Queen of Hats and Some Serious Shoppers Touch-Down

The Queen of Hats and Some Very Serious Shoppers Touch-Down

For L'Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week

London "It" Girl and milliner Cozmo Jenks dressed no less than 65 thoroughbred heads at Ascot this year and now she wants to show New Zealanders how to wear hats.

That's part of the Cozmo Jenks plan for L'Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week as one of the VIP guests who'll take a front row seat for the Collections next week.

Jenks has made her name designing hats for the rich and famous and the hip, including Jamiroquai, Kylie Minogue and Cilla Black and she'd love to make something smart for Madonna.

Cozmo has recently made her own catwalk debut designing hats for Stephen Fairchild's Spring/Summer 2003 show in Milan and has completed her new season collection for Selfridges - her first big department store order. Hugo Boss ordered 30 of Jamiroquai's feather hats in white for its store window.

A flick through any of the UK's social pages will find Cozmo at the same A list parties as her hats and it's that UK "It" girl style that will enhance this year's collections in Auckland.

"We're really lucky to have her, she's great fun, will stun everyone with her dress sense and has an eye and a contact book that's second to none in terms of British fashion influencers," says New Zealand Fashion Week managing director, Pieter Stewart

Sitting alongside Cozmo will be buyers from some of the world's most famous department stores and the most influential retail boutiques in the northern and southern hemispheres.

New Zealand's raw beauty and defiantly different style has attracted the attention of buyers from Henri Bendel in New York and Nordstroms senior consultant Eula Smith who travels the world seeking the new and innovative.

Recently named in Essence magazine as one of America's most powerful black business women, Eula had her first taste of our fashion on a New Zealand stand during the Designer's and Agents week earlier this year in Los Angeles.

>From the UK come buyers from Antipodium, an international boutique with sister stores in New York and Australia. The big name department stores are also out in force with four buyers from Selfridges and representation from House of Fraser and Question Air.

New Zealand's most important high fashion market Australia is well represented with David Jones and numerous influential boutiques early confirmations for the shows.

Among the new names is Piato from Denmark and the influential D Mop from Hong Kong.

And don't forget to look for a very special hat in the front row. Cozmo Jenks will be the name to remember at this year's L'Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week.

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