Nom D

Dark and wittily sombre, NOM*D has created an iconic image on the New Zealand fashion landscape. The label's designs, which reference traditional tailoring and use reworked vintage garments, are anchored by a utilitarian approach and the concept that clothes must, above all else, be wearable. In every collection, NOM*D maintains its credibility as a label unaffected by trends and whims, instead adopting the cool, considered gaze of the fashion outsider. Since its inception in 1986, NOM*D has been among a small number of directional fashion labels which have been responsible for defining the style that is now referred to as 'The New Zealand Look'. As one of the ground-breaking New Zealand Four who showed at London Fashion Week in 1999, NOM*D firmly established the dark, intellectual qualities that are now synonymous with New Zealand design. In part, the label owes its noir-ish aesthetic to Dunedin, a city situated in the remote, rugged surroundings of New Zealand's South Island where NOM*D's designer Margarita and her husband Chris Robertson are still based today. A university town, with an international reputation for its alternative music scene, and a preternaturally gothic atmosphere, the culture of Dunedin permeates the mood of Robertson's clothes. Margarita was born of Greek/Ukrainian refugee background. A pre-occupation with fashion has been with Margi since childhood. As a young girl she was a devout op-shopper. That passion for vintage continues in her designs now with reworked vintage pieces frequently included in the range, alongside deconstructed, androgynous suiting and clever knitwear that defies traditional concepts of structure and texture.