Kate Sylvester X Judith Baragwanath

Kate Sylvester / photo: Michael Ng

Kate Sylvester showed her Diamond Dogs collection last night. Showcased by models in black lipstick, the collection was inspired by notorious Auckland socialite Judith Baragwanath and her ability to move seamlessly between Auckland’s exclusive social scene and the punk/art world. Baragwanath always made an entrance with the way she dressed, generally a mix of statement fashion pieces mixed with men’s shirts, coats and trousers, with her trademark black lipstick. Baragwanath is a wonderfully eccentric Auckland legend in her own right, and one of the more memorable characters you could ever hope to meet in Auckland. I’ve seen her around a few times, but only really met her once and she made quite an impression. It was about 2 years ago at a party in Parnell (funny that). By the time we arrived it was late and everyone was very pissed and Judith was in fine form. For some reason she latched onto me, and when I told her about our plans to start a new magazine called PILOT, she was thrilled and gave me all sorts of advice on what we should and shouldn’t do. Much of it made no sense of course, but I was utterly charmed by her nonetheless. I read on Isaac today that Judith now lives on Waiheke Island. Cheers to you Judith, and to you Kate…