Sea Change, ZAK+FOX’s newest collection, speaks to humanity’s eternal relationship with the sea. The collection’s 19 new designs, created over the past four years, are a siren’s song to bygone voyagers — a gothic re-telling of old maritime tales and folk traditions. Drawing its inspiration from the darkness beneath the waves, the collection is an ode to the sea, of the sea, and the boundless mysteries it keeps.
Three globes levitate above lapping waves. Are they low moons, pulling the tide? Or perhaps, three Cintamani wishing stones, rising from the waters? In Hinduism, the mythical sea creature Makara was said to hold the Cintamani jewel in its head; in Buddhism, it is obtained from the dragon king of the sea. Taking the form of a resplendent pearl, these enchanted stones offered one the key to enlightenment. In dense wool velvet, Cintamani is rendered in endless repetition, echoed like a mantra, or the endless lap of waves.
SHANTY
Out at sea, sailors worked against the harsh breezes of the open ocean, singing shanties to guide their every task. Every act was accompanied by a song chanted into the wind, the crash of waves a low drumbeat steering the melody ahead. The pace of their work was measured in maritime hymns – their voices, worn, somehow still found harmony with the roaring sea. Shanty suggests this rhythm of song with its rigging of linen and twisting ropes of paper, strung together like a ghostly sail to snare a wayward breeze.
KAPITAN
In the golden age of sailing, each ship was a nation unto itself. The captain – who served as king, or leader – was a ruler with absolute dominion over the community aboard his vessel, his very body an extension of the ship. Kapitan is an ode to the controlled and measured elegance of this powerful character in a densely woven twill with a polished finish. It channels the spirit of one who is both brazen and noble, who shepherds those under his command to discover their true selves within the eternity of the boundless sea.
MANGATA
Named after the Swedish word for “moon road”, Mangata suggests a trail of lunar light from horizon to shore. A thin metallic thread wavers and glistens amongst woven layers of wool, suggesting the bright moon’s reflection as a beacon in the dark wilderness of the open sea. The moon lays a rippled pathway on the surface of the ocean, leading the weary traveler back home – or off into the distance until day breaks and the cycle begins again.
FORTUNA
Audentis Fortuna iuvat, said the ancient Romans, calling upon the goddess of all good fortune and luck – a fickle deity who favored only those who most ardently pursued her. Woven in a sheer, staggered formation, Fortuna is poised to let the breeze flow effortlessly through her sails. Just as sailors seek to chase the wind, Fortuna catches every gust – every zephyr which guides its way. Audacious and unexpected, Fortune truly does favor the bold.
Cintamani
Three globes levitate above lapping waves. Are they low moons, pulling the tide? Or perhaps, three Cintamani wishing stones, rising from the waters? In Hinduism, the mythical sea creature Makara was said to hold the Cintamani jewel in its head; in Buddhism, it is obtained from the dragon king of the sea. Taking the form of a resplendent pearl, these enchanted stones offered one the key to enlightenment. In dense wool velvet, Cintamani is rendered in endless repetition, echoed like a mantra, or the endless lap of waves.
SHANTY
Out at sea, sailors worked against the harsh breezes of the open ocean, singing shanties to guide their every task. Every act was accompanied by a song chanted into the wind, the crash of waves a low drumbeat steering the melody ahead. The pace of their work was measured in maritime hymns – their voices, worn, somehow still found harmony with the roaring sea. Shanty suggests this rhythm of song with its rigging of linen and twisting ropes of paper, strung together like a ghostly sail to snare a wayward breeze.
KAPITAN
In the golden age of sailing, each ship was a nation unto itself. The captain – who served as king, or leader – was a ruler with absolute dominion over the community aboard his vessel, his very body an extension of the ship. Kapitan is an ode to the controlled and measured elegance of this powerful character in a densely woven twill with a polished finish. It channels the spirit of one who is both brazen and noble, who shepherds those under his command to discover their true selves within the eternity of the boundless sea.
MANGATA
Named after the Swedish word for “moon road”, Mangata suggests a trail of lunar light from horizon to shore. A thin metallic thread wavers and glistens amongst woven layers of wool, suggesting the bright moon’s reflection as a beacon in the dark wilderness of the open sea. The moon lays a rippled pathway on the surface of the ocean, leading the weary traveler back home – or off into the distance until day breaks and the cycle begins again.
FORTUNA
Audentis Fortuna iuvat, said the ancient Romans, calling upon the goddess of all good fortune and luck – a fickle deity who favored only those who most ardently pursued her. Woven in a sheer, staggered formation, Fortuna is poised to let the breeze flow effortlessly through her sails. Just as sailors seek to chase the wind, Fortuna catches every gust – every zephyr which guides its way. Audacious and unexpected, Fortune truly does favor the bold.
