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Cool Pretty Cool

@coolprettycool

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Fresh faces & fashion from Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand, shot exclusively for coolpretty.cool.

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There’s something so special about a spring road trip, as the days are starting to warm up, early rhododendrons are ablaze with jewel-toned blooms, and the still-cold nights leave a glittering trail of dew strewn across the countryside.

Our friend Ngahuia took one such drive earlier this month, with model Izzy Whitham, a camera and a car packed with the best local fashion in tow.

Sure, big shoots with planned-out production can make magic, but sometimes the most precious moments are the ones captured between two creatives, with no set schedule and the ability to pull off the road at any moment to take a snap. This shoot is proof of just that, and we’re so lucky to witness it. Roll down the window and come along for the ride over on coolpretty.cool

Photos & Fashion @ngahuiawilliams
Features Editor @chloechill taken in Aotearoa by @coolprettycool

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“It all started one Friday a couple of months ago, when I received a message from the wonderfully talented Apela Bell. A few weeks of logistics, conversations and teamwork later I was on my way north to walk the show for Kai. After taking a break from modelling, I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting way to return.

There is something really special about the fashion industry in Aotearoa. Warmth, creativity, character and community take the forefront of the mahi. I feel incredibly grateful to have grown up in a place so abundant with talent, and so willing to welcome its young people and creatives with open arms. There’s a real sense of camaraderie here, a shared desire to keep the industry buzzing, evolving and fresh.”

@evieashby in conversation with @makairalee and @apelabell, after @by___kai’s debut show at New Zealand Fashion Week. Now on coolpretty.cool taken in Aotearoa New Zealand by @coolprettycool

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Pre-sunrise call times, nightly hair-washing sessions and longgg waits before shows — the life of a model is a lot less glamorous than it looks from the outside, and fashion week is peak proof of that.

We asked seasoned pro and another of our backstage besties, @zara._.sykes to give us a behind-the-scenes look at what fashion week is really like from a model’s perspective. Armed with her digi point-and-shoot (and what we can only assume is a bag full of snacks and minimal hours of sleep), she took us along for the ride — call times, chaos and everything else that comes with it for Aotearoa’s busiest week of kākahu. taken in Aotearoa New Zealand by @coolprettycool

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New Zealand Fashion Week might be officially done and dusted, but we’re not ready to let it go just yet 🥲

We already gave you the highlights reel to end all highlights reels, plus snuck you backstage at some of the standout shows. Now we’re getting personal, with some of backstage’s sweetest creatives spilling their own behind-the-scenes tea.

First up: Photographer on the rise @felixrjack. Known for his serene-yet-playful fashion photos and ridiculously charming energy, if there’s one person you want to be camped out backstage with, it’s him🩷

“Backstage at Karen Walker.”

“Models wrapped warmly in their silver blankets before walking the runway (you should have heard the swish swish swish of it all).”

“Jake and I at The Keep Collar show.”

“Naledi at Claudia Li.”

“Harper studying for calc exam, also backstage.”

“Model lineup at NOM*d show.”

“Alex with her tea backstage at Claudia Li.”

“Model tranquilly reading mid show prep.”

“My shadow over Yawynne and Eliza.”

“Sylvia with popcorn backstage.”

“Zara and Sophie backstage.”

“NOM*d x PLUME with hair by Stephen Marr and beauty direction by Lochie Stonehouse.”

“Katie on the comms day two of fashion week.”

“Yawynne ready for bed during our Raeso shoot.”

“The Juliette Hogan labelled iron on the Juliette Hogan labelled ironing board backstage at the Juliette Hogan show.”

“Yana shooting backstage at Beach Brains looking eternally chic.”

“A sea of hair curlers in preparation for Karen Walker.”

“Gia staring into my soul as I take a self portrait in the reflection of her glasses.”

“In the media pit for opening night.” by @coolprettycool

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Seating politics, the chase of golden hour for the street style hustlers, to a simple mantra whispered to me years ago. “Protect your mana.” It’s something that industry titan @danahwa said to me in a showroom when I first started in the fashion industry. I still remember it. Now as New Zealand Fashion Week’s Creative Director, that sentiment is something the entire industry can feel as the guiding star of this week’s shows.

From the good kind of tears (even from the entire front-row) at @makairalee’s debut of her label @by___kai, to the play of light on fringe in motion at @juliettehogan, pirate-play by @emmajing_ at The Studio, and a homecoming back to Shed 10 with caps and gowns by @twentysevennames — it’s been a week.

