Apparel Magazine // February 2016

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NEWS MENSWEAR RADAR INDUSTRY ACCORDING TO SUCCESS UNDER 30

FASHIONABLE

EDITOR’S letter HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It’s the year of the monkey and accordingly should bring with it a sense of calm and hope for the industry. For some brands, the Chinese zodiac brings more than just predictions as it makes its way into design aspects (see below).

Post holiday madness allows for everyone to think about the year ahead with a clear mind and a positive outlook and despite some New Year’s resolutions starting to become a distant memory, others are well underway. Fashion calendars are filling up fast with the first key date for iD Dunedin Fashion Week just weeks away.

We have teamed up this issue with New Zealand Fashion Museum to bring you ‘From the Archives’ a retrospective look at iconic fashion moments. For more fashion history the team at New Zealand Fashion Museum are showcasing The Shrinking Swimsuit in Auckland with a focus specifically on fashion with a selection of stylish suits that represent the best aspects of their era, a must see if you are in town.

Our special focus this month is on industry graduates and students who show talent and promise, along with winning some top awards.

I hope everyone received their copy of the industry bible that is the Apparel Trade Directory – if not give us a call and we can organise one for you. If you missed out on a listing, make sure you contact Josie McKeefry (josie@reviewmags.com) to ensure you don’t miss out on the 2017 publication. And as always, if you have news or an event you would like us to include in the magazine let us know and we will happily do so.

Enjoy the issue.

Sarah sarah@reviewmags.com

the NUMBERS . . .

One third of orders made through Shopify are done on a mobile device In 2015, textile export values surpassed those of pork in Denmark.

51% of all British women purchased a handbag in 2015

PUBLISHER Peter Mitchell - peter@reviewmags.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Tania Walters - tania@reviewmags.com EDITOR Sarah Mitchell - sarah@reviewmags.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Caitlan Mitchell - caitlan@reviewmags.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Thomas Fowler - tommie@reviewmags.com

Monique McKenzie - monique@reviewmags.com Rossella Quaranta - rosella@reviewmags.com

ADVERTISING SALES SENIOR DESIGNER

Josie McKeefry - josie@reviewmags.com Raymund Sarmiento - raymund@reviewmags.com

2 I February 2016

The Prada Group reported its licensed product sales rose 14% to €88 million.

PHOTOGRAPHER Caitlan Mitchell - caitlan@reviewmags.com ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Kieran Mitchell - kieran@reviewmags.com ISSN 1171-2287 Level 3, Suite 9, 20 Augustus Tce, Parnell, Auckland, PO Box 37 140, Parnell, Auckland Tel (09) 304 0142 Fax (09) 377 2794 NZ Apparel is published monthly under licence by Review Publishing Co Ltd. Please direct all enquiries and correspondence to NZ Apparel. The opinions and material published in this edition of NZ Apparel are not necessarily those of the publishers unless specifically stated. All material appearing in NZ Apparel is copyright and may only be reproduced with the consent of the publisher. Copyright 2015 NZ Apparel Magazine.

READS ADVANCED STYLE: Older And Wiser

By Ari Seth Cohen

Ari Seth Cohen is at it again, with the second edition to his immensely popular Advanced Style novel. Advance Style: Older and Wiser is a continuation of Cohen’s work, and features more senior street style and inspiration from around the world. With a foreword by Simon Doonan of Barneys, the book also features 22 short essays written by Cohen, each of which describes the various subjects of the book.

LOUIS VUITTON: The Spirit Of Travel

By Patrick Mauries

Synonymous with class, and an icon of sophistication, the Louis Vuitton travel collections are one of a kind and a force to be reckoned with. Author Patrick Mauries takes the reader behind the scenes, introducing the people, the places and the clients at the heart of the Louis Vuitton story. It is a story of kings, queens, princesses, explorers and prima donnas – the spirit of travel imbued in one brand. Enjoy the stories in a 200-page hardback adventure and let Mauries illuminate the history that has created the Louis Vuitton name.

VOGUE 100: A Century Of Style

By Robin Muir

2016 marks 100 years of British Vogue magazine, and with it a bible of fashion has emerged.

Author Robin Muir has captured the zeitgeist of each decade and pulled it into one book, a century of style. Photography, illustrations, and essays come together to illustrate the fashions of the time and includes photographers and writers who have helped shape the current cultural landscape. Inside is more than 300 photographs that depict incredible moments in British history, including figures from Matisse to Bacon, Freud to Hirst, Dietrich to Paltrow, and Shiaparelli to McQueen.

Let us help you make the best match.

Call JACQUI 09 309 5020 or visit www.nzfashiontech.ac.nz

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KNITWEAR ENTREPRENEUR DIES

CHARLES PARSONS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

Charles Parsons & Co., a family-owned company established in 1915 by Charles Leslie Parsons, is proudly celebrating its centenary. The company has consistently expanded and now has over 350 employees and offices around the world, including locations in Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, and Fiji. As Australasia’s leading wholesale supplier of textile products and services, Charles Parsons owes its success to courageous and inspired leadership, visionary entrepreneurship, and superior service. These qualities and values have steered this company through significant milestones including the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the vagaries of supply and demand. This capacity to evolve was, and still is, a major key to Charles Parsons’ success and resilience.

With over fifty acquisitions, the company has diversified across homewares and interiors, technical, apparel and fashion fabric supply and services for retailers, designers and manufacturers. Charles Parsons has always prided itself on being at the cutting edge, embracing technology and innovation.

The company strives to bring the world’s best textile solutions within reach of local partners and customers. Where to in the future? According to Chairman, Vicki Parsons, the success of Charles Parsons can be attributed to its uniqueness as a company that has “always tailored global textile creativity and innovation to our clients’ needs, striven to build trusted and supportive relationships with industry partners, and managed the business today with an eye to the future: continuing to evolve.”

The Charles Parsons group anticipates that it will remain in the forefront of the Australasian textile industry. It will continue to evolve, to consolidate existing relationships and to invest in expert staff, true to its proud tradition of offering new and innovative products and services to its customers.

FORMER knitwear entrepreneur Les Markus died in Auckland this month aged 69 and a large gathering of his former industry colleagues marked his passing.

As a knitwear designer, he arrived from the UK and joined with a number of partners in purchasing the old Woolcraft company in central Auckland building a reputation for outstanding design and quality. The company was the hot fashion topic in the mid-seventies but eventually failed. Les went on to establish Initial Holdings that for 10 years produced a range of high volume

tee’s and tops. In more recent times, Les has been involved in the online art market and supported a collection of young Balinese artists.

His health had been deteriorating over recent months.

ACCUSATIONS OF SLAVELABOUR PRACTICES A recent investigation has led to findings that Australian surfing brand, Rip Curl, had sold goods produced in slave-like conditions.

The report released by the Sydney Morning Herald revealed the brand had produced its 2015 line of ski clothing in “slave-like conditions” at a North Korean Factory.

Rip Curl denied having knowledge of the conditions prior to production, and said it was only made aware after the goods had been distributed.

The brand blamed subcontractors

WICKSTEAD TO SHOW AT iD

for the practice.

“This was a case of a supplier diverting part of their production order to an unauthorised subcontractor, with the production done in an unorthorised factory, in an unauthorised country without our knowledge or consent,” said Tony Roberts, chief financial officer, Rip Curl. Although, Dr. Helen Szoke, chief executive, Oxfam Australia said Rip Curl had no excuse for not tracking clothing produced within its own supplier factories.

Kiwi-born designer Emilia Wickstead will be back in her home country for iD Dunedin Fashion Week.

Popular with the likes of Kate Middleton and some of London’s most stylish women, Wickstead will show pieces from her previous two Autumn-Winter collections, with several couture pieces worn on the red carpet by celebrities.

She will also join the high profile judging panel for the iD International Emerging Designer Awards.

Wickstead joins iD’s hall of fashion luminaries showing at the event including Zandra Rhodes, Stephen Jones, Akira Isogawa, Lutz Huelle, Martin Grant and last year’s Queen of Vintage, Doris Raymond.

4 I February 2016

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SHIRTMAKER HITS ITS CENTENARY

Christchurch-based shirtmaker Lichfield is headed into its 100th year of business with a continuation of its locally owned success story. Launched in 1916, the company has built a reputation for its styling and quality and this tradition carries on this year under its new ownership of Geoff and Marie Alcock. A by-word in the menswear industry, Lichfield runs seven major brands including Savile Row, LFD Business, LFD Concept, Vonella, Lifestyle, Portobello Road and the stock and replenishment business

of Lichfield Corporate.

These are all renowned brands that span a variety of styles and looks from casual through to business. “We continue to produce quality items that are both creative and distinctive,” said Geoff Alcock. “While we boast about our comfort and style success story over the years, we also are firmly behind our customer service that continues to back our retail customers.” So for 2016, it’s a fresh start in a milestone centenary year for Geoff and Marie and their national team.