CASSIOPEA
The Cassiopea is a creature of ambiguity – a jellyfish which spends most of its life floating upside-down near the ocean floor. It drifts through saline waters, appearing in a liminal space between biology and botanica. Inspired by an antique Italian textile, Cassiopea’s otherworldly fronds unfurl in ghostly splendor, drifting to-and-fro in a shifting current. It is intimately connected to the rhythms of the ocean, pulsing with the waves like lungs of the sea.
NUDI
The extraordinary nudibranch has an otherworldly appearance that makes it seem like a visitor from a distant star. Clad in ribbons of technicolor, they meander everywhere in the ocean, from the warmest reefs to the coldest trenches at the bottom of the sea. Crawling through the water, the nudibranch’s bright hues can look like fireworks against the backdrop of the ocean depths. In a layered landscape of primordial shapes, Nudi wanders and overlaps amongst itself in an evocative dance that is resplendent and bizarre.
MAREEL
Millions upon millions of miniature wonders illuminate the feet of the beachcomber at nighttime, cradling the water in a halo of blue-white light. As they drift together, these bioluminescent creatures form what’s known as the “milky sea” – or mareel – igniting the ocean with a phosphorescent majesty. Seafaring men of the past described this phenomenon as something supernatural, weaving tales of ghost ships sailing through the darkness on ectoplasmic waves. In a fantastical pattern of overlapping flowers and sea-fronds, Mareel offers an intimate connection with miracles of the deep.
ZOA
The mysterious protozoa float through history on secret errands of their own. Named the “first animals” by the Regency-era scientists who discovered them, they seem to be a miracle of natural life. Adrift in salty marine waters and specimen glasses, their tiny bodies combust with the secrets of the universe. They move on strange and quiet passageways throughout the depths of the ocean, following roads known only to themselves. Zoa lives in this moment of flux – half animal, half plant – small creatures living out the rhythms of an ever-evolving life with microscopic tenderness.
CASSIOPEA
The Cassiopea is a creature of ambiguity – a jellyfish which spends most of its life floating upside-down near the ocean floor. It drifts through saline waters, appearing in a liminal space between biology and botanica. Inspired by an antique Italian textile, Cassiopea’s otherworldly fronds unfurl in ghostly splendor, drifting to-and-fro in a shifting current. It is intimately connected to the rhythms of the ocean, pulsing with the waves like lungs of the sea.
NUDI
The extraordinary nudibranch has an otherworldly appearance that makes it seem like a visitor from a distant star. Clad in ribbons of technicolor, they meander everywhere in the ocean, from the warmest reefs to the coldest trenches at the bottom of the sea. Crawling through the water, the nudibranch’s bright hues can look like fireworks against the backdrop of the ocean depths. In a layered landscape of primordial shapes, Nudi wanders and overlaps amongst itself in an evocative dance that is resplendent and bizarre.
MAREEL
Millions upon millions of miniature wonders illuminate the feet of the beachcomber at nighttime, cradling the water in a halo of blue-white light. As they drift together, these bioluminescent creatures form what’s known as the “milky sea” – or mareel – igniting the ocean with a phosphorescent majesty. Seafaring men of the past described this phenomenon as something supernatural, weaving tales of ghost ships sailing through the darkness on ectoplasmic waves. In a fantastical pattern of overlapping flowers and sea-fronds, Mareel offers an intimate connection with miracles of the deep.
ZOA
The mysterious protozoa float through history on secret errands of their own. Named the “first animals” by the Regency-era scientists who discovered them, they seem to be a miracle of natural life. Adrift in salty marine waters and specimen glasses, their tiny bodies combust with the secrets of the universe. They move on strange and quiet passageways throughout the depths of the ocean, following roads known only to themselves. Zoa lives in this moment of flux – half animal, half plant – small creatures living out the rhythms of an ever-evolving life with microscopic tenderness.
BALEEN
For the sailors who pursued them, the whale was thought to be a monster – an oceanic god – perhaps even Satan himself. Though gentle by nature, these giants of the sea were hunted for the endless riches they provided. Oil and wax provided light for centuries while massive bones and teeth were traded amongst men. Certain species have baleen – a soft, bristled grill hanging from their jaws – used to filter through great gulps of water in search of smaller creatures to devour. With a twisted paper yarn entwined with coarse linen, Baleen is a tribute to these colossal cetaceans – to their wonder and mystery – to a beauty, once eclipsed.
BALEEN
For the sailors who pursued them, the whale was thought to be a monster – an oceanic god – perhaps even Satan himself. Though gentle by nature, these giants of the sea were hunted for the endless riches they provided. Oil and wax provided light for centuries while massive bones and teeth were traded amongst men. Certain species have baleen – a soft, bristled grill hanging from their jaws – used to filter through great gulps of water in search of smaller creatures to devour. With a twisted paper yarn entwined with coarse linen, Baleen is a tribute to these colossal cetaceans – to their wonder and mystery – to a beauty, once eclipsed.
