In line with the mood we've seen on the street, and to some extent on the catwalk lately, Lonely Hearts presented a nineties collection at New Zealand Fashion Week. However, rather than taking their cues from the garishness good humour of Moschino, or Calvin Klein's chic spareness, the brand looked to one of the close of the decade's most iconic films  -  The Matrix.

"We began by thinking of Trinity," Lonely Hearts designer Steve Ferguson explained. "She's a warrior, and she wears a lot of that tight, uniform type stuff." This aspect of the characters personality was articulated clearly, though (fortunately) adapted for more current sensibilities. Significantly expanding their leather offering, Lonely Hearts created form fitting pants with inset kneepads, made to last (and cling while they're at it) thanks to an elasticised panel down the inner thigh. These were accompanied by close-cut jackets of the spy-chic variety, which hinted at their sci-fi origin without any residual chunkiness. Less to theme, but a likely commercial success, were more voluminous leather shorts. Cut like bermudas, but sitting considerably higher up the thigh, the style makes slender thighs look slimmer, whilst still suiting fuller figures, and has been popping up regularly over the past few seasons.

Given Lonely Hearts reputation for sweet but down beat, laid-back style, the addition of buttery, yet fetishistic lamb skin pieces may be surprising, but it was eased gently into the brand's aesthetic thanks to the rest of the collection. "We thought about what that fighter might wear on the weekends," Ferguson continued. "And we figured it would be very minimal, sort of almost like pyjamas, really comfortable and practical," he explained of the rest of the catwalk collection, which utilised light, liquid rayons and soft cotton jerseys in a palette of red wine and black. The long-lined collection, which beautifully captured the trajectory of Trinity's trench coat in floor length, slit-sided A line skirts, had a sparseness that Lonely Hearts normally lacks, but, thanks to the matt quality of the fabrics, there was still an earthy quality to the pieces. Wide, almond cutouts created a racer shape on long sleeve dresses, and added an extra sex appeal, while shorter, princess seamed skater dresses recalled a young Winona Ryder.

Lonely Hearts' shearling jackets proved a huge success last season. Of the four women I saw whilst in the showroom, a Lonely Hearts employee, their Australian PR girl, and one buyer were all wearing them. They buyer commented that almost her entire order of the style had sold before it hit stands, for the most part to her employees. For Winter 12, the brand have surpassed themselves, creating an even more covetable shearling in black and clot-red; this was achieved by cropping and shrinking the cut and expanding the already generous lapels into two wide, femme folds. The hide they've cut these creations from is comfortingly tactile, and impressively sourced with a conscience that may even sway vegetarians. New Zealand's tendency to early Spring cold snaps mean thousands of lambs each year don't make it past their infancy, and it is from these soft skins, killed by natural causes, that Lonely Hearts' shearlings are cut.

Though more mature, with a more forceful sensuality than they've been known for in the past, Lonely Hearts' winter offering still contains pieces to appeal to long term fans of the label. Though they didn't make the catwalk, there are still plenty of loose fitting, liberty printed frocks and cute, chunky knits within the range. That these did not appear on-runway is a testament to the brand's acumen. This winter, Lonely Hearts are catering to their core, but also expanding and evolving beyond the limits of their label.