Sisters in style
Two of New Zealand's most respected names in fashion - Margarita (Margi) Robertson of Nom D and Elisabeth (Liz) Findlay of Zambesi - began their careers adapting patterns with the help of their seamstress mother. The sisters were part of a family of six, whose mother spent evenings and weekends around the sewing machine, making clothes for the children.
'We used to customise all the patterns and change things around,' explains Margi. 'You never wanted to go out in something that looked like a Butterick pattern so you changed it to make it more individual.'
That individualism grew into an appreciation of fabric, texture and form. As a result, both sisters began careers in the fashion industry in the 1970s. They started out in retail, but slowly developed their own collections. When Margi chose to specialise in knitwear, Liz decided to go another route.
'I thought oh I'll just buy Margi's and do something different myself,' says Liz, who is the eldest of four sisters.
Liz went for fabric; Margi wool, and both explored the creativity gene passed onto them by their Greek Orthodox mother. Margi stayed in Dunedin where she was born, and Liz settled in Auckland. Both have partners who have played a big role in their careers - Margi is married to Chris, and Liz to Neville Findlay.
Liz worked in the clothing industry and plied her trade for seven years before establishing the Zambesi label with Neville in 1979. Margi began with a boutique retail store called Hang Ups, before starting her knitwear label Nom D in 1986. The store then became Plume (as in Nom D[e] Plume).
Liz directs design and production from a workroom of 16 staff. Designs combine elements of form, structure and simplicity with a sense of irony, and follows an evolutionary line rather than being dictated to by current trends. Zambesi fashion is instantly recognisable.
Nom D's signature is wearable wool garments that break the traditional wool mould. Garments are versatile - many are reversible - and experiment with textures, fittings and utilitarian concepts.
'The whole feeling of what we do is utilitarian,' explains Margi. 'The number one criteria is that the garment has to be very wearable. We're not interested in art gallery pieces.'
She is extremely down-to-earth and typically Dunedin in her sentiments. Shunning the limelight, she prefers to talk about the clothes rather than herself, finding fame sitting uneasily on shoulders that quickly shrug off any affectations of stardom.
'What I'm finding now we have a stronger profile is a lot more is expected of us,' she says. 'Sometimes I think I want it to be more about the clothes than about me, but then for the sake of our business I think I should do it.
'I don't enjoy that sort of thing though - I like our product having that attention.'
Margi says her customers, and Dunedinites in general, have a sense of pride over what she has achieved and feel part of the success of Nom D. After all, this is a label that sits alongside Comme Des Garcons and Martin Margiela in Liberty of London.
But Margi won't entertain the idea of leaving her hometown for bright lights and air kissing.
'I quite like being isolated,' she admits. 'And because we have achieved some sort of success here, it encourages other people to stay in Dunedin and have success.'
Indeed some of the country's current top designers are found in this South Island city, best known for its university, passion for rugby and Scottish heritage. Nicholas Blanchet and Tanya Carlson are two of the best known, while Skye Alexander is a young up-and-comer on the New Zealand fashion scene.
The Dunedin fashion scene is vibrant and introspective, with creativity in part driven by isolation.
'Living here means you don't have to do what people expect,' says Margi. 'You don't have to fit in because the people are very accepting.'
But Liz says just because you're living in New Zealand's largest city Auckland needn't mean you have to become a fashionista. Still, she can understand Margi's passion for isolation.
'Dunedin feels like a good comfort zone to Margi, but you can be just as insular in Auckland,' Liz says. 'It depends what you focus on. At the end of the day, the way you design or create is so personal it doesn't matter where you are. The way I design is a very instinctive thing. I don't try to analyse too much - and I would use those instincts wherever I was.
'You can be in the tiniest town or the biggest city; you just have to concentrate on what you're doing and get on with it.'
Liz says she and Neville don't tend to move in fashion industry circles as might be expected of a label with stores in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney and Melbourne, and who are stocked in the northern hemisphere, including Liberty of London.
'We have a personal, private life - the extended family of Zambesi is enough to be involved in. Any time that hasn't been spent focused on Zambesi has been focused on our family.'
Nom D's biggest market is still local, but Margi is seeking to slowly expand more into the northern hemisphere.
'We sell a lot here because of the climate, particularly in Christchurch and Dunedin,' she explains. 'But the quantities that go out to one store in Japan are really big so it's probable Asia will ultimately be our biggest market, because of the population there.
'Our garments require four seasons. We have that here and so does Japan. That's where the northern hemisphere becomes attractive.'
Wool isn't high on Australians' shopping list, but Zambesi's garments are. Zambesi's biggest market is Australasia, and the label is also making inroads into the northern hemisphere. Zambesi has been stocked in Liberty in London for three years, and in a small store called Legacy in New York. Liz says Zambesi's garments appeal to the Asian market too, and work is being done to grow this area of business.
Both say the experience of showing at London Fashion Week, first in 1999 and then in 2000 was invaluable. Nom D and Zambesi were in a group show with World and Karen Walker, as part of the New Zealand Four. Australian Fashion Week has also played a huge role in presenting New Zealand fashion to the world.
'All those things add up to people knowing the name,' says Liz. 'For example, there was a Kiwi guy working for a fashion mag in Paris who wrote about us and they all add up. People go 'oh yeah, I've heard of Zambesi'.
Whatever international successes may come, both women will always stay true to their vision. Nom D is now 15 years old, while the Zambesi name has been around for 22 years and is still synonymous with quality and creativity.
'The name hasn't dated,' says Liz. 'It still has mystery about it. I hate the idea we might be categorised or pigeonholed. I like the idea that we keep people guessing a bit. That's what's good about Zambesi - it has the element of familiarity, but also of 'you're going to discover something'.'
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