit New Zealand. England has seen a revival of trends from the decade that taste forgot for quite some time now, but conservative Kiwis have been slow off the mark to follow suit. But when events like the Hokonui Fashion Awards come along, it is an opportunity for design students and skilled amateurs alike to let their imagination run wild - and in 2010 - their imaginations ran straight back three decades. The era of big shoulders, saturated neon colours, leg warmers, drop-crotched pants, backcombed and big hairdos, bubble skirts, shredded fishnets, oversized jackets and metal mesh was heavily featured in submitted entries.

Somewhere between the sophisticated seventies wide leg flowing jumpsuit and the eighties Bionic Woman jumpsuit is the softer fashion playsuit. What we saw in entries to the Hokonuis was a fun, feminine interpretation of the shorts playsuit, destined to be huge this summer. Likely to be available in a variety of colours, styles and prints, playsuits look great with gladiator sandals or lace up pumps for a cute yet edgy indie look.

The leotard originally peaked during the days of disco and Fonda in the seventies, then again getting physical with Olivia Newton John and Flashdance. They were even popular in the nineties in the form of bodysuits with snapdomes in the crutch, worn with jeans as a popular nightclub ensemble. Leotards popped up in entries throughout most sections of the Hokonui awards, meaning they are likely to become another fashion staple like leggings and skinny jeans.

Finally - we’ve seen it before: shapeless shifts, pop art inspired bold colour blocking, geometric prints, walking cubism; but this time around, entrants left behind the paint-by-numbers flamboyance and pared back to the bare Mod style essentials. Cape coats, panel dresses, giant buttons and monochrome polka dots featured strongly and would have made Twiggy proud. So another successful Hokonui Fashion Awards draws to a close: but the trends it showcased will allow the looks of the past to fly into the future.

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