The Carpenters Daughter: Let Them Eat Cake represents feast, not famine.

As I remove the decadent iced cup cake from my front row seat I look around a room that is filled with colourful fabric and the air of anticipation. This is to be no dark, mysterious, troubled-soul type show; the mood in the audience is anything but.

The Gossips ‘Heavy Cross’  blasts through the speakers and the first beaming model out onto the run way is greeted with applause and cheering, strictly not normal fashion show etiquette; but then this is not just a normal fashion show, it’s a show making history. This is the first time plus sized models have ever taken to the runway at Air New Zealand Fashion Week and the room is filled with an excitement and energy that tells me it’s been a long time coming...

The Carpenters Daughter Spring Summer 2009/10 collection titled ‘let them eat cake’ features an eclectic range of styles in a bold colour palette. Block citrus garments in lemon, lime and tangelo are also accompanied by a dominant black and white zebra print theme.

There are no models wincing in pain or restricted by tight fabric here – the NZ designed MINX shoes are fabulously right on trend and floaty fabrics in comfortable and easy wearing layered and asymmetrical styles allow the models to stride out effortlessly.



Princes’ ‘Raspberry Beret’ cues perfectly as the first bold raspberry items make their way onto the catwalk, followed by an eye catching electric blue. A large ruffled, starched upright Elizabethan-England inspired collar highlighted this already apparent theme with lacing, panelling, pleating and eyelets providing the finishing touches many of the colour popping garments.

Caroline Mar, Founder and Creative Director says the collection is “An appropriate celebration of abundance in a time of economic leanness” and this collection is just certainly that – abundant, decadent, delicious... just like that cupcake that I scoffed writing this article.

- Janelle Rennie

Images ©Air New Zealand Fashion Week/Michael Ng