Thursday night, as part of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW), men’s clothing store Comeback Kid hosted Led Zephyr’s Spring/Summer Dreamer collection launch. The designer behind the label, Zephyr Marama, creates wearable pieces with enough edge to please Melbourne’s fashion-forward crowd.
For the men, linen asymmetric hoodies, panelled tees and light pants with a colour palette inspired by the great outdoors made up the collection. Although not stocked at Comeback Kid, her womenswear was also on display. Soft leather shorts in black and brown, lace bodysuits, silk dresses, cropped leather tees as well as other daywear pieces were shown.
Yet what stood out for both sexes was Marama’s footwear. Winged boots and the ‘Darth Vader Boot’ for the guys were particularly impressive, while for women the laced ‘Night Walker Bootie’ in black and beige are likely to be very popular for the coming season.
Prior to launching her own label, Marama worked at established Australian men’s label Material Boy. Known for their directional menswear, it is clear Material Boy’s aesthetic has had an influence on her designs.
Formally a printing press hidden down Rankins Lane in the CBD, Comeback Kid’s loft space, with high ceilings and white-painted bricks, was a nice backdrop to display the collection. However, at one stage there were so many people packed into the store that it was hard to move—let alone see the clothing.
Despite the number of other MSFW events on at the same time, including Fat’s Apple of my Eye t-shirt exhibition and Melbourne Street Fashion’s party at Somewhere, it was quite the turnout. The usual fashion crowd, bloggers and industry people were there, and while there was a lot of mingling going on, there was a genuine interest in Marama’s collection.
The night ended in true Melbourne style with the crowd chatting and smoking in the alley before moving on to the next Spring Fashion Week party.
Led Zephyr’s womenswear pieces are available at Lenko and Phillips, and men’s clothing and shoes are available at Comeback Kid.
Jean Kemshal-Bell is an Honours Journalism student at La Trobe University and part of upstart’s editorial team.
