No, not like that. Let’s start this again…
What do an esteemed fashion editor, a very chic slashie and Aotearoa’s most stylish TikToker have in common?
Really, really ridiculously good taste in leather goods, as told via their well-documented dashes between fashion show front rows, invite-only dinners, and the charging cord-carpeted death-trap that was the NZFW: Kahuria media room.
The arm-candy of choice? A lightly-puffed companion by Deadly Ponies. Going by the name of Mr Futon, the bag is a centrepiece of the brand’s spring ’23 Carousel collection, and the best news is that NZFW’s most snapped accessory is now available in store and online.
Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: Carousel is a path more playful for Deadly Ponies, with squishier silhouettes and candy-coloured leathers shoring up our prediction that quiet luxury is over, and fashion maximalism is set to make a return this summer.
An electric follow-up to that python print, emerald leather that stole our attention from the day Carousel first dropped, the second delivery brings a full showcase of bold new core styles that announce a markedly different direction for Deadly Ponies. Look closely, and you’ll see tweaks big and small: a new matte update to the brand’s signature brass hardware; the sculptural and sturdy bucket-like shape of the Mr Ferris Midi; a sour apple Mr Siamese and, of course, Mr Futon himself in mini and midi sizes.
So where did this bright splash of inspiration come from? A meet-cute between Tracey Emin – ‘bad girl’ of the British art world – and Deadly Ponies founder and creative director Liam Bowden at the Tate Modern in London. Emin’s neon text, multi-disciplinary practice and anarchic energy became an instant muse, and the rest is history.
As for NZFW (an event in the midst of its own renaissance) providing the playground for Deadly Ponies’ new collection to run amok, the poetry wasn’t lost on founder Liam Bowden, who holds a special fondness for the Futon.
“I always love seeing how our pieces are styled on our customers and within the fashion community, so to see this silhouette so prominently during NZFW week was a great feeling,” he shares.
“The Futon is an evolution of a core Deadly Ponies piece, and we worked incredibly hard to perfect the puffy, sumptuous silhouette. It is a style and technique that is a bit different for us as a brand, and we’re excited to see it being received so well.”