ARTFUL SOCKS WITH STANCE

Parisian retailer Colette and sock brand Stance have joined together for the latest limited edition collection along with artists Kevin Lyons and Jean André.

Three styles of socks have been designed in a bold skate-heavy range that puts New York up against Paris. Each artist has designed a graphic print featured in colette colours blue and white.

BIRKIN PROPOSAL

A man has proposed to his girlfriend with a rare and unique Hermes Birkin Bag instead of a more traditional diamond ring. The gentleman requested a custom artwork on the Birkin to include the names of both himself and his girlfriend and the date of the proposal enclosed in a red heart, doing away with the tradition of using a diamond ring.

GUEST DESIGNER ANNOUNCED

ONE WORD DECLARATION

In a bid to encourage consumers to create their own personal affirmation of what 2016 means to them, lingerie brand Triumph has launched its One Word Declaration campaign.

The microsite offers a social platform that allows women to forget the out-dated ‘New Year’s Resolution and capture the sentiment of positivity in 2016.

One Word Declaration campaign refocuses the way people think about change this year. “We recognise that our involvement with our consumer needs to be an active, two-way exchange, giving women a voice to express themselves,” said Karen Ashley, head of sales for Triumph New Zealand and Australia. “Triumph knows that women need support in all senses of the word and this is why the One Word Declaration is so powerful to send women off into 2016 on a positive note.”

This year’s iD Dunedin Fashion Week’s premier catwalk show at the Dunedin Railway Station will feature iconic New Zealand designer Kate Sylvester. The renowned Aucklandbased designer will show her Autumn/Winter collection, ‘a Muse’ at both the Friday and Saturday shows. Sylvester also joins this year’s prestigious judging panel for the iD International Emerging Designer Awards and will give a public talk at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on art and fashion, focusing in particular on the influence of art on her collections. Her current collection is inspired by Picasso’s muses, infusing her signature silhouettes with a cubist eccentricity. “iD Fashion Week is a very prestigious and important event for New Zealand fashion,” said Sylvester.

“I am looking forward to participating and supporting our incredible South Island customers and retailers.”

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6 I February 2016

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news

LEADING MODEL SIGNS BIRTHDAY CAMPAIGN

PRADA LAUNCHES CSR WEBSITE

The Prada Group has announced the launch of a new website designed to communicate the company’s strict Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The website is home to an extensive range of case-studies, videos and images from past, present, and future. “A company, especially a big company, has to be aware of these big responsibilities, because it is impossible to set up a business that is just for your single interest,” said Carlo Mazzi, CEO, Prada Group. It is the first time the Prada Group have made its CSR available to the public, and is a move that sets an example for responsible production techniques for the industry.

In celebration of 20 years, Mimco announced it has signed international model, Damaris Goddrie, for the latest campaign, The Montage. Having walked for high-profile names including Balmain, Carven, Fendi, JW Anderson, Kenzo and Missoni, Goddrie brought to the table a wealth of experience. “With her inner strength and confidence, she personifies a woman walking to the beat of her own drum,” said Cathryn Wills, creative director, Mimco. The campaign was shot by Australian photographer Christian Blanchard in Mimco’s birthplace, Melbourne, and referenced elements from the mid ’90s to futurism. Since launching in 1996, Mimco has grown to over 110 stores across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and continues to grow its online footprint.

KLOSS FOR TOPSHOP

Topshop’s new position in fashion as a bridge between luxury and high street has seen its campaigns with top models like Gigi Hadid and Cara Delevingne receive high praise from fashion authorities. Now, the global brand has announced a new face for its global Spring Summer 2016 campaign, model Karlie Kloss.

Kloss models the Spring Summer collection in a series of images shot in New York by acclaimed photographer Tyrone Lebon and styled by Topshop creative director, Kate Phelan. “It is thrilling to have Karlie back, eight years after he first modelling job and first Topshop campaign alongside Jourdan Dunn,” said Phelan. “She is the ultimate Tophsop girl and modern super – a world-renowned fashion figure, businesswoman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who will resonate with our global customer through her many talents, ambitions and passions.”

EUPHORIA EMPOWERS WOMEN

Devoted to creating cutting edge clothing for the modern woman, kiwi fashion label Euphoria Design has launched its new ‘Confidence is Beautiful’ campaign featuring a nationwide Facebook competition looking for ten women who embody confidence to be a part of the campaign.

Winners will be invited to a photo-shoot in Auckland will model a complete Euphoria outfit from their exciting summer 2016 collection. The brand envisages entrants to be women who effortlessly represent the diversity of the Euphoria customer and are between sizes 10 and 24.

NEW PRODUCTS FROM FASHION INITIATIVE

Karen Walker has announced the release of two new tote bags and a clutch in conjunction with The United Nations’ ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative. The totes and clutch fell in line with Walker’s signature style, which featured heavy use of colour and Karen Walker iconography.

Walker began working with the Ethical Fashion Initiative in 2012, which was set up to create work in groups of micro-artisans around urban slums and rural areas of Africa. The group’s motto “not charity, just work” serves to promote sustainable business rather than aid dependency.

“Our clothes are designed to enhance the beauty and individual spirit of every woman,” said designer and owner of Euphoria Design, Monique Angus.

“Creating Euphoria for me is not just my job, my work has never been about having a career in fashion. It’s about believing in something, caring, empathising and wanting to create the best I can for my Euphoria customer. My designs celebrate every body and every body is beautiful.”

Contact us now to discuss your needs.

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news

STEPHEN TO SHOW IN MUNICH

Student Caroline Stephen has been invited to show some of her undergraduate collection at the upcoming Talente 2016 Exhibition in Munich. Currently studying at AUT in Master of Creative Technologies programme, Stephen has been awarded funding from Creative NZ to enable her to attend the event where she will be showcasing her seamless knitwear and knitted textiles that she has produced at AUT’s Textile and Design Lab. “The pieces are the result of an exploration into the merging of materials and experimental methods of crafting via digital knitting technologies,” said Stephen. The exhibition runs from 24 February to 1 March.

WEDGIE FIT FOR VINTAGEINSPIRED LOOKS

Levi’s has introduced a new fit for women, the Wedgie. This new, vintage-inspired women’s jean embodies the heritage of the iconic 505 jean with fit updates.

Inspired by vintage Levi’s jeans, the design team created the Wedgie fit to solve the familiar awkward bulge that can occur when trying on vintage jeans. With a high rise, the new Wedgie fit accentuates the waist and fits snug through the hips. A button fly completes this fit, channelling the aesthetic of the iconic Levi’s 501. The back pockets of the Wedgie jean are slightly tilted inwards adding the allure of the ultimate ‘mum-butt’. A cropped, slightly tapered leg and low stretch denim fabric create the lived-in feel of this new fit.

The style is also available in the Wedgie Short.

8 I February 2016

LINE UP REVEALED FOR FASHION WEEK MAJOR MAKEOVER FOR BARBIE

Mattel’s iconic doll has had a major makeover, continuing the brand’s expansion adding 23 new skin tones, a variety of hair colours and more importantly, Barbie has a flat foot, allowing her to ditch those heels. The new 2016 Barbie Fashionistas range see out with the old tall, thin, blonde, blue eyed doll and in with three new body shapes, tall, curvy and petite, over 20 eye colours, and 24 hairstyles. The 57-year-old doll also packs a major shoe game with the addition of sandals, sneakers and brogues.

A fresh new line-up for this year’s iD Dunedin Fashion Week includes Stolen Girlfriends Club, Zambesi, TUR, Julian Danger, and last year’s iD International Emerging Designer Awards winner Steve Hall. The week is heading into its 17th year and as well as the city’s iconic labels NOM*d, Carlson, Mild-Red, Company of Strangers, Dada Collection and Charmaine Reveley, the catwalk show held at Dunedin’s historic Railway Station will feature 13 other designers new to the event. “iD Fashion Week is not only a platform for showcasing our extraordinary designers from Dunedin, but also a runway where we want to show off breakthrough talent,” said iD Dunedin Fashion Week Committee Chair Cherry Lucas.

TECHNOLOGYnews

SMART RINGS ON THE MARKET

Forget smart watches, smart rings are the newest smart accessory on the market with the introduction of the Neyya wearable tech bling. Despite not letting you know when you get an email or being a contactless payment method or counting your steps, smart rings are essentially an accessory for executives who can’t be bothered to tap the left button on their mouse. The top of the ring acts as a tiny touchpad, allowing the user to swipe up, down, left and right to activate various functions on a laptop or smartphone. It will buzz you for calls and texts and can control the shutter on a phone camera.

CONSUMERS UP DIGITAL GAME

Latest research from global performance management company, Nielsen, has found that 3.1 million New Zealanders spend the equivalent of two working days online each week. Nearly three quarters use at least two devices on a weekly basis and nearly two in five use at least three. The report revealed 70 percent of online New Zealanders own a mobile device. More than two thirds own a smartphone and 33 percent own a tablet device, a fivefold increase since 2012. Close to two thirds of the NZ online population access digital content via a smartphone each week. “Smartphones have become a dominant player in providing brands with a tool to deliver online content and experiences to highly targeted audiences at highly intentional times,” said Tony Boyte, research director for Nielsen NZ. “This means more opportunity for advertisers to engage connected NZ consumers at precisely the right moment with the right message.”

