Selwyn Times: October 04, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday October 4 2016 25
Fashion
Kim’s
Fashion Quarterly
from Kim Taylor —Viva La Moda
Proudly supporting local!!
At Viva La moda we are proud to support
local south island designers such as
ivyblu, Vargo and Vassalli all from
Christchurch and White Chalk from
Blenheim.
ivyblu design and manufacture their
beautiful classic pieces in Christchurch
and Vargo, Vassalli and White Chalk design
their garments here but manufacture
offshore.
With the increasing trend toward on
line shopping we are proud to offer a
lovely in store shopping experience
where the fashion can be seen,
touched and most importantly
tried on before purchase.
BLEND: Elaine Jiang works on her end of year collection, Soft Shell.
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN
Fusion of east
and west
in designer’s
garments
• By Annabelle Dick
ARA INSTITUTE of
Canterbury student Elaine
Jiang is on a mission to
mix up the local fashion
scene with her eastern
meets western designs.
The 33-year-old was one
of 12 students to showcase
their collection at
Ballantynes Fashion Week
last Saturday.
Mrs Jiang is in her third
year of study towards a
Bachelor of Design degree
in fashion technology and
design.
“I like making things
by hand and because of
my character I’m not very
talkative, so I thought I’ll
go into an industry where I
don’t have to talk to many
people. That way I could
do things by myself instead
of relying on a team or
other people,” she said.
Her garments have a
strong Japanese-influence
and her pieces are mostly
targeted towards the
modern eastern woman.
“I’m Asian and we are
shorter so the silhouette
of my garments are
different because eastern
and western bodies curve
differently. So my clothes
better fitting for us . . . they
are quite loose, relaxed and
oversized.”
Originally from China,
Mrs Jiang moved to
New Zealand to be with
her Christchurch-based
husband and pursue a
career in fashion.
She moved to
Christchurch on February
19, 2011 – just three days
before the earthquake
that would change the city
forever.
“That was my first
experience of New
Zealand. I was really
jet-lagged due to the
time difference, but I was
planning on going to
the city to see the Christ
Church Cathedral the day
of the quake. I was lucky
because I was changing my
clothes just before leaving
and then the earthquake
happened . . . I didn’t get to
see any of Christchurch,”
Mrs Jiang said.
While her cultural
roots play a big part in
her aesthetic, her move
to Christchurch has
influenced the garments
she creates.
“When I came here,
I realised people are a
lot more relaxed than in
China. I want to keep my
style from my background,
but I’d like to fuse them
both and design items that
Kiwis would like,” she said.
Mrs Jiang is now busy
working on her end of year
collection Soft Shell, which
is based on a series of
photographs of some of the
poorest children in 1900s’
England.
The collection also
includes elements of
Japanese fashion she
noticed while overseas
earlier this year.
“I’ve put old-England
and new-Japanese together
for my collection,” she
said.
Mrs Jiang plans on
launching her own label
after graduating.
We have showcased the new
ivyblu striped off the shoulder
‘Brenda top’ ($169) with Vargo
‘Unfold Bloomer’ pants ($189)
This look is classic and
sophisticated and the
off the shoulder style
is more flattering than
you may imagine.
Also photographed is
the Vassalli Jean skirt
in Barcelona colourway
($119) with Vassalli white tee ($95) and
Vassalli washed denim jacket ($145). This is
a great casual weekend look that can
take you anywhere. Vassalli are famous
for their comfortable well fitting pants
but are increasingly expanding their
repertoire and offering much more
besides pants.
The stunning Vargo outfit photographed
shows the always striking black and white
combination. The off white jacket is a
perfect style to team up with dresses,
skirts or pants. ($245)
The striking Vargo “Execute midi” skirt is a stunning new
take on a classic pencil style and is very flattering with its
assymetric hemline. ($175). Under the jacket is the “leather
look ‘Revive Cami ‘ ($119)
Another pretty ivyblu ‘Annie’ dress ($179) is pictured here in
red & cream stripes with lovely lace detail sleeves. This gorgeous wee dress can
be dressed up or down and is a nice easy fit being shift shape. Dress it up with
sandals or down with sneakers and you are ready to go!
All of the garments pictured are available right now at Viva
La moda. Come and support local!
-Kim Taylor
All of the fashion featured in the images is
available from Viva La Moda Rolleston
Shop 12, Rolleston Square, Rolleston. Phone 347 1151