Runway Report: Trelise Cooper
By Margaret Lewis
We begin the day with Jaeha and end with Trelise Cooper, her show an extravaganza by Fashion Week standards. With 24 models and a show that runs for half an hour, it's a huge undertaking - 109 outfits in all. For next winter, Cooper offers us designs inspired from an idyll in Lake Como but also Japanese popular culture and early 20th century suiting. Both Trelise Cooper and the Cooper ranges are toned down from her usual sequins and ruffles. As with many other collections seen this week, the waist is firmly back in favour - nipped in, belted and seen with big sleeves [and I do mean big, like leg-o-mutton] OK, so there's still some extravagance... By Margaret Lewis
We begin the day with Jaeha and end with Trelise Cooper, her show an extravaganza by Fashion Week standards. With 24 models and a show that runs for half an hour, it's a huge undertaking - 109 outfits in all. For next winter, Cooper offers us designs inspired from an idyll in Lake Como but also Japanese popular culture and early 20th century suiting. Both Trelise Cooper and the Cooper ranges are toned down from her usual sequins and ruffles. As with many other collections seen this week, the waist is firmly back in favour - nipped in, belted and seen with big sleeves [and I do mean big, like leg-o-mutton] OK, so there's still some extravagance...Background
Each season, revealing the latest Trelise Cooper collection is like the unveiling of a romantic and eclectic art exhibition. Every piece in the range has been lovingly crafted using diverse fabrics and finishes to the final exotic result, which ultimately pleases both the wearer and the observer.
With touches of inspiration from movies, museums, history books, vintage clothes and stars of a bygone era like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo and Lauren Bacall, Trelise is constantly travelling and reading to find her next muse.
Sold in boutiques in the UK, USA, Paris, Rome, Singapore, South Africa and throughout Australasia, the Trelise Cooper brand is an unmitigated success story. It is estimated that at any one time 50,000 Trelise Cooper pieces are in circulation around the world.
Photo by Michael Ng/Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2008