Moving Forward, Looking Back: Hannah Cole does Zambesi

WORDS: HANNAH COLE
PHOTOGRAPHS: VOGUE.COM

Zambesi’s return to MBFWA (last showing in 2013) took us on a journey through time and space with the iconic New Zealand label mixing elements of current fashion into reflections on decades past.

The highly desirable “sock boot”, for example, instigated by Vetements, was shown in pink, white, adding an edgy touch to even glitzy outfits. Prints harking back to grandma’s couch conjured comfort and warmth; one, a delicate floral set on simple white.

New-age, spacey fabrics, frilled to a tee, brought us back to the future. The man of the times sported a luminescent coat and bomber: a sheer plastic covering, highlighting all that was underneath. Likewise for women: see-through trench coats and shining pleated skirts.

Silhouettes trawled history, landed in the 80’s and 90’s. Midriffs, covetable zip-necked sweaters in perfect dusty pink, bucket hats and oversized blazers.

The collection offered something for almost everyone, a fact only fitting for a label launched in 1979 and which has been satisfying its audience with its eccentricities, and now younger generations, ever since.