MBFWA13 | Zambesi

Just an hour or two after Staple the Label at The Theatre, I was super excited to see Zambesi as it was one of the rare shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia to have menswear. I missed out on the Innovators show which had a menswear designer from Ultimo TAFE.

Zambesi by a pair of New Zealander designers was a good show and had a strong production team. I enjoyed the beginning when the a female model opened the show under a growing spotlight and every now and again, menswear comes along and got me more excited. The finale was really fun too, the walking route was very compact and square and 'snakey' (by that I mean the old Nokia Snake game) haha it was great.

I will talk about the womenswear and menswear separately. Overall, I enjoyed a lot of the pieces and they look even better in the photos.

Womenswear by Elisabeth Findlay
Something which caught my eye was the use of prints and structuring of the outfits. Where there were prints and lots of texture going on, there was less of a rigid structure of the outfit. The fabrics chosen also reflected this to enhance the windy effect of the garments. One of the dresses had tassels all over it and I didn't like it on the runway but it looks great in the photograph. On the other hand, where there was a plain colour or lack of pattern, there was a stronger focus on the cutting and structuring to give it an edge and form. This was done really well to make it very modern and modest.

I actually have a lot of picks for this line but I'll choose the best for what I feel reflects this season because although they were mostly enjoyable, some were less suitable. The outfits mostly looked very clean and chic, and the socks and heels were good too.

Menswear by Dayne Johnston
I really enjoyed looking at menswear in Zambesi because it was so well structured with good detail. I love the conservative and I guess somewhat disciplined approach of menswear which is refreshing from the more recent lines of Givenchy. The cutting of the garments were so crisp and perfect, making it fashionable and stylish this year. I also enjoyed the choice of fabrics and styling of the outfits which created a contrast of texture or completely the same texture and these two opposites worked well together in a show.

The sweater looks really good.

It was a very enjoyable show (I'm probably biased because it was one of the rare menswear shows I got to see) with some excellent pieces. Good luck to Zambesi this year.