Jack Yan revisits the Nom D autumn–winter 2003 collection as he pops by the designer’s home in Dunedin, New Zealand

PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL NG

L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week saw lettering on clothes but it was up to Robertson to make it interesting

INCE our original preview of Nom D’s autumn-winter 2003 line ran on October 23—the first article to be published on the topic—I've attended a party at the Robertsons’, re-examined the range in Auckland and at the ID Dunedin Fashion Show, and even tried items from the range.
   The party was to celebrate designer Margi Robertson’s birthday, but as expected from this busy family, it was a few months late, finding a lone opportunity before she flew to Paris. Apart from those in the fashion community, this was a family affair, with Robertson’s siblings attending, including her equally well-known sister Liz Findlay of Zambesi, and their mother Zena Pool.
   There was no denying that this was a quintessentially Kiwi get-together: plenty of good food and responsible drinking, taking place on the ground floor and the back yard after hours. But the family tradition spoke of their Greek–Ukrainian heritage, their parents having emigrated from postwar Europe to New Zealand.
   With very distinct characters, Margarita and Elisabeth have entirely different approaches to fashion and about their only similarity is in the fact they both married automotive enthusiasts. Chris Robertson’s red 1965 Volvo 1800S was a welcome relief to the many American cars that had made it to Dunedin that weekend for a meet, and in some ways, this car reflected some of the elements of Nom D’s autumn–winter 2003 collection.
   Colour apart, the Volvo 1800S always stood out in the Swedish company’s range and had some surprising details, such as tailfins. Even though these were considered passé by the mid-1960s, Volvo still was able to make the package stylish. Roger Moore might have driven a similar model in The Saint, but he drove one off-screen, too.
   So it is with this latest collection. L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week saw lettering on clothes but it was up to Robertson to make it interesting. While others might scream that logos were passé, Robertson again surprised. In 2001, she showed defunct New Zealand tags, enlarged on backs of deconstructed jackets. This season, it was hand-done Cyrillic lettering, translated by Mrs Pool, paying tribute to something else of a bygone era: Soviet-era propaganda.

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