On Thursday, 9th November, Zambesi opened the doors of their Tyler Street store to VIP customers to host an evening with a Q&A with Elisabeth Findlay and Dayne Johnston.
Hot topics included the new Zambesi Spring/Summer collection as well as the carefully considered curation of international brands such as Vetements, Maison Margiela and Raf Simons at their stores.
Inspiration
What does it take to be included in the Zambesi gallery of labels?
“I think about what I would like to wear. Fabrication is really important to me, it’s an overall sense of aesthetic. All the designers we’ve chosen over the years have meant something to me. – Elisabeth Findlay
Fabric first
“We use fabric as our muse and we begin with the fabric… We’re always inspired by the fabric before we start. We almost need to get a collection of fabrics ready before we begin designing a collection. The beauty of it is the fabrics are almost unisez. Zambesi is renowned for masculine suiting and mensy” fabrics.
Quite often we like to experiment with feminine fabrics so they do cross over a bit which is cool. It’s a cool signature”. – Dayne Johnston
NZ made
There aren’t many labels that are still made in New Zealand and it’s a big part of Zambesi’s ethos.
“We’re very proud to remain made in New Zealand”. – Dayne Johnston
Be sure to watch the interview in full.
