Taking part in iD Dunedin Fashion Week is a natural part of working life for Dunedin designers, Company of Strangers designer Sara Aspinall believes.
"It's just what you do at this time of year," she said.
Aspinall has been involved in iD for the past 10 years, first while working for Nom*D, and then with her own label which launched in 2008.
Her first thoughts about the event begin towards the end of the previous year, when the organising committee puts "a call out" for applications.
Designers send in their winter season look-books and a panel decides which ones will show.
"Then I forget about it for a few months," she said.
Because all the clothes were made in August, her main concerns now are based around accessorising her models, in particular with what shoes they will wear, and what music she will have them walk to.
Her show will use 13 models, all of which have been assigned.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, each model visited her studio for a fitting, and their outfits were finalised and documented for ease of dressing on show night.
What each would wear was fairly fluid, as Aspinall preferred to dress for a model's personality, to avoid their looking uncomfortable on the runway.
"Some of the models are quite young so you don't want to put them in anything see-through," she said.
Hair and makeup is all pre-styled so the only thing left to do on the night is drop off the clothes and turn up in time to dress models.
The whole event was "not really" stressful at all, but its benefits were measurable.
"It's good for brand profile," she said.
There are opportunities for designers to hold self-promotion events during the week, and Aspinall teamed with jewellery designer Anne Mieke Ytsma, of Underground Sundae, for an installation before last night's show.
An increase in sales is also evident the week of iD, as people want to dress for the occasion, and immediately after the shows, as people buy what caught their eye on the catwalk.
The show was a "fun way to see everything" and offered a more dynamic display of clothing than a hanger in a store.
"Now we are busy making the next range."