KIWIS USING CONTACTLESS

The number of people using contactless payments has jumped over 20 percent compared to just a year ago, according to MasterCard research. The MasterCard survey of over 1000 New Zealanders found 85 percent of Kiwis have increased their use of contactless payments over the past year. Two thirds of New Zealanders are regularly using the technology citing that it is convenient and it saves time. Uptake of contactless technology has accelerated as people are using the technology to make small everyday purchases with 24 percent using it in retail shops. “New Zealand has been one of the fastest countries to adopt contactless technology, for the simple reason that it is easy, safe and fast,” said Peter Chisnall, country manager for MasterCard New Zealand. “Customers can simply tap their card on a contactless terminal and go.

The card remains in the customer’s hands at all times which improves speed and security of the transaction.”

Over a third of respondents say they get frustrated when retailers do not have contactless technology available.

NETFLIX AND CLOTHES?

A new subscription service allowing shoppers to stroll into favourite stores and rent musthave items, all for a monthly fee, has been an idea bounced around by retailers to keep customers coming into stores. According to a report by one of the world leading shopping centre, Westfield, renting clothes rather than buying them outright could become the norm in the UK in the near future. Research conducted by Westfield found that the idea is appealing to the millennial generation wanting to look stylish but not having the money to spend as often as they would like. “Consumers who have got used to a very disposable fashion-based economy where they are used to buying clothes every couple of months are now looking to be able to change clothes every couple of days, or even every day,” said Myf Ryan, chief marketing officer at Westfield in the UK and Europe. “We’re starting to see retailers thinking about how they can capitalise on this trend.” The future could see high street stores dedicating parts of their floor space to “rental” sections specifically for subscription paying shoppers. Success of companies such as Uber and Airbnb have enhanced the sharing economy idea with younger consumers.

L’OREAL MOVING INTO TECH SECTOR Global skincare brand L’Oreal have rolled out a digital UV tattoo at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The sticker measures UV exposure and connects with a smartphone to notify the wearer to put on sunscreen.

The personalised sun protection device has five layers of micron-thin electronics including near field communication capabilities. “Today you have a lot of NFCs in things like the hotel reader cards where it lets you open your hotel,” said Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oreal Technology Incubator, where My

NUTS&bolts

UV Skin was created. “This is going to be the future. I’m sure of it. The new wearables in the next few years will be all around being able to put things on your body.” It has been dubbed a second skin electronic wearable and the patch monitors how much UV exposure a person is getting on any given day and gives you personalised care recommendations based on your skin colour, tone, and type. It all connects to an app that analyses data from the patch’s sensors and determines how much UV exposure the person has received.

CHELSEA SIMPSON Chelsea Simpson recently moved to New Zealand in 2012 and started working for Stolen Girlfriends club as their production manager, graphic designer, textile designer and social media coordinator. She studied Applied Fashion Design and Technology in the Gold Coast where she was born and raised. At first, Simpson wanted to be an environmental scientist, however after studying chemistry and eco systems at university she decided that her ‘save the planet’ attitude was on a more personal level and left to pursue a degree in fashion the following year.

The variety and contrast of jobs available at Stolen Girlfriends Club is something Simpson really loves, from dealing with offshore suppliers to creative

control on yardage prints. “I love being able to work with such an amazing team and having various roles allows me to always be doing something different,” said Simpson. While working at Stolen Girlfriends Club, she has learnt not to take life so seriously. “My boss is a great example of that. I am a super organised person but sometimes things are out of my control, I have definitely grasped how to deal with that and how to focus on resolving issues rather than fixating on them. “When asked if she had any advice for someone wanting to get into fashion, Simpson said “Work hard, go for it and intern! There are so many behind the scene jobs in fashion such as production, that interning for labels allows you to witness first hand.”

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FOOTWEAR OFFERING EXPANDS

New Zealand menswear retailer, Barkers, has announced a range of five new styles have been added to its footwear offering. The new range includes the Boreland Leather Brogue, the Oxnam Leather Wingtip, the Parkin Leather shoe, the Broughton Dress shoe, and the Gordon Double Monk. Each style is available throughout all Barkers locations and is just another product in the new wave of choices coming from Barkers as it pushes to provide a full selection of lifestyle products for the modern menswear market.

NEW BRAND FOR MEN IN AUSTRALIA

Having only launched in 2015, sustainably-focussed menswear brand Outerknown has announced plans to launch into the Australian market

by April. The brand formed as a collaboration between eleven-time world champion surfer, Kelly Slater and acclaimed menswear designer John Moore, and is the product of a shared dedication to travel, water and the natural world.

Along with the Australian launch, Outerknown plans to sell into New Zealand through its Australian distributor.

MENSWEARnews

MCCARTNEY EXPANDS INTO MENSWEAR

DEPARTURES FOR EUROPEAN MENSWEAR

Following the introduction of a childrenswear line in 2010, Stella McCartney has introduced a menswear offering set to launch in June. McCartney initially cut her teeth in the menswear market when she worked with Edward Sexton on Savile Row before being appointed creative director at Chloe in 1997.

European menswear companies, Berluti, Brioni and the Ermenegildo Zegna Group have all announced the departure of key staff. Italian fashion house Brioni announced it would not be renewing the contract with creative director Brendan Mullane.

“Brendan’s passion, vision and charisma always emerged through his work and we are very grateful for his dedicated commitment to the company,” said Gianluca Flore, CEO, Brioni. Paris-based label Berluti announced the departure of its designer Alessandro Sartori, who had spent five years with the company. Additionally Stefano Pilati has left his role as head designer for the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, having joined the company only three years prior. Pilati worked previously for YSL before joining Zegna in 2013.

HUMAN ART FOR UNDERWEAR CAMPAIGN

ABOVE FROM LEFT: Stefano Pilati, Brendan Mellane, Alessandro Sartori

Five Minutes with CARL CLAUSEN

10 I February 2016

International football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, used his body as a blank canvas for the latest CR7 underwear campaign.

Now in its fifth season, the CR7 campaign featured various coloured powders being thrown onto Ronaldo, celebrating the message of the human body being a blank canvas.

“Colour can be powerful in inspiring people to come alive and express themselves, and clothing and fashion is a great way to do this. Our bodies are a blank canvas and underwear is the first thing we put on, so why not start the day well and add a splash of colour to your life.”

Having returned home from London and settling into Auckland, Karl Clausen has returned to Working Style, this time taking on the role of creative director. Clausen brings with him experience working with some of the world’s most esteemed brands, most notably Alfred Dunhill.

“The company was going through a dynamic change, with the current director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, Kim Jones, joining the company as creative director.

In my role I was working closely with Savile Row and Italian-based tailors as well as being able to see firsthand how Jones was crafting his collections and the influences around them,” said Clausen.

With no formal education in fashion, Clausen draws his knowledge from experience, having started in the business as a junior for the Christchurch independent store, Mr Sergios. Owner Craig Nicholas went on to teach Clausen the principles of successful retailing, exemplary service and beautiful clothing, all of which have followed him throughout his career.

“I eventually became manager and buyer for the store which enabled me to travel and buy both national and international tailoring and casual brands for the business.” It wasn’t long until Clausen found himself developing the Working Style brand in Christchurch, 2002, helping establish the flagship store while becoming heavily involved in the design process.

Upon returning to New Zealand, Clausen initially joined the ranks at Crane Brothers, before moving on to retail development manager at the Rembrandt Group in 2012, but the opportunity to return to a brand he knew and loved presented itself. “The chance to rejoin a company I knew very well and in such a senior role as creative director was in my mind a great opportunity to fully utilise all the skills and experiences I had accumulated since leaving for London. We have some really exciting ideas for the brand already in development and I look forward to seeing these come to fruition in the coming months.”

FOOTWEARnews CROWDFUNDING FOR A MASTER

Dunedin shoemaker Louise Clifton has launched a Boosted crowdfunding campaign in her efforts to bring a Master Japanese shoemaker to Dunedin to inspire a new generation of shoemakers. March will see Clifton present a Viewing and Exhibition of Master Takano Keitaro’s handmade shoes in Dunedin as an associated event of the iD Dunedin Fashion Week. Clifton currently runs Shoe School shoemaking workshops suitable for beginners from her central city Dunedin studio and is passionate about making shoemaking handskills accessible in New Zealand. “This is the most ambitious project I have taken on to date, and one that relies on the support of my wider community to enable it to happen,” said Clifton.

RETURN OF VINTAGE

Upgraded materials feature on Reebok’s iconic Club C 85 Vintage sneaker that has made its return to the market. The popular 80s model features injection moulded EVA enhancing cushioning and support, terry lining and a high abrasion rubber outsole. The original old-school style and shape is seen in the new release.

