The idea of a long, chilly winter is never appealing. Thank goodness we can take some comfort in what we'll be wearing to keep ourselves warm when it comes, after a preview of winter at last week's Fashion Week.

　　The Air New Zealand-sponsored event was like going around the world in four days, with frequent time-travel thrown in. One minute we were in Napoleonic France, then we were stopping in for tea with Nancy Mitford and her family and friends in the 1930s, then crash-landing in some jungle with an Amelia Earhart-type adventurer. From all this come a few recurring themes.