Kate Sylvester favorite within the hallowed halls of Papierdoll ended up apologizing after her show during Australia Fashion Week. The New Zealand designer apologized to returning servicemen after adorning her models with fake medals during her fashion show. An Australian military official said that the use of the medals was “appalling and sickening”. Possibly the most egregious use of a medal was the New Zealand Operational Service medal given to veterans who served in extreme and/or hazardous conditions.

Sylvester was contrite in addressing the use of the medals but that did not give solace to much of the armed services folks and to the Australian media. Especially when it was found out that the models wore the medals on the left side which denotes that the wearer served during wartime.

Aside from that, how was the show you ask? It was typical Sylvester controversy aside. From the photos it’s obvious the Sylvester is coming into her own as one of the top designers out of Australia. The men’s collection for which she caught a majority of the flack seemed almost unnecessary (the collection, not the controversy). She excels at creating pieces for women. The men’s collection looks like a hodge podge of garments, colors and pieces all thrown together with no rhyme or reason. Whereas the women’s collection was less chaotic and fit more with her relaxed approach. While not afraid with the use of colors as usual, Sylvester this season brings more sense and a reasoned approach to asymetrical tops and dresses while also keeping her women’s collection more uniform instead of going the scatter shot-throw every color at the canvas approach.

Courting controversy can sometimes be fun, but maybe Sylvester will stick to designs instead of political statements next time around.

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