Cowhide dress

The Year 2525

 

This ensemble is from WORLD's collection 2525, in which they considered 'what will we be wearing, where will we be shopping, and what will we be thinking in the year 2525?’ The collection, which was designed for London Fashion Week, featured futuristic urban garments made from merino jersey knits and lambskin, and unusual furs such as cow and deer hide.  Cowhide usually doesn't make the cut for fashion garments. The selection of coarse cowhide for this dress is tongue-in-cheek, and mocks the exclusive use of luxury furs in high fashion.

The 'London Four'

In 1999 WORLD, along with Karen Walker, NOM*d and Zambesi were invited to participate in London Fashion Week by the British Fashion Council for the first time. The designers became collectively known in New Zealand as 'The London Four'.

 

The project was underwritten by Trade New Zealand and Wools of New Zealand, and provided the companies with unprecedented international exposure and sales opportunities.  

  

Denise L’Estrange-Corbet of WORLD recalls: ‘Suddenly WORLD – the brand everyone thought was so avant-garde – got the order. We were like, “Oh my God, we’ve got an order from Selfridges of London! So there we were in the design section of Selfridges and then in Liberty the season after, which was just incredible’.