TOP SNEAKERS

CLASSIC MEN’S STYLES LAUNCHED

NIKE SUES SKECHERS AGAIN

Following a judge’s ruling in favour of Skechers last year in the Converse vs. Skechers lawsuit, Nike have filed yet another trademark lawsuit. The 14-page lawsuit includes infringement claims for Skechers styles, Burst, Women’s Flex Appeal, Men’s Flex Advantage, Girl’s Skech Appeal and Boy’s Flex Advantage, as well as all resemblances to Nike designs regardless of model name. Nike has also put forward consumer publication reviews that have highlighted design similarities.

In 2014, Nike-owned Converse claimed its Chuck Taylor brand had been infringed upon, however an administrative trade judge ruled last year it was not. Additionally, Adidas has sued Skechers for its Onix design, claiming the shoe mimics the Adidas Originals Stan Smith sneaker. No court date has been set for the Nike lawsuit.

SHOES THAT MOVE WITH YOU

Go Flex Walk is the latest addition to the Skechers range carefully crafted using key performance technology and materials specifically designed for athletic walking. The practical designs and striking colours will ensure Kiwi women can keep moving with ease and are on trend with the most up-to date activewear. The new lace up style, Ability, is versatile and offers the most innovative materials including Goga Mat Technology insoles with highrebound cushioning.

The shoe is also available in a slip on style.

Nike Air Jordan 1, 1985

Deuce sneakers introduced the latest addition to their line up of reimagined, classic men’s styles. The new sneaker has been designed with a thicker, ergonomically moulded version of running shoe technology “Dual-core”, the Norton and Jackman have been created from the ground up for a better fit for the consumer. Extra comfort is provided with the dual-density insoles and the engineered fibres allows for breathability. The shoe is machine washable and moisture wicking.

HALF CENTURY FOR SNEAKER BRAND

International athletic brand Vans celebrates its 50th anniversary in March and has produced its Sk8-Hi sneaker in 50 new colours. As the first hightop offered by the brand in 1977, the brand has since collaborated with Disney and The North Face, skyrocketing the style into icon status. New canvas colours in blush-tone leathers and playful prints like bananas and flowers have been introduced for the women’s collection and snakeskin-embossed leather, embroidered bandana detailing, woventextile accents and digital floral prints for the men.

Converse Rubber Shoe Company All Star/Non Skid, 1917

Nike Roshe Run

Adidas Stan Smith, 1980S

Adidas Yeezy Boost 350

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MANUKA HEALTH PLANS 10-YEAR CELEBRATION

BEAUTYnews COLLECTION WITH CAKE

To celebrate the launch of the new Collection Lasting Colour Lip Range, well-known cooks and sisters Julia and Libby and Amy’s Secret Kitchen created dessert inspired recipes inspired by their favourite colours.

The new collection is guaranteed to increase lip hydration by up to 20 percent and comes in 11 shades including seven gloss and four matte finishes. For lipstick inspired recipes visit www.apparelmagazine.co.nz.

#NOFILTER FOR SUSAN SARANDON

Adding to her long list of accolades, actress Susan Sarandon has been appointed brand ambassador and international spokesperson for L’Oréal’s Age Perfect line. “When L’Oréal Paris and [brand global president] Cyril Chapuy first approached me, I was so flattered,” Sarandon said. “The very first time I heard ‘Because I’m Worth It’, it definitely was a shift in the framing of why you should look good. It had to do with women becoming the master of their own lives and decisions. It’s an extremely powerful statement that has transcended time. I look forward to being older, when what you look like becomes less and less an issue and what you are is the point.”

To celebrate 10 years since the discovery of methylglyoxal in manuka honey, Manuka Health announced it will be flying in world-renowned scientist, Professor Thomas Henle. The German scientist and his team were the first to discover the compound, which led to the identification of manuka honey aside from the rest. Henle and his team are the world’s leading experts in manuka honey and have played a massive role in the development of New Zealand’s manuka honey industry. “We are grateful and excited that Professor Henle has agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to join us, and share his knowledge on the science behind manuka honey,” said Kerry Paul, chief executive, Manuka Health. Since the discovery of methylglyoxal, New Zealand manuka honey has been proven to have varied health benefits, attributed to the naturally occurring compound. The invitationonly event will be held in February, in which Professor Henle will break down the research behind his discoveries.

WRINKLE AWAY

LOVING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

Iconic global cosmetics company Revlon has unveiled its Choose Love campaign, the next phase of its Love Is On brand mission. Choose Love invites women around the world to believe in love, to let go of doubts and take a chance to make love happen. To introduce the global campaign, Revlon global brand ambassadors appear in TVC’s celebrating making bold moves toward love. “At Revlon, we have been thrilled with the response of women around the world who have eagerly embraced our Love is On mssion, and there is great excitement as we get ready to unveil our next big step, the Choose Love campaign,” said Lorenzo Delpani, CEO of Revlon.

MODEL TALKS Mary Maguet

12 I February 2016

Powered by the newly developed accelerated retinol SA, Neutrogena has released its new range of wrinkle repair products that boast 100 per cent results. The range includes an eye cream, serum, day moisturiser and night moisturiser, which when tested across two clinical trials reported a 100 per cent success rate for visible results.

Neutrogena developed the range surrounding the fast-acting and non-irritating accelerated retinol SA formulation, which is Neutrogena’s fastest acting form of retinol.

NEW ADDITION TO MELBOURNE RETAIL

The latest list of international brands opening in Melbourne’s CBD has seen the addition of skincare retailer Origani. Opening its first street store on Swanston Street in Melbourne’s CBD, leasing a 56sqm store that confirms international retailers prefer street side to shopping centres.

International model, Mary Maguet was scouted through her Aunty on a Sunday morning at her church. Maguet is still with her mother agency, RPD Models, and now Why Not Milan as well.

Since her first job doing an editorial for Black magazine, she quickly became one of the most saught after models in New Zealand. She was seen walking throughout fashion weeks and shows alike all year round. Maguet said her biggest achievement so far was modelling for Kiwi designer Karen Walker in one of her recent campaigns.

Maguet described herself as “blowing up” seeing her campaign everywhere in New Zealand, whether it was in-store, on websites, in local magazines, even her emails. When it comes to the fashion industry itself, she described New Zealand as a lot “more chilled” than overseas.

While in Milan, it was almost a matter of life or death for castings. Seeing the amount of stress so

many models were under going to see such big names, “knowing you are so close but so far from that dream job,” Maguet explained. Musicians like Quentin Miller and Skepta who are very grounded and humble inspire Maguet.

She is also inspired by her cousin Awak who is just so simply content with life, “She’s like that old wise turtle who’s forever teaching me new things about life without realising it and grips reality in such a way that it’s beautiful and sweet,” said Maguet.

Her dream job is to walk for Valentino and maybe meet Naomi Campbell. When asked if she had any advice for the new generation of models, Maguet said.

“I would say being confident in yourself, knowing your worth and defining it for yourself is important.

I don’t mean being egotistical but actually loving yourself enough that whatever comes your way whether it be a good job or bad job, you can still find the joy in the stress of things.”

from the archives

FROM THE ARCHIVES BRITISH COMMONWEALTH GAMES VICTORY HOSTESS UNIFORM DATE: 1974 DESIGNER: Jane Daniels MANUFACTURING LOCATION: Manufactured by Cantwell Creations, Christchurch GARMENT TYPE: Hostess uniform COLOUR: White, red and blue

In late 1973, a young New Zealand fashion designer, Jane Daniels, was announced the winner of a nationwide competition for the design of the ‘victory hostess’ uniforms to be used at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch the following summer. The role of these hostesses was pivotal in the plan of ‘The Games’ (as they were popularly known), as the victory hostesses were to carry the medals out to the victory ceremonies following the final of each event.

Applications to perform this role poured in from young women throughout the country. Among the victory hostesses eventually selected was Oamaru teenager Chris Garey who later described her role as “the experience of a lifetime”. She has maintained a strong link to this experience by taking up the opportunity to purchase her uniform immediately after The Games and has preserved it carefully for more than 40 years.

Jane Daniels’ competition winning entry was yet another triumph in the 20-year-old’s burgeoning career as a fashion designer and followed a string of such successes over the previous four years. These included two successive wins in the prestigious Apparel Cup, and three New Zealand Fashion Showcase awards, one of these a design for a Miss New Zealand gown to be worn on the international stage.

As for the design itself, Jane’s ‘total look’ for the victory hostesses’ uniform teamed perfectly with the stylised modernism of Colin Simon’s iconic games symbol, and was the outcome of a well grounded yet inspired approach to the competition brief.

Her ‘rationale of entry’ submitted to the competition, carefully outlined the core priorities of her design; it could well serve as a master class in strategic thinking. In discussing her priorities Jane took what may seem a surprising approach for a fashion designer by ranking practicality “most important of all”, noting that “some venues may be windy and both hands of the Victory Hostess will be holding the Victory Cushion”.

