My Heels Are Killing Me

Sonia Sly and Simply You editor Naomi Larkin discovers the secrets to blending music with storytelling on the runway and finds out why coats made of carpet may be your ticket to AW17 style.

What do music and fashion have in common?

Sonia Sly discovers the secrets to blending music with storytelling on the runway and ponders why coats made of carpet may be the ticket to AW17 style, with Naomi Larkin from Simply You magazine.

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Day Four was all about the group shows, with a side of racy swimwear... Sonia Sly catches up with Assia Benmedjdoub, editor of Australian publication, Ragtrader.

Day Four at New Zealand Fashion Week was all about the group shows, with collections from fashion graduates around the country followed by the highly anticipated Miromoda Indigenous Maori Fashion Apparel Board (IMFAB) presentation.

Sonia Sly catches up with Assia Benmedjdoub...

Sonia Sly meets two New Zealand models to talk about life on and off the runway.

Sudanese Kiwi model Mary Maguet says she likes to 'werk it' like Beyoncé on the catwalk, while Malaysian-Chinese Jin Ng says he's more of an ethereal glider. Both models walked this year at New Zealand Fashion Week and Sonia Sly tracked them down to chat about cultural diversity in the fashion industry and why beauty is only sk...

Pearly Wong is a fashion designer based between Malaysia and Berlin. She talks to Sonia Sly about catering to an international market place and the realities of the industry for Malaysian designers.

Pearly Wong studied in New York at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she's a regular on the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week scene and she's based between Malaysia and Berlin. This year she also had the chance to bring her collecti...

Auckland-based designer James Dobson talks about life before the internet, meeting the needs of a clientele that range from 15-60, and why he has to remind himself that there is more to life than fashion.

James Dobson - the founder and designer of New Zealand label Jimmy D - isn't afraid of pushing creative boundaries.

He chats candidly with Sonia Sly at his K Road home (which is above his workroom) about approaching design with...

Courtney Sanders is a Melbourne-based Kiwi and co-founder of Well Made Clothes. She talks to Sonia Sly about setting up an online ethical clothing business and a movement towards slow fashion.

Getting dressed isn't quite what it used to be. With the rise of mass-produced, cheaply made garments, we have more choice than ever. But although fashion can be fun and frivolous - even throw-away - what we choose to wear can now say as ...

Wynn Hamlyn Crawshaw is a young designer who moved from a career in construction to developing his own womenswear label.

Wynn Hamlyn Crawshaw is a young designer who moved from a career in construction to developing his own womenswear label.

He presented his latest collection at New Zealand Fashion Week this year.

During the process of creating the collection Wynn pushed on despite often having bloody fingers from slipping needles.

But...

Kelly Thompson is the ultimate multi-tasker. The former Wellington makeup artist and photographer is based in Melbourne and is best known for her beautiful fashion illustrations and personal style.

Kelly Thompson is the ultimate multi-tasker. The former Wellington makeup artist and fashion photographer is best known for her beautiful fashion illustrations and personal style which she blogs on her website, Kelly Thompson Creative.

Win...

Anabela Rea talks trends, landing a job in fashion and the importance of promoting cultural diversity and clothing that works for all types of women.

There are many ways to skin a cat and so too in the fashion industry there are multiple ways to land your foot inside a fashion-focused door.

Anabela Rea has followed a varied path that has taken her from styling fashion shoots, to art direction and working in wardrobe for music videos ...

Jessie Wong, 23, is taking the fashion industry by storm with her luxury leather accessories brand, Yu Mei. She explains why a good bag should weather its journey with you.

"The first bag I ever made was called a rat bag, which also happened to be the name of a Dunedin pub but I didn't know that at the time." - Jessie Wong, designer and founder of Yu Mei.

Life is flat out for Jessie Wong, who is preparing to meet new b...

Headhunted to work for Tom Ford's eponymous label just as it was getting off the ground was like watching history in the making, according to designer Quentin Hart who worked with Ford for 3 years until he decided to break away from the fashion bubble he was living in. Today, he couldn't be happier as the designer for iconic Kiwi brand Swanndri, transitioning from the high fashion runway to designing for the great outdoors.

Before h...

When Jonathan Thai moved from New Zealand to New York to get his dance career moving, he never would have imagined that be styling editorial shoots for Vogue and working with the cream of the international fashion industry, producing shows for designers at New York Fashion. Sonia Sly finds out what it was like to work with Winona Ryder and working on a show that sent a stream of models topple over on the runway.

Strong creative visi...

What does it take to make the modern gentleman? With a love of art and design New Zealand menswear label, French 83, provides a twist on classic suiting for the young professional. Add a dash of our good old Kiwi lifestyle and they've got a great brand story that works for their international clientele. Sonia Sly meets the team to find out why they took an unconventional approach to their business model by launching in Beijing, bef...

If you want to know what the future of fashion looks like it pays to keep an eye on emerging designers who create without boundaries. Sonia Sly meets emerging designers from around the world to find out what their vision for the future of fashion looks like and what concerns them most.

When was the last time you looked through your wardrobe and considered how much of it you actually wear and which garments have been ethically and su...

New York-based Kiwi Rachel Stickley knows all about styling props. When she's on the job her art tools are at the ready and she could be doing anything from sourcing furniture to melting lipsticks and being covered in paint.

You're relaxing, reading a glossy magazine and as you do you come across beauty advertisements and editorials. Your eye is drawn to the perfect white snow-freeze style whip that sits poised in an open jar o...

Caitlan Mitchell is the editor for one of the longest running industry magazines in the country. She speaks to Sonia Sly about ambition, modelling, fashion photography and the relevance of print in the digital age.

"My Dad borrowed $200 from his mum and started NZ Apparel in his garage." - Caitlan Mitchell, Editor NZ Apparel

In this episode of My Heels Are Killing Me Sonia Sly speaks to Caitlan Mitchell about growing up in ...

What does it take to run a global brand and continue to grow a business in a cluttered market? Karen Walker talks about the changing tides of fashion, the global marketplace and sleepless nights in an industry that has no off-switch.

"Everybody in business has sleepless nights and tearful nights and moments of complete despair and bafflement, and that never stops." - Karen Walker, Designer.

Kiwi designer Karen Walker has cr...

Being in the fashion industry is like trying to stay in control of a car that's about to veer off the road, according to Marc Moore the founder of Kiwi label Stolen Girlfriend's Club. Marc speaks candidly about the brand's rock n' roll edge and experiencing failure and success in a high pressure industry.

"I could not sew to save my life. I've never sewn a garment and thank God for everyone , because otherwise it would be ...