Kate Sylvester once had a mohawk

Or so she told me at the conclusion of this video, below, recorded after her Diamond Dogs AW10 show in Auckland on Wednesday night. The collection was inspired by a 1980s Auckland punk-turned-gossip writer by the name of Judith Baragwanath, aka Black Lips, due to her signature black lipstick. Baragwanath was in fact the second local show muse to emerge in as many days, after Annah Stretton dedicated her show to 1940s Auckland burlesque dancer Freda Stark. All the Sylvester hallmarks were there - masculine tailoring, lingerie, sporty grey marle, swans - but this collection was particularly well pulled together, from the hometown theme to the disused industrial warehouse venue, punk styling and the edgy Horrors/Crocodiles/Stranglers soundtrack. Considering the boxy tweed boyfriend jackets, the smart ciré trenchcoat, military-nosed suiting, bodycon microdresses with exposed, articulated seamwork, punk hardware and faux fur chubbies, little wonder that US glamour blogger Rumi Neely later noted she could see herself in the entire collection.