Carlson exquisite bridal dresses dazzle at iD Fashion Week

31 Mar '14

4 min read

High art meets high fashion at ‘Not All White’ – an exhibition showcasing 15 years of Tanya Carlson’s exquisite wedding dresses alongside renowned artist Michael Parekowhai’s Cuisenaire rods – which opened this weekend to mark the beginning of iD Dunedin Fashion Week’s 15th anniversary.

A capacity crowd attended yesterday’s exhibition opening and talk at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Featuring Carlson in conversation with curator Dr Jane Malthus, the global fashion week will also include catwalk shows, events, tours, public talks and exhibitions, culminating in the 10th annual iD International Emerging Designer Awards on Thursday night at the Dunedin Town Hall and the 15th annual iD Dunedin Fashion Shows at the historic Dunedin Railway Station on Friday and Saturday nights.

“Tanya Carlson is a name synonymous with Dunedin fashion and iD Dunedin Fashion Week, as one of the founding designers of this unique event,” says iD Committee Chair Susie Staley.

“Seeing 17 of her couture wedding dresses together – some created for New Zealand’s well-known faces such as Alison Shanks, Kerre McIvor, or Sonia Gray – supported by Michael Parekowhai’s incredible Cuisenaire rods, delivers a powerful start to iD’s 15th anniversary. This is high art and high fashion in collaboration and sets the tone perfectly for the week, which will include many other high fashion and art moments.”

This year’s sold-out anniversary shows feature an international line up, including iD guests Paris-based Australian designer Martin Grant, New Zealand’s beloved avant-garde label WORLD, and a catalogue of New Zealand fashion icons, including NOM*d, Tanya Carlson, Mild-Red, Charmaine Reveley, Tamsin Cooper, DADA Vintage, Company of Strangers, and more.

Yesterday’s opening events also included the ever-popular iD Designer Sale at the Dunedin Railway Station where around 450 fashion lovers reveled in a treasure trove of high profile fashion labels slashed to rock-bottom prices.

An official invite-only launch event sponsored by the Otago Daily Times will be held at the Dunedin Town Hall. The following morning, the city will welcome 10 models from sister city Shanghai, who will be part of the key iD fashion shows and that evening will see the official opening of Dunedin’s first sustainable fashion hub with Zerowaste fashion practitioner Senorita AweSUMO.

The iD Dunedin Fashion Week Hub at Dunedin’s Golden Centre Mall will host a range of activities from guest and designer appearances, including Martin Grant on Thursday at 3pm, spot prizes, and the impressive catwalk show on Wednesday night, ‘Bright, Bold, Beautiful’, a showcase of previously unseen priceless pieces from the Darnell Collection, with iD 2011 guest Charlotte Smith.

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