Kate Sylvester
The Kate Sylvester girl will be sexed-up and punked-up for autumn.

Where for the past few seasons, Sylvester's collections have included playful brights, girly pastels and soft tailoring. For this outing, her clothes have become almost darkly sophisticated, in a dirty punk-rock, couture kind of way.

Called "Diamond Dogs", the collection drew inspiration from Auckland's own '80s style-icon Judith Baragwanath, famous for her black lipstick and contrasting lifestyle between an upper-class ladies-who-lunch background and her punkish arty friends.

"As a teenager growing up in Auckland, I would scour the Felicity Ferret gossip column for news of the infamous Black Lips Baragwanath and her cafe-society friends," Sylvester told the New Zealand Herald.

"I knew she wore black lipstick. I knew she was beautiful. I knew she wore gym slips, trench coats and men's shoes. I knew her posh Remuera friends were scandalised by her punk boyfriend. I knew Auckland was scandalised by her, full stop! I knew there was no-one like her."

Straddling two worlds, this collection went from posh to punk and back again with peach-pink petalled georgette dresses, silk ruched gowns, girly nightie dresses and tea dresses were mixed with cropped khaki military bombers, masculine overcoats, army-style shirts and black wet-look trenches.

These clothes, although dishevelled, are chic and "grown-up sexy" rather than looking clichéd or worse, overtly "try-hard". More importantly, Sylvester's pieces allow a girl to walk into a party without feeling too done-up, a secret ingredient that turn her collections iconic themselves.

Trelise Cooper
At a whopping 35 minutes long, Trelise Cooper's autumn show undoubtedly gave hardcore fans plenty to choose from.

Mixed among her usual Victorian-inspired signature garments (think floral prints, sheers blouses, full tulle skirts and military-style coats with beautifully detailed embroidery) was a nod to '30s suiting with strong shoulders, Lanvin-inspired pencil skirts and peplum jackets of that era, as well as a few '80s acid brights and full-on floral prints.

Girly bows reoccurred throughout the collection stitched onto jackets, blouses and crisp white shirts, and were also featured as standout hairpieces. The Cooper collection, which proceeded the main line, was obviously targeted at a much younger audience with multiple "on-trend" pieces making a reoccurring appearance to a soundtrack of 50 Cent, Lily Allen and Akon. There were thigh-high boots, pink leather biker jackets, zip-detailed leggings, lots of denim and even a few harem pants.

The collection, though more overwhelming than wowing, did present some beautiful individual garments that can take you from a meeting in the office, to lunch with the in-laws and out again for a romantic dinner in effortless style.