The Books & Films That Have Inspired Collections At New Zealand Fashion Week

Watching a runway show unfold, with each model walking one by one, can feel like turning the pages of a good book.

As new pieces from the collection are revealed, you might find a movement forward, enjoy an unexpected subversion or understand the overall narrative better. With designers immersed in this technique of storytelling, it’s not surprising that they find inspiration in books and films.

The wide range of potential influences is clear in the many collections shown throughout the years at New Zealand Fashion Week. Literary and film works have been relevant pillars of inspiration for both emerging designers and well-established industry names. And no site of inspiration is off the table. These shows have found their roots in fantasy film characters, crime-laden novels and the gothic works of local poets.

Jaeha, ‘Zip Me Up After You’re Finished’

In 2007, designer Jaeha-Alex Kim stole the media limelight during a group show, sending ensembles down the runway with an instantly recognisable point of reference.

Models in the ‘Zip Me Up After You’re Finished’ show donned stripey garments, patent leather shoes and, most fantastically, scissor-dressed gloves covered in matte black and white paint. As the final accessory may have given away, the young designer was making direct reference to the gentle protagonist of Tim Burton’s 1990 film Edward Scissorhands.

Kim noted an interest in the contrast between the starring character’s harsh exterior and kind interior. Some of this inspiration is evident in the textures, with both sturdy and flowy fabrics exhibited with each model’s walk.

According to reporting after the show, the Jaeha collection really lifted the spirits of local media. One Stuff piece proclaimed that “there was a fashion editor stampede backstage” to grant congratulations to the young designer. Avant-garde styling by Viva fashion director Dan Ahwa met wearable garments and showcased the potential for theatrical and referential design at Fashion Week (without shying away from the excitement born from a bit of theatricality).

Twenty-seven Names, ‘I Thought You’d Never Ask’

Ahead of their 2012 Fashion Week showing, Rachel Eastwood gifted Anjali Stewart a copy of The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. The two Twenty-seven Names designers found some inspiration in the first lines of the novel, which read “To start with, look at all the books.” Following Eugenides’ advice quite literally, the pair looked to their sixth-form reading list for inspiration. They found enlightenment in the great female novelists of the 19th century, including Jane Austen, Mary Ann Evans (whose pen name was George Eliot), and the Brontë sisters.

Taking a sweep of literary inspiration, ‘I Never Thought You’d Ask’ incorporated 19th-century inspired detailing. Breezy collared dresses with loose empire waistlines floated down the runway, as the collection ventured into a bit of twee romance. Unfussy patterns, like polka dots, hearts and a lovely strawberry number were playful, while Peter Pan collars gave the garments a slight structure. Socks and jelly sandals were also paired with the looks to amplify their playful nature, with a bit of promise for summer.

The collection had pieces fit for a library date — relaxed, romantic and practical.

Kate Sylvester, ‘Tartt’

Kate Sylvester is perhaps the New Zealand designer most known for her embrace of literary and screen storytelling. Within her collections, she has made reference to Baz Luhrmann’s fashion film Romeo + Juliet (exacting prints of the open blue shirt a young DiCaprio wears throughout the film), J.D Salinger’s classic anxious adolescent work Catcher in the Rye and Eleanor Catton’s rich descriptive prose in The Luminaries. Sylvester’s sunglasses have also been granted the names of famous characters and authors, including Janet (Janet Frame), Daisy (of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby) and Sylvia (Sylvia Plath).

One of the designer’s more notable referential shows at New Zealand Fashion Week was ‘Tartt’. In 2014, Sylvester explored a fashioning of The Secret History and The Goldfinch, two novels by American author Donna Tartt. The American novelist and essayist is known for her sweeping, immersive storytelling and, in an interview with Viva ahead of the runway show, Sylvester cited the author’s vivid description as an influence for her designs.

“She made it so easy, she describes whole beautiful outfits of billowy ivory dresses and grey jumpers grazing her fingers — all the details were there.”

Sylvester’s designs were appropriately preppy, elegant and slightly dramatic. Models on the runway donned pleated skirts, slick overcoats, loose button-ups and flowing dresses. Small touches, such as layered socks, gently laid skinny scarves and minimalist red lips, made the collection feel attentive and textured (and well placed in Tartt’s intensely detailed story worlds). The finale of the show was also marked with a light rain of confetti from the ceiling, made from old novels — another bit of book-bound drama from the designer.

