Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s namesake boutique and showroom on Manhattan’s Lower East Side — a minimalist oasis of jewelry, home accessories and clothing, from her in-house brand and other, curated labels — will turn eight years old this year. Well-loved within the industry, particularly for its chic footwear, the MNZ label made its New York Fashion Week debut this season with an arty presentation and performance at the Greenspon Gallery in the West Village, where Nassir Zadeh found herself in a celebratory mood. “The collection is something I’ve been doing since my 20s, and I feel so lucky to be doing what I love,” she said. “It’s about life, love, inspiration, feeling empowered and free. It’s inspired by my travels and it’s celebrating the people that inspire me.”
Her models — cool, effortless, artfully disheveled, most of them Nassir Zadeh’s own friends — were hanging out around a dreamy tablescape and intermittently smashing plates to the floor, a ritual meant to symbolize liberation. “It’s about trying not to hold on, embracing the moment, letting go and finding beauty in the unexpected,” she said of the act, which resulted in an artful pile of broken pottery. The clothes were resort-inspired — Ibiza in the Seventies, to be precise — with a relaxed, bohemian attitude. A spirited tropical print energized an off-the-shoulder peasant maxidress with balloon sleeves. More practical were a button-front denim skirt, a utilitarian shirtdress and striped or ruffled knits. All of it will keep Nassir Zadeh’s girls feeling good and looking chic.