Among this year's line-up of designers for the iD Dunedin Fashion Show on April 8 and 9 are two who more than a decade ago, as bright young talents, helped lay the foundations for the event. They talk to Jude Hathaway.
Richard Moore and Vaughan Geeson were among the talented wave of young designers back in late-'90s Dunedin who were going places.
Each graduated from their respective year's Otago Polytechnic fashion course with top honours.
Discerning eyes in the industry were already turning their way.
And rightly so, as was proved in 1998 when the creative calibre of their work was recognised nationally.
They each brought home a cache of hardware from the Smokefree Fashion Awards, which included, for Moore, the supreme award.
"Dunedin was already on the map with the commercial success of Nom*D, Tanya Carlson and Nicholas Blanchet. They had laid the groundwork while our Smokefree awards helped turn attention on the depth of creativity the city harboured," Moore points out.
Boutique design businesses had already sprung up around the city.
It was a remarkable time as members of the young guard created a merry-go-round of fashion directions and attitudes, tenaciously promoting their sharply individual talents by way of fashion shows in bars and other places.
A milestone show was at the Ra Bar in 1999, in which both Moore and Geeson displayed outfits.
The following year the D19 2000 show (the name recognising the 19 designers involved in the event) at Bennu restaurant had Dunedin City Council support.
In 2001, with the Dunedin Railway Station platform making its debut as the intriguing venue, the iD Dunedin Fashion concept was on its way.
Moore, who had started out jointly operating a couture business before joining Dunedin's long-established knitwear company Tamahine as head designer, was involved in these events with the Cirrus brand.
In 2000, his new youth-oriented Dot Com label also hit the Bennu catwalk.
The following year he, along with Donna Tulloch (Mild Red) and Andrea Bentley (Andrea Bentley), broke new ground when they showed at L'Oreal Fashion Week in Auckland as a group under the Dunedin Fashion brand.
Moore made a return showing in 2002.
In 2003, before his exuberant 2003 Dot Com range for Tamahine poured down the railway station platform, he left Dunedin to join Auckland-based Caroline Sills Ltd as creative manager.
In addition to this work he also developed within the Sills stable, his self-titled label six years ago.
It is now stocked in New Zealand and Australian boutiques.
Geeson, who initiated his Vaughan Geeson label after completing studies at the Otago Polytechnic in 1997, had already left for Auckland in late 1999 to join DNA, the brand operated by notable designer Doris de Pont.
Until then he had worked alongside Dunedin designer Andrea Bentley at her workroom and retail store at St Clair.
Geeson re-established his own women's label in Auckland in 2008 and last year made his debut on the Dunedin Railway Station platform with a capsule collection.
He stocks New Zealand boutiques plus an outlet in Hong Kong and one in Japan.
Surprisingly, it was only through last-minute decisions that either designer entered the industry at all.
Moore, who grew up in Christchurch, completed a double degree at the University of Otago in areas unrelated to fashion before looking to what he really enjoyed.
"I'd been making clothes for students while at university as a job. I really enjoyed it so decided to study fashion."
Southland-born Geeson had always planned on art school.
"It was only at the very last minute that I decided to give fashion a go. Thank God I did."
Both men have retained their distinctive signatures.
Moore's work has always been influenced by the street, his knitwear and woven garments having evolved into a strong women's street boutique style.
It maintains a youthful Tokyo street-look where vintage, high fashion and original style meet, but stepped back for commercial appeal, he explains.
Geeson's high-end daywear, inspired by the music, theatre, art and movie worlds, is pitched to those in the 30-plus market who "like individuality, are not afraid of colour and who look for clothes that work for them all day".
His desire for individuality is pivotal.
"I can't think of anything worse than my clothes being mistaken for someone else's."
Geeson describes last year's iD Dunedin show as "fantastic".
"It was great to reconnect with Dunedin; it was kind of a home-coming. It was also a chance to introduce the label to those who were not in Dunedin in the 1990s.
"I still have strong connections with the city and it's good to be part of the local fashion scene again. This is where I started and my first fashion influences were formed here. They're influences I will never lose.
In designing collections I approach them from a very practical way and think about the season and its weather and what pieces will be needed to get through the day.
That's a very southern way of approaching design, I think."
Moore has always visited the city at least twice a year to see clients, and also catch up on old friends.
"I love Dunedin. It's a great town where there is always something happening and where people appreciate and get behind events. I studied and worked there for 14 years and will always look on it as my home town."
For Moore, showing at the iD show again arouses numerous emotions.
"Among these is the excitement of being back at the railway station show and seeing how it has developed since the last time I was there in 2002.
"I also feel really proud at being involved in a show that I was part of at its very beginnings."
Be there
There are still limited tickets available to the iD International Emerging Designer Awards on Thursday, April 7 and the iD Fashion Show on Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9.