This clear-headed understanding of the physical context for which she was designing is again evident when she later notes that “The garment must be practical, distinctive, and easily recognisable from a distance”.

In this regard she demonstrated a strong understanding of the role that colour would play in her design by rejecting the use of colour prints that “would blur into colours other than those of The Games when seen at a distance”.

Here she stipulated that “white should predominate”, in order that the victory hostesses could be easily distinguished from the uniforms of the officials and also “stand out from the brown of the track and the green of the inner stadium”. This was no small consideration for this particular event. The Games were to be broadcast live and for the first time New Zealanders would be viewing them on colour television, a new technology in homes around the country.

Uniformity was also an essential quality of Jane’s design intentions and led to her decision that the hostesses would be more suitably kitted out in trousers rather than skirts. “It became evident that trousers would present a neat unbroken line,” she reasoned, “whereas the heights of the victory hostesses would differ slightly, thus varying skirt lengths and presenting not as tidy a picture”.

“Trousers”, Jane also successfully argued, “were acceptable as both day and evening wear”. Even the belt buckles were custom designed as part of her “total look”. A further priority of Jane’s planning was the task of ensuring that “the garment must be representative of New Zealand” and in addressing this, she turned to Maori culture for a cue noting, “I had only to look at Maori history and culture for inspiration………thus the modern representation of the traditional feathered cloak worn by Maori chieftains appears as the short cape.”

Jane’s cogent rationale was accompanied by a number of highly accomplished sketches, which combined to persuade the judges to award her the $250 first prize and see her designs feature as a production highlight of the Christchurch Games.

The uniforms were manufactured by Christchurch manufacturer Cantwell Creations, which were also sponsors of the victory hostess design competition.

Shortly after the Christchurch Games, Jane travelled to London where she spent a number of years developing her career as a fashion designer.

This included a very intensive year of training at the prestigious private fashion school founded by the highly acclaimed pattern maker, Natalie Bray. After returning to New Zealand she established her own Auckland based label, Jane Daniels, which continues to feature as a leading New Zealand fashion design label.

Words by Gavin O’Brien, Senior Lecturer in product Design at Otago Polytechnic School of Design, photo courtesy of Christine Garey. This article was previously published in The Otago Daily Times.

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ZOE & MORGAN

NOT FOR YOU

Drawing on inspiration from music and current events, Not For You clothing label has a bright future lined up for its founder Jerome Taylor.

Art has always played a huge role in Taylor’s life and at 19 he was offered the chance to have his artwork printed onto t-shirts and sold in a Wellington retailer. However, after finding out he wouldn’t get recognition for them, decided to launch his own label in 2014, Not For You. “I then got my designs into a local leading street wear retailer. After selling them for roughly three months I wanted to start changing the look of the t-shirts. I found a tailor who would customise the tops on my behalf,” said Taylor.

His first capsule collection was a sell-out.

Taylor’s earliest memory of fashion, or wanting to create something, was when he was 18 and he made stencils and started spray-painting canvases.

In 2015 he took part in the Resene Colour of Fashion and was nominated and selected for a Prime Minister scholarship, which meant he went to India for five weeks and learnt about the textiles industry, visited the factories where the fabric is made and met some of India’s top fashion designers. Taylor took part in his second fashion show of the year in front of a crowd of over 1500 people. Taylor is a huge fan of musician Pusha T, so began the Pusha T project when the musician performed in Wellington in January.

The project entailed designing two garments that were inspired by Pusha T’s latest album Darkest Before Dawn. The first garment was a lightweight, dark grey elongated t-shirt featuring extended sleeves, a black yoke and a triangular pattern, finished off with raw edges. Currently only selling online, the brand operates from a studio in Wellington and has had a lot of interest from a range of retailers regarding its new collection. Looking ahead, Taylor would like Not For You to be stocked in retail stores across the country.

14 I February 2016

The Zoe & Morgan brand started in 2005, just over ten years later the brand continues to look ahead and keep plans for the business dynamic and constantly evolving. The brand hopes to grow in a few different exciting directions and have come a long way since its inception, building around its core values, love of travel, freedom and adventure to deliver a consistent, beautiful product.

“I was a milliner for Rachel Skinner in London, Morgan worked in the music industry and Ruth was a model. What brings us together is the fact we are a family business, two sisters and one brother, Morgan,” owner Zoe said. Zoe & Morgan have two Flagships, one in New Zealand and one that Ruth runs in London.

Both grew up in the UK and emigrated by sea to New Zealand, travelling through Jamaica, Tahiti, Panama and Japan on the way before settling in the North Island of New Zealand. They haven’t studied fashion, however.

LASCULPTE

Designer Linda Huang brings to the LaSculpte table over 10 years’ experience in the apparel industry along with the drive to fix a problem faced by many mothers. Following her first pregnancy in 2012, Huang needed shapewear to boost her confidence.

“I found it really hard to find decent shapewear at an affordable price. They are either too firm, too light, or too old fashioned,” said Huang.

“We’ve always been creative and interested in finding beauty in the world. We study and live the art of happiness, adventure and antiques are a huge source of inspiration for our designs.” Zoe describes the brand aesthetic as feminine with a masculine edge; subtle detailing, and jewellery with meaning.

“We love working with really unique stones, sometimes a piece is inspired by the stone to begin with and we create the design to fit the stone.” They draw inspiration from natural stones, and love blue and green colours found in chrysoprase and sapphires.

“We have different kinds of customers all over the world – but overall our customers are lovely, interesting people with an appreciation for the unique.” While the pair aren’t actively searching for new stockists, Zoe & Morgan both keep an eye on hot new stores.

For more details contact nicky@zoeandmorgan.com for the southern hemisphere and personalshopper@ zoeandmorgan.com for the northern hemisphere.

After a second pregnancy in 2015, Huang decided she need to start exercising again to get back into shape. To her surprise, Huang struggled to find any active wear with enough coverage to give her the confidence to return to the gym. “I wanted to incorporate shaping into active wear to give myself extra confidence about my body. It makes me thing that there must be thousands of mums that have encountered the same situation as me,” said Huang.

With that, LaSculpte was born. Having already begun sourcing fabrics in 2012, Huang took to the drawing board and begun designing, her first creation being the everyday jacquard shapewear.

“LaSculpte was created to provide fashionable, appealing and comfortable active shapewear to give women the confidence with their own body shape, a confidence that extends into their exercise plan.”

Huang cited Lorna Jane as one of her biggest influences and explained how she would like to develop LaSculpte into a household name, creating premium products at an affordable price, with the addition of shaping swimwear in Spring/Summer 2016.

POM POM PARTY

Originally started as a project for fun in 2015, Pom Pom Girls International has developed into a functioning accessories brand jumping from strength to strength.

Led by artist and fashion design student, Katie Rose Clausen, Pom Pom Girls International has shifted Clausen’s thoughts on the fashion industry and is what inspired her pursue fashion design. “I come from an illustration background, and I used to study fine arts. I was missing a sense of challenge and excitement, so I decided to change my studies and do something I had absolutely no idea about. Now I study a Bachelor of Fashion Design and Business,” said Clausen.

From a young age Clausen was obsessed with books, and would love to bring them to life. She would hand-stitch Robin Hood outfits, style Little House on the Prairie photoshoots and make tinfoil masks to be like The Thief Lord.

“Being an artist first and foremost has always helped me, and the creation of colour palettes and texture is my strong point. Building that inherently quirky side is what Pom Pom Girls International is all about.” While Pom Pom Girls International is currently functioning as a side business, the plan is to develop the brand further than accessories so it can function as the sole financial income for Clausen.

“I plan to open a Pom Pom Girls International online store, making the brand accessable to an international market. And like any creative person, I’m always looking to figure out new ideas for improving and developing my product.”

RYAN META

Photographer turned fashion designer, Ryan Meta is making a name for himself in the New Zealand fashion scene having successfully put together his inaugural collection, Don’t Call Me. After being selected for the scholarship class while completing the Kingsize Studios Assistant Bootcamp, Meta knew Auckland was where he needed to be, and supported by the team at Kingsize, he moved to the city to pursue his creative dreams. Meta’s journey into fashion was sudden, realising late one night while mopping the floor that he could apply his creative vision to clothing.

“I drew random objects like cell phones, alien heads and palm trees, scanned them into the computer and coloured them in on Photoshop. I brought a huge pack of iron transfer paper, printed my illustrations onto the paper and ironed them onto anything I could find,” said Meta. To his surprise, Meta gained significant interest in his work and moved on to print designs on tote bags, with the help of The Bridge The Gap Project.

“The project helps disadvantaged teens go from surviving to thribing – a project that I am the core co-collaborator of.” The Grace Jones printed tote bag gave Meta the focus to develop his Don’t Call Me collection, which has now been developed.

Moving forward, Meta plans to open stores here and overseas, introduce collaborative projects and develop the brand into a medium that supports and celebrates fresh creative talent.

