Kiwi-born supermodel Rachel Hunter brought a touch of Los Angeles glamour to Auckland today for the launch of her Warehouse summer range.

Hunter has been in the country for the past fortnight supporting the All Blacks during their triumphant Rugby World Cup campaign and to launch her "Rachel" range which is in its third year. Her manager Andy Hayden and mother, Janeen Hunter, accompanied the model to the launch in Parnell.

Hayden said Hunter would leave Auckland in a few days to film an episode of Intrepid Journey for TVNZ at a yet to be announced location. Dressed in jeans and a floaty white chiffon top from her range, the ex-wife of rockstar Rod Stewart was cagey about life in LA except to say her kids, Liam and Renee, were doing great. Hunter who saw the All Blacks versus France final from a corporate box said the game was "amazing'' and she celebrated with friends and family afterwards.

''Everyone is excited after this weekend, it is a great time to be in New Zealand.''And proving even international models struggle with high fashion Hunter exited the launch by edging backwards down a ramp. Her concerned mother said Hunter was struggling with a bad back.

Ever the fashionista, Miss Piggy is making other muppets green with envy thanks to a shoot with InStyle magazine. The snappy diva flaunted her figure in a series of designer wares for the fashion mag's November issue, including a fringed, lacy black number from Jason Wu, and the silk, cinched-waist dress from Prabal Gurung, as seen above.

As InStyle notes, Miss Piggy has nary a wrinkle on her smooth snout, despite being in the biz for 35 years. However, don't expect any stay young tips - she tells the magazine, "I was, as the saying goes, born this way: Perfect."

"It's a gift, but one must take care of it each and every day - ideally with the help of a humongous team of stylists, personal trainers, doctors, lawyers and other sycophants," she admits. "When one begins at such a high level, one really doesn't need much help - but I figure, why the heck not?"

Of course, InStyle had to get the deets on what's really going on between Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, but don't expect a "Muppets get Married" movie anytime soon. "Kermie and moi's relationship is a complete circle of affection," Miss Piggy reveals to InStyle. "Moi loves him. He loves moi. And moi loves moi. As for marriage, I like to think of it this way: Kermie and I are married in our hearts. I'm still working on the rest of him."

You can see Kermit and Miss Piggy's "marriage of the heart" on the big screen when Jason Segel's "The Muppets" movie arrives on November 23. View the rest of the fashion icon's InStyle spread in the November issue, available on newsstands now.

Fashion icon Margit Brandt, whose simple cuts and 1960s miniskirts marked one of the first international breakthroughs for Danish designs, has died. She was 66. Margit Brandt brand manager Maria Stubben told The Associated Press Monday that the Denmark-born designer died earlier in the day following a long fight against lung disease. Brandt presented the first collection of her brand B-age in 1965. The short and close-fitted garments stood out from other designs of the time and B-age stores were quickly opened in Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York and London.

The designer is survived by her husband Erik Brandt and their two daughters, Emilie and Julie.
Funeral arrangements weren't immediately known.

AFRICA'S biggest fashion showcase, Africa Fashion Week, officially started yesterday. The three-day fashion treat features designers based both in South Africa, mainland Africa and the diaspora - with more than 30 designers. The event attracted a generous number of celebrities yesterday, including actors, musicians and politicians. Designers KLUK CGDT, Marianne Fassler, Mataano, Tart, Stefania Morland and Alexander Kounty opened the bill.

What was interesting this year was a generous use of ethnic models, some of whom are international faces, including those with exotic features, which always adds flavour to a fashion show. South Africa's KLUK CGDT was the first to showcase and opened the show with an extremely well-thought out collection that received a standing ovation.

The collection started out with muted palettes on see-through garments, but soon gave way to bright colours, with some featuring glitter, on to black and white hues. If one were to use day one of the show as a measuring stick, then the standard seems to have gone up from last year's.

Today will see exhibitions from Gloria Wavamunno, Kiki Clothing, Lalesso, Maki OH, Christie Brown, Duaba Swera and local designer Thula Sindi. But the most anticipated shows are David Tlale's and Nigeria's London-based Bummi Koko tomorrow.

Just as Pakistan is multicultural with diverse ethnicities, there are various fashion councils that have sprung up in the recent past. From a fashionistas point of view, however, only two hold some legitimacy in the foreground, the PFDC and the FPC.

Fashion designer and CEO of FPC, Maheen Khan, who was present at the event, said, “The government is often initiating the marriage between the designers and textile mills. But setting up a stall has a lot to do with the fact that we need to learn about export marketing and the right product and processing.” Khan also added that, “If designers are given such platforms we will learn enough about the local trade fair so that when we represent Pakistan at an international event abroad, it won’t be a disaster.”

At the stall FPC showcased Maheen Khan’s line called Gulabo, Deepak Perwani’s casual line and accessory designer Mahin Husain’s handbags, amongst others, for the sake of export, which in Khan’s word should be more like, “a learning experience, rather than the concept of selling their product.”

Deepak Perwani’s Operation Manager Noreen Mujtaba revealed that they were placed at a TDAP sponsored event because, “Neighbouring countries like China and India are well exposed in the buyer’s market and foreigners need to know that Pakistan too has a good number of creative designers.”

When asked about the price tag of Deepak Perwani’s casual kurtis and handmade bags, Mujtaba said, “Export prices for international buyers are placed at lower bottom by our brand.” Mujtaba did not quote an actual price of the designer wear, nor did she place a price tag on the displayed products.

Accessory designer and FPC member Mahin Husain said, “This platform is a stepping stone for us. I have always believed that the tag ‘Made in Pakistan’ should come forward and hence I have deliberately kept the prices cheap and affordable for my leather hand bags. We plan to catch the buyer’s attention.”