Print has always been one of the strongest elements of Wellington-based label twenty seven names' work, and in their 'Take Cover' exhibition it was put in the foreground by blending into the background.

Rather than holding a runway presentation, designers Anjali Stewart and Rachel Easting opted to display a series of portraits at an Auckland gallery during New Zealand Fashion Week. A large scale realisation of the brand's focus on prints (which Stewart and Easting hand design exclusively for their label), the series sees a model shot against wallpaper printed to match her clothing. The chameleonic effect is countered by the model's impetuous expression. "We wanted to create mood… The model selection, and her expression was really important," Stewart explains. "She's an unobliging wallflower."

Portraiture has been an ongoing project for twenty seven names, who always pay considerable attention to their brand's imagery. "Our favourite day has always been the day we do the photoshoot," says Easting. "All our effort goes into how we show the range…" This focus also explains why the designers chose an exhibition over a catwalk show, a process they believe doesn't always properly express their vision for a collection.

Another reoccurring aspect of the brand's identity can be found in the exhibition's title. 'Take Cover' speaks not just to disguise, but also the relative modesty of Easting and Stewart's creations. "We really aren't flashy dressers, like you would never see me and Rachel with any cleavage or shorts without tights," Stewart admits. "We make clothes we personally want to wear… although sometimes people take our stuff, like a crop top that I would wear over a long singlet or something, and wear it without so you see a strip of flesh…" She laughs. "It's like 'Oooooh!'"

"We started off sewing hoodies on our bedroom floor when we were 14," says Easting, who asserts they operate as their own muses. This translates through to their aesthetic, which Stewart describes as "very home made".

There's a retro sensibility to the range, which consist mostly of femme separates, shirting and dresses in natural fibres, with twee little details like ruffles, lace collars and matching, printed bow ties. The palette too feels nostalgic, with polluted yellows, mushy pee green and aqua recalling the un-remodelled kitchen of a 1960s duplex. This season, these details are particularly strong, and the addition of warm, soft knitwear further enhances a sense of dressing as a craft of comfort.

Though their inspirations may be overtly vintage, not just bordering on, but well within the territory of kitsch, twenty seven names distinguishes itself from the finds of the thrift store through affordances like low-cut sleeve holes, and hemlines that sit just above, rather than on, the natural waist. It is these nods to modern sensibility that lend the brand its considerable potential. As the enormous popularity of craft-culture-feminism will attest, there are plenty of girls who enjoy the advances of the modern age, but aesthetically at least, keep one foot in the past. That this ideal comes from a place of sincerity for Easting and Stewart enhances the label's credibility. twenty seven names may be designing for themselves, but they have plenty of kindred spirits to sell to.