GRAVITAS
In the shared dreams of humanity, the moon and the ocean are bound together like lovers, tangled in a sleepless dance. Wandering sailors were said to be moonstruck on certain nights, when the full belly of the moon hung low over the black backdrop of the sea. The stars above reflect on the water and enchant infinitely: as above, so below. Gravitas plays in this enmeshment, mirroring a torn reflection of breaking waves. What secrets are revealed when the water is pulled back from the shore?
UNDINE
The Undine is a spirit of the water – an elemental creature whose wistful melodies haunt the edges of the oceans. She is born and dies a thousand times with the breaking of each wave, emerging from a flash of sea spray and hovering in the sun before falling back into the gray and murky tide. Poised in a moment of transformation, Undine’s only unchanging quality is the eternal shifting of her wild self, echoing the ocean’s mercurial charm.
ATLANTIS
Hidden beneath the wine-dark Adriatic sea, Atlantis lives as a fantastic mystery. Some said that the streets were paved with gold – with pearls and precious gems glimmering from every rooftop. Others whispered that mermaids played there, turning circles in the towering kelp that grew from the bottom of the ocean floor. Imagined as a sea-faring toile, Atlantis is a fairytale of grand ships and statuary, of merfolk and creatures of the deep – an enigmatic wonderland revealed with the turning of the tide.
SIRENA
For the lonesome seafarer, the mermaid was a figure symbolic of both lust and peril. Mermaids were said to marry Irish sailors until their very nature called them back to the sea, abandoning their land-borne family in spite of whatever love they may have nurtured. Many a man – half-drowned – told tales of scaled merfolk who lured them into frigid waters, embracing them longingly with webbed hands and pulling them deeper underneath the surface before the men awakened from their seduction. Sirena offers a promise of discovery with a woven series of tactile loops and layers, like the scales of a mermaid’s tail flickering in the moonlight. It whispers of something in the distance, hidden behind a veil of crashing waves on rocky bluffs, perhaps worth the risk to explore if only the traveler would brave it.
ST. ELMO
Vivid bursts of lightning flare at the highest reaches of a ship’s mast, illuminating the peaks in a glowing blaze – a fire born from a miracle or dream. Named for the patron saint of sailors, this phenomenon was infrequently observed in the fatal depths of a storm at sea. It was a beacon of light that cast those working to keep the ship afloat in a miraculous penumbra and a haze of bewilderment. St. Elmo calls to the high winds – to the electrified ether of a burgeoning storm, which, just when all seems lost, swallows its prey in the stillness of its eye.
MARINER
For the early sailors who navigated it, the ocean was a wild frontier. Even in the deepest places of the sea, the water is never any one thing: it is flat, it is mountainous; it is light blue, grey – often black – and at the mercy of the gods who control its every wave. The clearest morning skies can become enraged with turbulent squalls, responding to hidden whims beyond human understanding. Mariner gestures to the humble sailor with an assemblage evocative of stitched patchwork, telling a story of the lone sea-farer who mends his weather-worn sails with no more than a whalebone needle. He continues on his course, unconquered, charting through treacherous waters toward a fleeting horizon.
GRAVITAS
In the shared dreams of humanity, the moon and the ocean are bound together like lovers, tangled in a sleepless dance. Wandering sailors were said to be moonstruck on certain nights, when the full belly of the moon hung low over the black backdrop of the sea. The stars above reflect on the water and enchant infinitely: as above, so below. Gravitas plays in this enmeshment, mirroring a torn reflection of breaking waves. What secrets are revealed when the water is pulled back from the shore?
UNDINE
The Undine is a spirit of the water – an elemental creature whose wistful melodies haunt the edges of the oceans. She is born and dies a thousand times with the breaking of each wave, emerging from a flash of sea spray and hovering in the sun before falling back into the gray and murky tide. Poised in a moment of transformation, Undine’s only unchanging quality is the eternal shifting of her wild self, echoing the ocean’s mercurial charm.
ATLANTIS
Hidden beneath the wine-dark Adriatic sea, Atlantis lives as a fantastic mystery. Some said that the streets were paved with gold – with pearls and precious gems glimmering from every rooftop. Others whispered that mermaids played there, turning circles in the towering kelp that grew from the bottom of the ocean floor. Imagined as a sea-faring toile, Atlantis is a fairytale of grand ships and statuary, of merfolk and creatures of the deep – an enigmatic wonderland revealed with the turning of the tide.