MUMU

Having only recently launched in early 2016, designers Lara Jane and Keli Dierings are attempting to fill a hole in the market and develop MUMU into the go to destination for yoga mats.

Jane and Dierings developed the idea for MUMU in response to a lack of selection in the market. They both had spent time in Bali on different yoga retreats and were shocked when they returned home and couldn’t get a yoga mat to fit each of their personalities. “That’s when we realised there was an opportunity to design our own range of yoga mats – really beautiful ones that represent our unique fabulousness,” said Jane.

While Jane and Dierings have no formal education in design or fashion, the passion for yoga drives each of them to seek out original ideas and develop new products for their likeminded customers.

“Though our lead product is yoga mats, this has definitely opened the door to designing other yoga related clothes. We would love to work with designers to get their ideas to market. All in good time though,” said Jane. Like many of the new brands coming through, MuMu is sold exclusively through its online store but, if the right retailer would to approach the brand, Jane and Dierlings said it would be up for consideration.

“Ultimately, we would like to invest the profits from MUMU into social enterprises, commercially viable businesses that support a social cause as part of its core purpose,” said Jane. While it goes without saying, both girls draw their influence from the practice of yoga, Jane and Dierings also look to market influences including Rachel Brathen and brands including Lululemon for guidence as to what the pair should be working towards, and what the market is demanding. “Our goal is to be in a yoga class and be surrounded by beautiful yoga mats.

All women need a beautiful yoga mat,” said Jane.

FRED

Fashion was always on Elise Hislop’s radar. Even as a little girl, she would draw fashion collections in secret notebooks. “This included everything from clothing to hats to shoes. Nothing was spared,” said Hislop. In her early teenage years, she got into modelling and is still modelling at 62 Models. Her interest in jewellery has always been present, as she has always fixed old jewellery or changed an odd thing here and there to create something new. If it had a random feature she wasn’t in favour of - consider it gone.

The first piece she ever made when she was younger was a small chain choker made from pieces of other old jewellery. The young designer is currently still at university studying a Bachelor of Design at AUT. ‘Fred’ was created on Instagram just over four months ago, @FredWearNZ. She steals inspiration from celebrating summer, bright colours, hi-cut togs and everything that a kiwi summer provides. This year’s goal is to see Fred on more people. Now with her own online store, she is rapidly gaining pace and looking to expand her collection further. However, she still wants to be stocked in retail stores.

“Online is one thing, but you can’t beat a good retail experience.”

Hislop looks forward to the big year ahead with plans to collaborate with other artists. Whether it’s a photo shoot or a music video or an exhibition, she is excited to work with other creatives to create more beautiful things. For more information, contact elisehislop@gmail.com.

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Motion of the

colour trending

Ocean It makes up 71 percent of the earth’s surface, and is the subject of much speculation, but the ocean also served as the inspiration behind some of the most well received looks from the 2016 Spring Couture shows. The garments were blue, translucent and billowing, some going as far as to emulate the waves crashing against the rocks.

Pictured on the mood board of Ulyana Sergeenko’s Spring collection was eccentric Russian noble, Nikolay Yusupov, who would reportedly stroke his fish pieced with gold earrings, driving Sergeenko to contemplate the idea of scales and water as an undertone for her pieces. The result was a textured, natural toned collection that drew in various aqua themed influences including a colour comparable to Resene Unwind.

Another to experiment with texture was Armani Prive, who layered elements of translucent chiffon similar in colour to Resene Abbey Road in order to achieve an ethereal affect, allowing for the sections to dance as the model walked down the runway. The collection was said to be designed for the red carpet, as much of the couture gowns are.

The biggest take from the ocean influence was in the use of sheer fabrics. Zuhair Murad presented a floor length embroided chiffon gown in a slight blue tone akin to Resene Morepork. The delicate embroidered flowers looked as if they floated on the surface of the chiffon base, much like a leaf would float on water.

Opting for a darker palette, both Elie Saab and Hermes presented gowns in a deep blue, one similar to Resene Gypsy Queen and another comparable to Resene Submerge, a fitting name as it looks as though it was plucked from the depths of the ocean.

While the audience sat in anticipation for what would be presented, the Christian Dior house, in absence of a creative director, succeeded in putting together a show that was completely in line with the brand image. Lucie Meier and Serge Fuggieux were named as the heads of studio, following the abrupt departure of Raf Simons, creative director, and Pieter Mulier, who served as Simons’ second-hand man. Meier and Fuggieux, backed by a young creative team, looked at the existing Dior themes and expanded on them, introducing a colour parallel to Resene Breathless and implementing it on a multi-textured floor length dress with the addition of a sheer bottom.

The darkest colour presented in the line-up was Schiaparelli’s almost-navy floor length gown akin to Resene True Blue, a colour that belongs in the deepest corners of the ocean where mystery lives. It was Bertrand Guyon’s second couture collection with the Schiaparelli brand, to which he attributed the dark under-tones of the collection to the Paris terrorist attacks of last November.

16 I February 2016

Schiaparelli RESENE True Blue

Hermes RESENE Submerge

Armani Prive RESENE Abbey Road

Colours available from

Resene ColorShops www.resene.co.nz

0800 737 363

Zuhair Murad RESENE Morepork Ulyana Sergeenko RESENE Unwind

Oscar De La Renta RESENE Half Kumutoto

Christian Dior RESENE Breathless

Elie Saab RESENE Gypsy Queen

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photoshoot

PHOTOGRAPHER: Caitlan Mitchell MODEL: Mary at RPD Models GARMENTS: Maggie Marilyn’s 2015 Trans-Seasonal Collection Shot at KINGSIZE STUDIOS

18 I February 2016

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education

STUDENT LIFE

This year is set to be a big one for some of New Zealand’s top graduates and current students. iD International Emerging Designer awards prove yet again to be a key event in students diaries to have their collections in front of the fashion industry’s eyes along with significant changes for the NZ Institute of Fashion Technology to better align itself with new NZ Qualification standards.

“What we have found over the years is that no longer is the industry one that is as structured and constrained as it used to be. The career path for graduates is as diverse as they are. Therefore education should be diverse to allow them to grow and flourish in their careers and allow them to assist the fashion industry to meet all the new challenges that are being thrown at them constantly,” said Val Marshall-Smith, academic director, NZ Institute of Fashion Technology. Apparel spoke to Kiwi students and graduates about why they love the industry and where they see themselves going forward, along with speaking to each Brother sewing machine recipient, sponsored by Walker Sotech.

FINALISTS NAMED IN TOP AWARDS

Finalists in this year’s prestigious iD International Emerging Designer awards include thirty-nine up-and-coming designers from around the globe.

Selected from a pool of more than 150 entries from 15 countries, the finalists will vie for top prizes in the 12th annual awards, supported by the Otago Polytechnic, which represent Australasia’s only international emerging fashion competition.

This year’s selection committee, made up of Kiwi fashion designers Denise L’estrange-Corbet, Adrian Hailwood, Tanya Carlson and Company of Strangers’ Sara Munro, said the overall standards of entries is the highest yet and choosing a limited pool of finalists was extremely difficult. iD committee chair Cherry Lucas said finalists can look forward to fantastic networking opportunities alongside a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be critiqued by some of the world’s most influential fashion leaders. This year’s judging panel includes international guest designer Emilia Wickstead. The full list of finalists can be found on our website.

Grace Redgrave: Massey University

It was a big year for Grace Redgrave, who finished 2015 in top position at Massey University. Redgrave was awarded a new Brother sewing machine supplied by Walker Sotech as a means of kick-starting her career in the fashion industry.

“I am going to spend some time in the Outback to absorb myself in a more remote culture, then India is my next pit stop. I’m looking for a brand or organisation to work with for my masters in June which I intend to find in India,” said Redgrave.

Equipped with the support of Massey University, Redgrave will take her zerowaste design methods around the globe, teaching and learning about various methods of sustainable fashion. “I want to be situated between here and an Eastern country overseeing the production and teaching of skills that we can share with the Western market. I will be living in as many worlds as possible, driving a company towards conscious, ethical and zero-waste design,” said Redgrave.

THIS YEAR’S KIWI FINALISTS ARE:

TIA FENG – Auckland University of Technology NICOLA LUEY – Auckland University of Technology BENJAMIN FARRY – Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design KINGKANG CHEN – Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design SARAH PARKER – Massey University Wellington SOPHIE COLLIER – Massey University Wellington ANDREA SHORT – Otago Polytechnic BRITTANY POOLEY – Otago Polytechnic SHELBY TUINMAN-BELL – Otago Polytechnic SOPHIE BALL – Otago Polytechnic

Rebecca Tannant:

New Zealand Fashion Tech

Twenty-four-year-old Wellington winner from New Zealand Fashion Tech, Rebecca Tannant, grew up in the Wairarapa and attended Kuranui College where she mainly took art classes.

“I don’t remember an exact time I became interested in fashion. I’ve always been a creative person, and have always wanted to create beautiful things,” Tannant said.