To understand the ecosystem of Aotearoa’s fashion industry is to celebrate the intimacy at hand. It’s an industry that is small in scale, yet this works in its favour by breeding a steadfast loyalty and purehearted yearning from even the top dogs to simply: Show Up and Support. That tightly woven string spreads from seasoned attendees to the new guard of models, such as @zara._.sykes and @sophiesong who you’ll spot walking nearly every show. You’ll also get to find them backstage at the next show, ready for a cuddle and a gossip. That’s the beauty of it.

Over the years, my fashion week identity has shifted from volunteer, front-of-house PR (you never forget who yells at you), afterparty crasher, and simple mere guest — all of it is magic. My learnings? Go to as many shows as you can, but equally to the afterparties. You’ll find yourself in corners of random rooms, slightly delirious at the end of long days with old friends, but possibly at the scene of an old Fashion Week wives tale to come.

By @yawynne taken in Aotearoa New Zealand by @coolprettycool

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After Thursday night’s pumping moody runway, we got an early morning salt air reset. Friday began at Ōkahu Bay with models striding down the 200-metre wharf draped in fresh hues of seafoam, whites and acid yellow. @zambesisince79’s latest collection ‘Song to the Siren’ was the perfect antidote for that fashion week exhaustion that starts to kick in after four days of back-to-back shows.

As always, they’d cast a stunning line-up of local talent. @sophiesong truly cementing herself as model of the year with yet another unforgettable appearance. Then there’s @alexandra_cater, another on-the-rise model who’s quickly becoming a fashion week regular in her own right. Our mates @kahuskudder and @nevaehmata1ra also popping up mid-lineup, because of course. What a show and what a week <3

Photos @chloechill taken in Tāmaki Makaurau - Auckland by @coolprettycool

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Last night, it wasn’t just the fashion crowd that rolled up to Shed 10 for the after-dark show, it was a whole crowd of friends and whānau, some ready to watch the show and some lucky mates who were roped in to walk the show alongside a line up of local models, for @beachbrains debut runway.

Photos @chloechill taken in Tāmaki Makaurau - Auckland by @coolprettycool

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One of the best things about fashion week has to be lurking around backstage with all the sweet models during the at-times drawn-out pre-show wait. As they get pampered and glammed there’s a lot of time to say hi, see what they’re reading, and steal a snack from any open lolly packet left lying around.

This year @claudialiofficial and her collaborator and good pal @apelabell cast a line up of glowing faces for her salon-style show. From @sophiesong to @nevaehmata1ra, the room was full of that specific kind of pre-show calm-chaos-combo you’ll only find during fashion week.

After they were hydrated up with @raesoskin and radiant touches added by makeup extraordinaire @liz_hyun and her team, our friend @felixrjack whipped out a roll of film to snap some of the sparkliest moments. taken in Aotearoa New Zealand by @coolprettycool

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A few years ago @nom_d brought their Dunedin touch to New Zealand Fashion Week, loading the fashion industry into a grungy space in downtown Tāmaki, handing out earplugs and getting us all moshing to Die! Die! Die! This year was a different mood, but the same Dunedin good vibes. An intimate salon style show at Hotel Britomart with guests lining rooms as models sauntered around.

Accompanied by @plumestorenz, we got served a line-up of international pieces (Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garçons, Melitta Baumeister et al.), before NOM*d rolled out their latest collection, ‘Superstars’ — lipstick smeared across models’ faces, wigs whipped off to reveal sleek braids. Come along for the ride over on Coolpretty.cool taken in Aotearoa New Zealand by @coolprettycool

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Winter has well and truly arrived in Sydney. The air is crisp, coffee cups double as hand warmers and today’s shoot calls for a serious dose of dopamine dressing to combat the chill. It’s an especially frosty morning in Bondi, but our model, @allegraayyar (or Micky, as she’s known by friends), brings an effortless warmth to set, donning some of our favourite new pieces from designers near and far (hello, pink Valentino sweater!). Once the final shot is captured and the layers are peeled away, we settle in to chat about everything from foreign policy and Australian brands to what she calls “Analogue Mode”—her nightly ritual of lighting candles, embracing creativity and switching her phone off.

Photographer @oliviarepaci
Fashion @annabelfrieda
Beauty @catsmithmakeup
Features Editor @amberleycolby by @coolprettycool

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3 months ago

What happens when two Aquarius, a Pisces, two Libras and a Sagittarius come together? We’ll let someone more qualified at reading star charts give you the official cosmic verdict, but what we can confirm is that they make a lot of magic together: exhibit A, our latest editorial starring @lizsiddal, @_eminemel and @cor1nxa from @shadow.agency__.

Photography @nichfranciis
Fashion @elliot.cowen
Hair @hairbytvt
Production @shadow.agency__
Assistant @tahlialevy
Features Editor @chloechill by @coolprettycool

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