18:05:12

Announcing a Very Special Performance by Julia Deans

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Tonight is going to be a real treat for those who make it down to the Old Mt Eden Methodist Hall.

Julia Deans will be performing an incredibly intimate gig to test-drive a number of new songs,material that is – as she puts it – ‘unheard by anyone outside of the walls of my house’.

Nightchoir’s Mike Hall will accompany Julia, serenading those lucky enough to attend with songs from their forthcoming second album, due out in August.

Complete with candlelight and turkish rugs, it’s going to be a beautiful gig. In Julia’s opinion, ‘I reckon this is going to be quite special.’. For those who enjoy performances of the more intimate variety, this one’s for you.

For more information and ticketing, click here.

18:05:12

THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN OF THE ORIGINAL BARKERS TRACKPANTS

IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR 40TH ANNIVERSARY

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If you were in your teens or twenties during the ‘90s, you know all about Barkers Trackpants. You either owned a pair or wanted a pair. Maybe you were mystified by their ubiquity, but no young New Zealander of that era could have failed to notice the phenomenon. They were expensive ($110), appealed equally to men and women, were worn extremely baggy, and came in a bewildering array of muted, earthy colours. And for years they were on the backsides of style conscious youth the length of the country, selling over 50,000 pairs (a phenomenal number in a country of only around 3 million), and in the process become one of the key cult items of our national fashion psyche. With ‘90s fetishism rising to a pop cultural peak, it’s an opportunity to re-engage with a genuine New Zealand fashion ‘moment’. And with four colour-ways – all in the iconic pigment dye shades – there’s the variety that made the original such a long-running success.

If you were a trackpant fiend in the ‘90s then your family photos should feature you and your trackies – send a scan of your best shot to info@bmc.co.nz, we’ll post our ten favourites to the Barkers’ Facebook page and each will receive a FREE pair of the 2012 reissues.

www.barkersonline.co.nz

www.barkersonline.co.nz/menswear-blog

17:05:12

Be a part of HOME SEWN :

The Fashion Museum is shouting out to all of New Zealand’s fashion crowd to be a part of their next exhibition.

HOME SEWN will be held in September, and will be a retrospective that takes a look at the art of domestic fashion-making both in the present and days gone by. The Fashion Museum is calling on your home sewn fashion to be a part of the exhibition – paper patterns, illustrations and garments alike. Whether you’re a well-known designer who has saved favourite pieces designed long ago, or simply someone who has always had a passion for designing your own wares and has hoarded patterns and garments from decades past; this exhibition wants to celebrate our rich history of home sewing and the stories that go along with it.

The Fashion Museum’s Doris Du Pont says they are, “Investigating the resurgence of awareness that is taking place today with a new generation interested in creating its own style.”. They would love to hear from anyone with something to add to this incredible collection, if you have treasures to contribute please contact doris@fashionmuseum.co.nz or 021 680 860.

Doris has headed other fantastic projects for The Fashion Muesuem, including curating the Black Exhibition and producing the Black Book, which the Listener described as “The bible of New Zealand Black”. Penguin has offered another book deal following the success of Black, a huge endorsement of Doris’ incredible expertise and contribution to the industry. The Black exhibition attracted upwards of 12,000 visitors in Auckland and Wellington, the success of which is no doubt a fantastic sign of things to come with HOME SEWN in September.

15:05:12

10 Questions with Black Magazine

To celebrate the latest issue of Black magazine – and all four covers – going on sale, we had a quick 10 Questions with Black’s publishers/editors Grant Fell & Rachael Churchward.

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What did you do last night?

Stayed home and worked on Black Magazine as we are on deadline, watched the latest episode of Mad Men, streamed of course so we can stay ahead. Finally  settled in for a good read of JUST KIDS by Patti Smith. Staying in is the new going out!

Where do you call home?

Waitakeres, high on the mountain.

What’s your middle name?

Boring!  My grandmother got a crack at that and loved the Royal family, hence Anne.

If you weren’t here, where would you be?

New York City in a heart beat.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I had no idea when I was really young except it would be creative, so here I am the Creative Director, Publisher and Fashion Editor of Black Magazine.

Secret talent?

Cooking and air guitar.

Biggest vice?

Red wine!

Favourite album of all time?

Too hard! Love so many styles of good music. Although I am a mad nut for Led Zeppelin and have never stopped listening to them so I suppose favourite album of all time is plural. Every album they have ever produced.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?

Karl Lagerfeld, of course. Not just because he is a fashion legend but… and this is bandied around too much as a saying these days… because he is an intellect, and HE actually is! I would possibly not talk to him so much about fashion (although we would have that conversation done by end of entrée), but get him going on his knowledge of architecture, literature, art, history and so many more things he understands and maybe some juicy stories on all the amazing experiences he has lived through during his incredible ongoing life.

What did you have for breakfast?

Gluten free Vogels with Promite. Get over the lack of Marmite all, this spread rocks. A few cups of Pure Ceylon tea to wash it down and drunk in our fine bone china. Only way to drink tea as taught by my late Father.

30:04:12

EYES OF COMMON DAISY RING

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The Daisy Ring has been a hot favourite from the current Eyes of Common jewellery collection. Friends and fashion editors alike have been loving it – and if Janis was still around, we bet she would too.