As a child she remembers designing dresses and outfits which developed as she got older and started developing her own style.

Growing up, Tannant cared more about making things look good than anything else. Her primary school teachers often wrote in her school reports that she was very creative but often spent far too much time on the presentation of her assignments rather than the actual content, and not much has changed since then. Before

20 I February 2016

education

attending New Zealand Fashion Tech two years ago, she couldn’t even sew on a button. Tannant currently works part time with designer Sharon Craig, who creates “beautifully feminine and form flattering” designs with vintage fabrics.

“I love it. It’s great to learn from someone that has so much knowledge and is willing to teach me all the tricks of the trade.” Tannant’s favourite designers include Alexander McQueen, Boston designer Ashley Rose Couture, New Zealand designers D’monic Intent, and Flo Foxworthy. Tannant believes workmanship and passion makes a quality article of clothing.

“The designer has to love what they create and I think a quality article of clothing should reflect that.” As a fashion designer, what matters to Tannant the most is just creating beautiful things. “I may not ever become rich doing what I want to do but as long as I am able to make things I’ll be happy, it’s my passion.

“I get carried away when I design something; my ideas are often bigger than my abilities. I get frustrated when I can’t figure out how to do something, but I think my favourite part is when I can turn that idea into reality.” She prefers both sketching designs and actually constructing them. “I like the whole process of it. It’s amazing to draw up an idea and then create something beautiful from that, it’s hugely satisfying.

“I want to continue to learn and further my skills, I want to learn as much as I possibly can so I am not restricted by my lack of knowledge. I would love to learn bridal couture techniques. I want to travel and explore the world’s fashion and one day have my own little brand that allows me to create and sell amazing and beautiful things. Attending Fashion Week would be amazing.” For her New Zealand Fashion Tech collection, Tannant took inspiration from Victorian Gothic mourning attire.

“I think inspiration can come from anything as simple as fabric and colour to architecture, past eras and music. You could look at just about anything and take inspiration from it.” Tannant likes to use a lot of black in different textures at her collection shows, but she also loves vibrant reds and dusky pinks, greys, greens, and florals. Her favourite fabric to work with is lace.

“It’s beautiful and elegant but can be hard to work with, same with leather and velvet. Generally the fabrics I love are the hardest to work with but I like different textures.” Her dream job is to work for someone who will allow her to learn from them and pick their brain, and help her grow as a designer.

“I still think New Zealand has a lot to offer me and I’m still learning.”

Kasanita Nai: New Zealand Fashion Tech

New Zealand Fashion Tech student Kasanita Nai’s interest in fashion started when she was in high school, after choosing to take fabrics, one of her subject options.

“I am a quiet person when I’m around a new crowd until I get to know them. I am friendly, considerate and understanding. I love to blog inspirations and sometimes my daily interest. “I love shopping and visualising styles on clothes, it gives me a lot of ideas. I love working out and training with family and friends when I get the chance to. I come from a Christian family and attending church commitments is very important to me. My family also plays an important role in my life,” she said.

Some of Nai’s favourite designers are Trelise Cooper, Karen Walker, Zambesi, Ruby, Huffer and Lower. She believes that fabric and colour makes a good quality article of clothing. “As a fashion designer, quality matters to me the most because people would return with good feedback.

“I love to get my inspiration online,” she said. Nai’s favourite part about conceptualising a design is constructing the design together, and “knowing what you’re doing.” She prefers both sketching designs and constructing, but mostly

Designer: Julia Palm; Photographer: Amy Pollitt Models: Shanghai University of Engineering Science; Photographed in Shanghai, China.

Stephanie Lee

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I 21

education constructing them. Some of Nai’s fashion goals are experiencing and gaining more working skills. “My favourite colours to work with would be natural and light colours depending on what I can make with it. “I like to work with linen because it’s light weight and easy to work with. It also comes out with a great look.”

Depending on what overseas can offer, Nai potentially sees herself moving overseas once graduating. Her dream job would be travelling around the world doing work for a designer, exploring and experiencing more about fashion in the industry.

Maggie Hewitt: Whitecliffe

Withams’s journey to fashion begun at Papatoetoe High School, where he was struggling to perform academically. Sewtec worked with the school to engineer a plan for Witham to stay in school, but focus his attention on achieving a level 3 certificate in industrial sewing. After finishing level 3, Witham stayed with Sewtec, going on to complete both the pattern making programme and the fashion design programme. These two courses opened up a world of opportunities for Witham, who by now had completely fallen in love with the industry.

“Sewtec have very supportive tutors who push you to unlock your creativity. You are never too young or too old to enter the world of fashion. If you have a passion, there are excellent opportunities out there.”

Angela Hug: NZ Fashion Tech

Maggie Hewitt believes her great appreciation for the environment stems directly from growing up in the rural Bay of Islands. Being the eldest of four girls, Hewitt says her family has an extremely close bond that holds them together. Her parents own their own business, so she always knew she wanted to be self-employed.

“I have had a love for beautiful clothing for as long as I can remember, but my love for fashion truly developed at Whitecliffe, once I gained a deeper understanding of the whole process of designing and making a conceptual collection.”

Hewitt is passionate about sustainable and ethical fashion. She believes it cannot be morally right to produce clothing that has such a negative impact on the environment. She also believes it is possible to make beautiful and innovative designs that are sustainable and ethical while respecting everyone involved in the supply chain at the same time. It is impeccable to bring about a new generation of lasting change designers and a new breed of consumers that are conscious of the effects of mass consumption on our planet.

The young graduate believes it’s the little things that make all the difference, “Using quality fabrics is a must and taking the time to beautifully finish a garment whether it be binding the seams or lining a garment in pure silk,” Hewitt explains.

Her favourite part of conceptualising a design is creating a fluid story that flows through her designs. Hewitt aims to tell a story and have a concept behind each design. Hewitt prefers to sketch the designs rather than construct them, however, in learning how to pattern make and construct garments, this has pushed her to become a better designer and believes the skill set to construct a garment is invaluable.

TJ Witham: Sewtec Fashion Academy

Angela Hug has a long history of crafts and creation, having learnt how to knit and crochet at the age of 9. Hug was born in Ghana, to a Swiss father and Ghanaian mother, before relocating to Switzerland at the age of four.

“I grew up in Switzerland where I worked in a lot of different fields, from kindergarten teacher to federal tax agent,” said Hug. With a burning desire to pursue fashion, Hug packed up her life and moved to New Zealand, fulfilling a 10 year dream to explore this country. “I quit my job as a tax accountant, sold my things and came over to New Zealand with a dream and an unexplainable passion for a country I had never been to.” Finding her way to New Zealand Fashion Tech, Hug began a new journey towards a career in fashion.

During her time studying, Hug learnt the importance of accuracy, research and foresight when it comes to producing quality work, along with the skills required to execute designs that had previously only lived in her head. “The best part is the feeling of excitement about a new creation and the testing and experimenting that happens to make it perfect.” Hug draws her inspiration from whatever she can see, feel, smell and hear, taking the smallest detail and expanding on it to create something that is entirely new.

“I enjoy different colours for different things. There is no such thing as a favourite colour. The same goes with fabric, every fabric has its benefit. Some are hard to handle, but gorgeous, where as some are easy to handle, but dull.” Having established herself in the industry already, Hug is now working for esteemed knitwear company Manukau Knitting Mills where she plans to stay and help develop the company as well as her skills.

Melissa Wise: Wintec

Having left school early to pursue a career in fashion, Sewtec Fashion Academy student TJ Witham has been awarded the Top Designer Award at Manukau En Vogue and been accepted to continue his education at the Southern Institute of Technology. “I’m so excited, this is the stuff of dreams,” said Witham.

As part of the award for coming out best designer of his year, Witham was awarded a new Brother automatic sewing machine provided by Walker Sotech NZ, and the opportunity to intern at a Parnell based fashion studio.

22 I February 2016

Being born creative is a perk many aspiring fashion designers have, but Wintec student, Melissa Wise, brings to the table a continuous drive to deliver unique collections season to season. Wise grew up in a household of three brothers, being

education forced to entertain herself by dressing her dolls, and eventually creating new clothing for them. “My house was filled with an abundance of things I can create with. Crafts, fabrics, cameras, paints. Being hands on is a big part of my life,” said Wise. While Wise considers herself a typical girl, she admits her brothers have had a big influence on her, teaching her how to use a rifle, ride a motorcycle and instilling in her the love of the outdoors.

“I’m an outside of the box kind of person. I like Alexander McQueen and Josh Goot, but I’m also drawn to the really pretty things like an Ellie Saab dress.”

Stepping away from the norm, Wise often avoids the use of black, with her graduate collection being the first time she had ever used it. “Colours make you smile and want to skip and twirl, and I like that feeling. The more prints and colours together, the better.”