Nom*D, ‘R.E.M’

In 2015, Nom*D sent a stream of sleepwalking models down the runway in a show called ‘R.E.M’, with an ethereally gothic collection. To set the otherworldly mood, the show began with a poetry reading from New Zealand icon Sam Hunt. Hunt’s short works commonly draw on aphorisms common to Aotearoa and explore the landscapes and places of the country (a sense of longing is a notable feature of his works). Hunt also read some works from James K. Baxter.

The collection saw, of course, Nom*D’s signature black ensembles walk the runway, along with hand-drawn graphic prints, warm tartan and plaid, floral lace and a pop of pale pink. The dreamy tone also allowed the styling to shift in imaginative directions (some tops and garments tied in surprising ways).

The makeup featured smudged black eyeshadows and pale lips, while each model’s hair became increasingly dishevelled in well-worn ponytails — the approach to beauty worked to convey the poetic and mystic setting.

Jimmy D, ‘Bad Feng Shui’

At the K Road Presents show in 2016, three young designers sent looks down the runway. The last of those was James Dobson of Jimmy D, opening the presentation of his collection ‘Bad Feng Shui’ with a poetry reading from Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle.

The work of the Auckland-based writer was an inspiration for Dobson in the design process — he spoke in an interview with now-defunct fashion blog Beautiful Black about how the “mundane, dark and a little bit funny” tones of her work connected with the sensibilities of Jimmy D. Dobson built up a character through the clothing too, saying that he “imagined this army of poetry girls (and boys) that are quite bookish but with this kind of internalized confidence”.

READ: NZ Fashion Week Is Back. What Does That Mean For Our Modelling Industry?

The collection, which was named after one of Butcher-McGunnigle’s poems, featured plenty of dramatic black, sheer fabrics and oversized and asymmetrical cuts (features that have become staples of the Jimmy D brand. The designer also presented band-style tees that referenced Butcher-McGunnigle’s poems and a volume of poetry called Les Fleurs Du Mal/The Flowers of Evil by French poet Charles Baudelaire.

The designer also presented the looks with a ‘Zarah’ shoe, a super-nostalgic, 90s-looking platform, made in collaboration with Chaos & Harmony with a nostalgic platform sandal. Models also donned Doc Martens, in firm and knowing reference to the looks gracing bookshops and English lecture rooms throughout NZ.

Dobson’s knack for fully fledged storytelling was also clear in this collection, completed with the all-too-important accessory of the book bag, trailing with delicate crimped-off cuts and loose threads.

Kathryn Wilson, ‘Heels in the City’

As the name of the show clearly communicates, Kathryn Wilson’s 2019 show took inspiration from fictional magazine columnist and recently re-born hot mess Carrie Bradshaw. The Sex in the City-inspired show led the footwear design towards eye-catching metallic and boldly printed shoes, which wouldn’t look out of place strewn over the floor at Bradshaw’s massive rent-controlled Upper East Side apartment.

Models donned brightly coloured and leopard-print off-the-shoulder mini dress to accentuate the metallic party shoes, with extra-long crimped wigs swishing as they stomped the runway (in a clear reference to Sarah Jessica Parker’s curly locks).

The centre of the runway was also blocked by a neon light, shaped like the Manhattan skyline, giving the room a touch of vibrant fluorescents.

Despite Carrie’s various miseries, Wilson keenly embraced the party side of her romps around New York at the show — correspondents of the time highlighted the sense of fun, fuelled by flowing Champagne and all the model’s dancing for the cheery occasion.

Zambesi, ‘Nineteen Seventy Nine’

In 2019, Zambesi took over Auckland’s Central City Library for a book-filled extravaganza. Models descended the escalator and strolled the aisles in a show called ‘Nineteen Seventy Nine’, to celebrate the brand’s 40th year and 80th collection.

The setting of the library, and the aesthetics intertwined with bookishness, are central influences in the look of the collection (which made up the 2020 autumn/winter range). Ensembles played with iridescent fabrics, argyle prints, blazer cuts, ties and other preppy touches, projecting out to an imaginary future of not-so-prim, punkish library-appropriate looks. New-season belts were also wrapped tightly around piles of books, which models carried, or had strapped to their hands.

The retro-futurist styling, beauty and hair and Zambesi’s signature cool pieces, made for a storied show. Viva editor Amanda also highlighted the soundtrack, mixed by Sophie Findlay as a “brilliant” addition to the runway.

In a runway report, fashion director Dan Ahwa noted some extra delight at the custom Zambesi library card, which was handed out to the fashion show guests upon their arrival, as being “a lovely touch and a great way to encourage people around the importance of books and libraries within our communities.”