Trelise Cooper: The Reigning Queen of Kiwi Couture
New Zealand has a buzzing fashion scene that is celebrated each September with Air New Zealand’s Fashion Week in Auckland. One of “the” key shows to see and be seen in each year is Trelise Cooper, the reigning Queen of Kiwi Couture.
Cooper’s shows are show-stopping, theatrical extravaganzas. You definitely get the sense that these wildly inspired designers are listening to their muse versus the market as you see riskier choices and more innovative designs.
Cooper says, “Being on the edge of the world and isolated from the usual fashion markets, the New Zealand fashion industry has been able to explore and express its own unique and individual take on fashion.”
Cooper put her empire in place in 1985 and has been thriving ever since. Today her business consists of her signature Trelise Cooper, the diffusion range Cooper by Trelise and the whimsy filled label, Trelise Cooper Kids, a fave at Fashion Week. It’s no surprise that Suri Cruise is a Cooper fan.
Cooper has certainly evolved through the years. “My line has changed since its inception and has a more grown up feel to it. The more ‘costume element’ of it has been pared back within my collections.”
The successful threads are just the beginning for Cooper. She has a successful interior design brand, as she’s well known for her luxe fabrics. That along with her signature fragrance, “Trelise,” twelve flagship stores and her antique inspired jewelry line, keep the designer busy, overseeing her many successes.
Her winter collection consisted of “painterly florals, magical and exotic birds, snakeskin, moths and butterfly prints paired with textured wool and tweed in dusky pastels, vintage lace and soft raw edge detailing that bring an old world feel throughout.”
Trelise has been a fave amongst the celeb set. “We’ve got quite a few garments in Leonardo DiCaprio’s upcoming film Great Gatsby,” Cooper says. Liv Tyler, Julie Roberts, Catherine Zeta Jones, Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks have slipped in to the iconic line.
“I love Gwen Stefani’s style and the beauty of Rooney Mara, who is such a chameleon. I would love to dress them both,” she says. Cooper and Gaga would be match made in fashion heaven with their shared sense of theatrics.
There is no stopping Cooper, who has taken the empire to a stratospheric level. Cooper was chosen from 25 designers to design Air New Zealand’s uniforms. “I travel a lot and it was important to me to bring back the romance and glamor of international flights. The colors reflect the new color scheme of the aircraft: twilight pink for the cabin crew, sky blue for their managers; Godzone Green for ground staff and sea blue for their managers. While it’s no small feat dressing 6,000 staff of all shapes, sizes, climates, cultures and personalities, I’ve enjoyed the journey and am incredibly proud of the result,” she concludes.
Long live the Queen!