SIRENA
For the lonesome seafarer, the mermaid was a figure symbolic of both lust and peril. Mermaids were said to marry Irish sailors until their very nature called them back to the sea, abandoning their land-borne family in spite of whatever love they may have nurtured. Many a man – half-drowned – told tales of scaled merfolk who lured them into frigid waters, embracing them longingly with webbed hands and pulling them deeper underneath the surface before the men awakened from their seduction. Sirena offers a promise of discovery with a woven series of tactile loops and layers, like the scales of a mermaid’s tail flickering in the moonlight. It whispers of something in the distance, hidden behind a veil of crashing waves on rocky bluffs, perhaps worth the risk to explore if only the traveler would brave it.
ST. ELMO
Vivid bursts of lightning flare at the highest reaches of a ship’s mast, illuminating the peaks in a glowing blaze – a fire born from a miracle or dream. Named for the patron saint of sailors, this phenomenon was infrequently observed in the fatal depths of a storm at sea. It was a beacon of light that cast those working to keep the ship afloat in a miraculous penumbra and a haze of bewilderment. St. Elmo calls to the high winds – to the electrified ether of a burgeoning storm, which, just when all seems lost, swallows its prey in the stillness of its eye.
MARINER
For the early sailors who navigated it, the ocean was a wild frontier. Even in the deepest places of the sea, the water is never any one thing: it is flat, it is mountainous; it is light blue, grey – often black – and at the mercy of the gods who control its every wave. The clearest morning skies can become enraged with turbulent squalls, responding to hidden whims beyond human understanding. Mariner gestures to the humble sailor with an assemblage evocative of stitched patchwork, telling a story of the lone sea-farer who mends his weather-worn sails with no more than a whalebone needle. He continues on his course, unconquered, charting through treacherous waters toward a fleeting horizon.
SARGAZO
For the Spanish sailors who dipped cautious fingers into its warm waters, the Sargasso Sea was a site of contradictions. Though surrounded by powerful currents, the sea’s water was as still as a mirror, almost trapped by some aquatic vise. Above, the promise of safety allured, but beneath the calm lay tangles of blood red sargassum, catching unwary ships in their net. Imagined in an incandescent dreamscape, Sargazo captures the dangerous siren’s call of an enigmatic ocean, charming and ensnaring those who seek to truly understand it.
ALGA
Alga is a nostalgic vision, of simple fronds and sea-weeds fluttering through the shallow waters of tidepools at the shore. Glittering threads illuminate the pattern from within like the opalescent curl of an abalone shell, capturing and reflecting the sun’s rays from beneath the waves. Each sinuous chamber contains a single tendril, recalling the pressed kelp specimens collected by Victorian botanists, who, in the half-light of dawn, were summoned to the ocean’s edge by Nature herself.
SARGAZO
Sargazo whispers of the secret perils of the Sargasso Sea. In pelagic hues, it unfurls as a fantastical bramble, reaching up towards the water’s balmy surface to snare unwary ships in its perilous net. Surrounded by powerful currents, the sea appears to be quiet and serene – a still mirror reflecting the desires of those who dare to journey across its placid façade. But below, wild sargassum is a cacophony for voyagers venturing into the embrace of its waters. Enigmatic and seductive, Sargazo enraptures the heart with the deep’s treacherous mysteries.
SARGAZO
For the Spanish sailors who dipped cautious fingers into its warm waters, the Sargasso Sea was a site of contradictions. Though surrounded by powerful currents, the sea’s water was as still as a mirror, almost trapped by some aquatic vise. Above, the promise of safety allured, but beneath the calm lay tangles of blood red sargassum, catching unwary ships in their net. Imagined in an incandescent dreamscape, Sargazo captures the dangerous siren’s call of an enigmatic ocean, charming and ensnaring those who seek to truly understand it.
ALGA
Alga is a nostalgic vision, of simple fronds and sea-weeds fluttering through the shallow waters of tidepools at the shore. Glittering threads illuminate the pattern from within like the opalescent curl of an abalone shell, capturing and reflecting the sun’s rays from beneath the waves. Each sinuous chamber contains a single tendril, recalling the pressed kelp specimens collected by Victorian botanists, who, in the half-light of dawn, were summoned to the ocean’s edge by Nature herself.
SARGAZO
Sargazo whispers of the secret perils of the Sargasso Sea. In pelagic hues, it unfurls as a fantastical bramble, reaching up towards the water’s balmy surface to snare unwary ships in its perilous net. Surrounded by powerful currents, the sea appears to be quiet and serene – a still mirror reflecting the desires of those who dare to journey across its placid façade. But below, wild sargassum is a cacophony for voyagers venturing into the embrace of its waters. Enigmatic and seductive, Sargazo enraptures the heart with the deep’s treacherous mysteries.
