Evening Gowns Hitherto Seen Only In Films Displayed In New Zealand

Chronicle (Levin), 15 July 1948, Page 8

Evening Gowns Hitherto Seen Only In Films Displayed In New Zealand

^ " Evening gowns of a kind previously seen in New Zealand only in fashion photographs and films were displayed to a large audience in Wellington recently. by the New Zealand Wool Board. • • More than a dozen models from the London studios of the exclusive Incorporated Society of Fashion Designers were shown by'a group 'of Wellington girls, who acted as models for the occasion.

A dress by Norman Hartnell, the Queen's dressmaker and 'designer and maker of Princess Eiizabeth's wedding dress, was the highlight of the collection. It is the o'my Ha*rtnell gown in the Dominion. Other big name designers represented were Dorville, Worth, Victor "Stiebel, Rima, Peter Russell (who makes dresses for the Duchess of Gx-oucester) , Angele Delanghe, Maud Knot„t, Baroque of London and Fredrick Starke. All of these model gowns, forming the most exclusive collection ever assembled in New Zealand, had one common feature— they were all made of wool. Entitied "Wool after Dark," the Show demonstrated to more than a thousand delighted onlookers the amazing versatility of wool. The Hartnell model, which would cost a private buyer in New Zealand a sum running into three figures, is of turquoise wool crepe. Its bodice falls from a high found neckline into soft fol'ds and kimono sleeves before being shaped into a midriff. The slit skirt is topped by a deep draped nip swathe, which, with the shoulders of the bodice, is heavily embroidered with sequins and semi-precious stones. The Peter Russell modei-, of superfine w'ool in bold floral design, is of so fine a fabric that it weighs only 2oz. a square yard — very different from the "winter woolly" type of fabric conventionally associated with the flcece of the sheep. Peopie outside Wellington will see the gowns on the screen. The National Film Unit has made a "short" of the show for exhibition throughout New Zealand. It should be of wide interest as showing what can be done with wool, the nation-s principal money-earner.