Zambesi NZFW
Zambesi were awarded the honour of being the 'Mercedes Benz Presents' designer for this year's NZFW. Coming off the back of an insanely successful show at Sydney's FW event this year, Zambesi had alot to live up to, which may have influenced the brand's choice to present a showcase reflective of their work over time, as opposed to a completely uniform collection show.
Positioned in front of an array of lights & soft boxes, models indivdually made their way out of a freeze frame statue pose to stomp the runway in a sea of flashing strobes. Browns, mustard yellow & pops of metallics lifted the otherwise muted colour pallette (classic Zambesi) and interesting styling choices worked both for and against the collection.
The Zambesi socks were back - huge cheer! All the citrine yellow looks were very successful, drawn back only by the odd placement of fluffy oven-mit-esque gloves lacking context on models. A strong styling choice made here was gender blurring by dressing female models in baggy suits, and styling male models in form fitting power jackets & pants.
Silver statement metallics also vamped up the runway, these fabrics having become a recognisable penchant for Zambesi's collections. While the silver is quite flashy, Zambesi manages to construct wearable garments for the off the rack customer.
The street style vibes were on point, with layers, jumpsuits, outerwear and bombers adding dimension to Zambesi basics (such as jeans or printed tops). A fresh twist on the showcase was the new addition of a few styles of slogan shirt reading 'never give up', a message that is poignant & a nod to Zambesi's longevity in the Fashion game
My champion look of the show had to be the double layering of this brown sherred jumpsuit - is it not structural heaven? This styling choice really worked for me, and is a prime example of why Zambesi are the best at putting forward a streetwear collection, but styling it up for a runway show.
Congratulations to Zambesi on a strong collection presentation. While not completely uniform in styling & consistency, this snapshot into the life of the brand was a great opener to set the mood for Fashion Week.
