Nom*D
Thank goodness for Nom*D. While most designers have been playing it safe this week, Nom*D's autumn collection was all about the unconventional.

Shown on a movie-sized screen at the Sky City Theatre in Auckland, the collection was presented as a short film which, according to the media release, told of a "journey from innocence to experience, with a few lessons in nonconformity along the way".

Layers upon layers of virginal white pieces opened the film, with models playing dress-up in modest pinafores, cotton dresses and fuzzy knits. "But good children must grow up", says Non*D designer Margi Robertson, "and at the heart of [the collection] is the adolescent rite of passage that leaves no little girl — or boy — unchanged".

A grungy palette of black, khaki and grey followed, with leather, velvet, fringing, tulle and tweed representing the freedom and self-expression that comes with growing up. The fabrics were all layered over gorgeous cotton dresses and soft wool knits, blended together to create a cohesive and extremely covetable collection.

If you're not brazen enough to layer all these distressed pieces together, or if you're thinking the Nom*D aesthetic isn't quite "you", don't be discouraged. Beneath all the coming-of-age influences are standout separates that will lay a solid foundation for any winter wardrobe.

Salasai
Salasai's much-anticipated autumn collection didn't fail to deliver on the new and innovative with bright tie-dye, zips running down the back of raincoats, jersey dresses wrapped at the waist with "sleeves" and the quirky pop-culture references, most clearly with graphic prints of '60s newspaper text in electric blue and black and white.

Mixed into the eclectic '90s-inspired range was certainly something for everyone — from the relaxed man-style tuxedo jackets perfect for a day at the office, and the bold lace dresses and crushed velvet ready to be taken out for cocktails with the girls, to the Rodarte-inspired chunky knit dresses for the more fashion-savvy among us.