Sibling rivalry can produce outstanding creative fashion

Liz Findlay - zambesi

Was there something in the water at your house when you grew up? Why do you think both you and your sister became fashion designers?

There very well could have been something in the water! We did share the bathwater when we were young as hot water was scarce!

I think we became fashion designers because we both have a passion for clothes. We were very inspired by our mother. Her name is Zina and she had an natural sense of style and she loved clothes, shoes and accessories. She was always making something for us to wear and she taught us to sew.

When I was 16 I enrolled at the local modelling  agency to learn to be charming at the Joanne School of Charm. While I was there I was lucky enough to go on a go-see for a modelling job at the D.I.C., the iconic Dunedin department store. I got the job and learnt to model the very next weekend.  So I was putting clothes on my back and loving every minute. My modelling career was short-lived, however, as I never grew any taller. I moved to Auckland when I was 21 years old and began working in the fashion industry in various roles.  

Do you have similar aesthetics or styles in fashion or design?

Margi and I have quite independent views on fashion and design but tend to gravitate towards similar aesthetics.    Both Zambesi and NOM*d collections are complementary yet they stand alone.

Why fashion?

I had always loved clothes and having worked in the industry it seemed like the next step to take. Margi and I had always been very close and when she called to say she was thinking about opening a retail store it inspired me to do the same. Neville and I found a small retail space in Parnell and our first multi-label store opened in 1976.

Do you talk about your jobs?

Being sisters and good friends we do communicate regularly about our work and our business, but not our designs  or what we are working on. I think we both hold a mutual respect for the design process. It is always exciting to see the NOM*d collection revealed.

zambesi.co.nz

Margi Robinson - nom*d

Was there something in the water at your house when you grew up? 

Why do you think both you and your sister became fashion designers?
Mmm … maybe the vodka!  Or the sweet black coffee? We were fortunate to have a mum who loved clothes and had great style even though her budget was small.  Most garments were made out of remnants bought at department store sales. Both Liz and I were encouraged to make our own clothes too, and be creative with them, changing patterns was almost compulsory!

Do you have similar aesthetics or styles in fashion or design?

We do both work with lots of black, we do have similar tastes in many areas of design, including housewares and art … we often buy the same things without knowing.  Liz is a little more eclectic than me in her fashion design. I’m very black and white, quite definitive, touch of hardcore, and I love to see tradition and history in the clothes we design.

How did you come to fashion? Liz moved to Auckland when I was 16.  I worked in an office environment for seven years before I decided that I wanted to open a fashion boutique.  I’m talking 1975, so it was all about little boutique stores with a small selection of carefully chosen styles.  The labels I chose to have in our store were not previously available in Dunedin. Eventually in 1986  we incorporated our own brand NOM*d into the mix.  

Are you competitive?

Not really, our collections are often in the same stores, including each other’s, so the labels tend to complement each other rather than compete. There are times when we have very similar ideas, just realised in different ways. 

Is it a help or a hindrance to have a sibling also in the same field? 

Definitely a help, especially for me anyway. Being in Dunedin is cool in one way because we are isolated from the fashion gossip, but in another way we do miss the social networking. I can get a catch up on what’s happening up in the big smoke when talking to Liz.

nomd.co.nz

Interviews with sisters Kellie Taylor (Moochi) and Vicki Taylor (Taylor Boutique) as well as Beth Ellery (Scotties) and Laura Ellery (Standard Issue & Visage) in the October issue of Urbis.