ZambesiResort2018MBFWA
Credit: Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images

There’s a line in the Tori Amos song Silent all these years that nicely (or tenuously, depending on how late you’re reading this) summarises this evening’s Zambesi show, Kaleidoscope: “What if I’m a mermaid in these jeans of his with her name still on it?”

Of course, I’m not only making that connection because it formed part of the show’s soundtrack alongside another perennial runway favourite (Kate Bush’s Running up that hill) but also because it speaks to the collection’s subtle conflation of gender through silhouette and textiles, notably an iridescent organza that designers Dayne Johnston and Elisabeth Findlay, who returned to MBFWA after closing the event in 2013, used to spectacular effect on bomber jackets, parkas, sheath dresses, a futuristic pleated ruff and in trench coats for both men and women lined with an ornate floral print or paired with a grey and pink plaid.

Those lines were further blurred through his and hers takes on streetwear flavoured socks worn over boots and apparel adorned with TLOP-redolent Gothic script; black leather double breasted blazers; and a number of variations in the theme of navy tailoring. The cumulative effect was almost calming, meditative, and well worth the wait.

Tile and cover image: Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images