Project Born mixes lingerie with visual effects to celebrate life

Neil Danby

The worlds of high-end fashion lingerie, art, dance, music and theatre came together to create a unique show, Project Born, that combined fantasy and magic, all to benefit the Neonatal Trust (New Zealand).
   Not your standard catwalk show, this was a unique experience for the senses that was two years in the making, involving a cast and crew of over 155 performers and artists.
   Project Born was shown at Shed 13 at the Mojo coffee sheds. The show fused beautifully together differing art and creative genres. There was everything from wood nymphs, dancing flower people, lounge lizards, Metropolis cyborgs to a cheeky Puk.
   Creatures from the deep mind of Sir Richard Taylor (who has long been a patron of the Neonatal Trust) seamlessly mixed with beautiful lingerie and undergarments from Pleasure State, Womama, Elle Macpherson Intimates and Macpherson Men.
   The visuals of Andrew Schnetler, and Sidhe that were featured in the show, to the full body make-up and prosthetics were world-class, as expected when Taylor’s meticulious team is involved.
   Pleasure State presented fun, flirty lingerie that featured polka dots, stripes, lace and frills in blush pinks and china blues to tempt.
   Wellington-based label Womama presented fashion-forward lingerie that celebrates women and motherhood—not your average maternity bra, thank you very much!
   Both Elle Macpherson Intimates and Macpherson Men showed collections heavy on colours of fuchsia, turquoise, ecru and orange, in stripes and plains for men, and trimmed in lace for the ladies.
   Highlights of the show were many: the clever telling of conception, the tribal body paint of Adam and Eve, a boxer-clad opera singer, a silver mirror ball-clad lounge singer, to the beautiful piece of modern ballet that showed the relationship between man and woman, and life, from infancy and birth to growing old together.
   Hosted by the gorgeous and fabulous duo, Buffy and Bimbo, the show rounded out with a rendition of ‘Rain Men’ that had everyone clapping away until the final bow.
   Project Born set out to be edgy, sophisticated, breathtaking and evocative and it achieved its aims.
   An online auction is available for those who wish to contribute to the cause. You can bid online at www.born.org.nz for a signed All Whites’ football jersey or a bronze cast of one of the many creatures that featured in the show, made by the talented Craig Campbell.
   The Neonatal Trust was established in 2009 and supports the parents of the country’s smallest and sickest babies. About 6,000 sick or premature babies are born every year, and the number is steadily increasing.
   The Trust supports parents, provides specialized equipment for neo-natal units and aids medical research.—Sopheak Seng, Fashion Editor

Above Womama motherhood lingerie has raised the bar for intimate apparel, including this nursing bra. It was one of the highlighted brands at Project Born last night.