Her graduate collection landed her top position amongst her year, and in reward was given a new Brother sewing machine sponsored by Walker Sotech. While Wise plans to stay in New Zealand as she works on her first collection, the plan is to build an internationally recognised brand that she can showcase in Milan, Paris and New York. “I have a short term goal of mobbing to Melbourne, it is a very vibrant, creative city that I think I could flourish in.”

Kimberley Ruwhiu: AUT

As part of the new wave of sustainable focussed fashion designers, Kimberley Ruwhiu is looking to her upbringing for the drive to tackle the fashion industry.

“I can’t remember a time when fashion didn’t excite me. When I was young, mass produced fashion hadn’t quite caught on yet. Homemade clothing was economical and I spent a lot of my time watching my mother sewing,” said Ruwhiu.

Now a mother herself, Ruwhiu looks to her two daughters for continuous inspiration and motivation to push forward. Challenges are also a great motivator, offering up a unique problem to spark innovative thought.

“I have always believed in ethical fashion, and as a fashion student I need to broaden my understanding of what ethical fashion is and how I can be part of the industry.”

Her time on the farm, along with raising two girls while studying has equipped Ruwhiu with the resilience to handle the fashion industry, along with the help of friends, family and lecturers.

“I would like to showcase true New Zealand fashion potential, and incorporate some of my heritage in the process. Ideally I would love to express myself while giving back to the community.”

Between the ethical approach to fashion, and an eye for true style, Ruwhiu secured her position as one of the top students in 2015, being awarded a new Brother sewing machine, sponsored by Walker Sotech, to help get her started in the fashion industry.

With plans to travel on the horizon, Ruwhiu is always looking for new opportunities to grow and believes all good designers must experience as much of the world as possible.

of thinking is engrained in me and is translated in design by beginning with a philosophy or questions that drives each collection.”

Bray keeps three things at the forefront of her design process, innovation, sustainability and wearability, keeping in mind her unwavering passion for advocating change. This strong approach to design is what landed her the top position in her year, which came with the prize of a new Brother sewing machine sponsored by Walker Sotech.

“My last collection focussed on the idea of attraction and repulsion in the Corpse Flower, a plant that omits a rotting odour when in bloom; representing how something that from a distance is so beautiful, and no so much when viewed up close.”

This year Bray will return to Otago Polytechnic for her Honours year, an opportunity Bray said is designed to develop her aesthetic and extend her knowledge in design, pattern cutting and sustainable fashion.

“My plans are to develop a brand that encourages environmentally friendly and ethical practices. Alternatively I would love to work for some of my favourite designers to gain experience and develop my understanding of the industry.”

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Ariane Bray: Otago Polytech

With an early love of fashion, Ariane Bray’s journey to the fashion industry began inside her beloved childhood dress up box. From here, Bray went on to develop her style by picking up and changing clothes found at op shops as a teenager.

“I never wanted to dress like everyone else. It wasn’t until I finished high school and spent a semester at art school that I realised fashion design was my true interest and something I could make a career out of,” said Bray.

Having moved from England when she was 11, Bray uses her British upbringing and melds it into her work, finding aesthetic synergy between suburban England and the Dunedin countryside.

“I studied art, and always thought I would be an artist. This conceptual way

www.sewtec.ac.nz (09) 250-1515 apparelmagazine.co.nz

I 23

KEYpiece

CHOKER

As we know, fashion is a series of cycles, but what makes an item classic is when it has an undoubtedly rich history. While relatively new, the choker necklace already has a colourful past having launched onto the market as a symbol of high fashion in the late 19th century, then associated with Ballerinas.

From here the choker took a darker path, being linked to prostitution and sometimes lesbianism in the Depression era, along with slavery in the Middle Ages.

Like most trends, the choker fell out of fashion before being revived in the 90s, and now rising again as a popular accessory choice. The choker’s illustrious history brings with it an edgy attitude that ensures the customer is apart from the crowd and continues to fuel the endless popularity. As with most revisited trends, you can see the modern interpretation of the choker fabricated in various different materials.

Leather, lace, gold, silver, ribbon and jewels are all on the cards as designers look to make their design stand out amongst a style that can so easily become very same-same.

Local designers Cathy Pope and Louise Thomson have both put on the market their own take on the choker necklace, while high-end labels including Balenciaga and Oscar de la Renta have put on the market various luxury options.

TRENDwatch

LOVE IS IN THE AIR Like with most holidays, retail sales spike over Valentine’s Day with men and women flocking to the store in order to get their loved one something special. Its influence is undeniable, Valentine’s Day penetrates every corner of the consumer market and leaves its little pink stamp across every product and service imaginable.

Statistics show 62 percent of Canadian and American consumers will purchase Valentine’s Day related gifts and products, specifically within the categories of chocolate, flowers, jewellery and lingerie.

While lingerie is a dead give-in for a Valentine’s Day treat, it’s the world of accessories that is treated to the most influence. Of the $18.9 billion spent in 2015, $50 million was spent on Jewelry, coming second only to $52.2million spent on flowers.

Hearts, lips, pink and red saturate the accessory market ranging from eyewear right through to dog costumes, all brought on by one day of celebrations.

24 I February 2016

House of Holland have lip shaped sunglasses, while Lonely Hearts have its own Kissing Tee. “For brands that aren’t household names, it’s a great chance to interact with consumers.

At this happy time of year, people are more open to trying new things,” said Trevor Clough, founder, Digby Fine English.

Sunglasses Hut went as far as to dedicate an entire campaign to the day, featuring British model and daughter of rock-star Mick Jagger, Georgia May Jagger in its Shades of You advertisements.

Internationally Valentine’s influence can be seen on the Suzywan Heart Choker, or the ASOS heart printed briefs, not to mention the influx of red in every day garments.

Gimmick items make their way onto the scene as well, ranging from the Paperchase Valentines Sequen Lips Hot Water Bottle cover through to a giant lip shaped iPhone cover. For consumers and retailers alike, Valentine’s Day offers the opportunity to break away from the mould, discovering new brands or products otherwise ignored or unknown.

RETAILeye

SUIT SOURCE Following a rebrand in 2014, Mike Quartly moved his Mt Eden suit hire company to Parnell, building the Suit Source name and developing into a fully equipped formal menswear retailer. Originally Exclusive Suit Hire, Quartly decided he wanted to shift away from suit hire, and instead focussed on developing his retail presence and Suit Source branding.

“I did my tenure in Mt Eden, and looked at moving to Britomart or High Street, but I’ve always liked the feeling of Parnell. The village environment while being so close to the CBD is great for business.

Parnell and the Suit Source brand seem to fit perfectly.

And it has worked, foot traffic has been incredible, my turnover has doubled,” said Quartly.

The move to Parnell has been instrumental in the development of Quartly’s retail business, who now trades almost 50/50 hire and retail, as opposed to 80 percent hire under the previous name. Quartly explained how Instagram has helped him reach a new audience of customers, being able to interact and draw interest in the store and is a firm believer in its effectiveness as a business tool.

“It used to be a personal account and I moved it to being a Suit Source account. It’s a really strong piece of technology for branding and advertising. Whether it be a dog I’m house sitting for, or a really stylish suit, it helps develop the brand image.”

Before acquiring Exclusive Suit Hire, Quartly started his retail career working for companies including Barkers and Working style, to which he identified a gap in the market for men in the middle who want to look great, have a tailored suit but don’t feel the need to spend thousands to get it.

“With suits these days, most guys are wearing one to work, so they’re going to need three or four in the closet. If you’re dropping thousands for a suit it gets really expensive.”

Quartly includes in his purchase price an unlimited number of alterations to ensure the perfect fit, removing the hidden costs from buying a suit.

“What a lot of people don’t understand is when you buy a suit, it does need to be tailored. You will look a lot better for it. I’m trying to take the hidden costs away, I want to make the customer look good.”

Although the Suit Source brand is still new, Quartly is already looking to bring new experiences to his customers and is currently in the process of developing a barber shop to run from within the store.

“Parnell has a lot of salons and I wanted to build a simple, no fuss, name on a chalkboard barber for local guys who need a hassle free barber. I just thought it’s such a cool space here, why not?”

While it may seem like the natural progression is to open more outlets, Quartly prides himself on being active with the customers and is happy developing a loyal following at the Parnell location.

“I like the cake I’m baking here, I’m happy with the store. I don’t want to be the big chain, it’s not the Suit Source brand, and I’m happy doing it. It’s a niche market, and I like to be close to the customers. I want them to be able to come in just to say hi.”

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I 25

behind the business

industry according to ROBYN HALL Managing Director, High Society Ltd

My beginnings in the Fashion Industry were more than 51 years ago when I applied for the position of House Model with the then Society Fashion Ltd. I was interviewed by Bill Hall and Peter Nola. After ascertaining I was the right size, they asked about my schooling and were blown away when I had UE – neither of them had an academic background and were not even sure what University Entrance was.

Then the secretary was sent in to check my underwear was clean and without holes – yes we wore “slips” in those days, along with suspenders and stockings. I passed muster.

Not long after I joined, Bill set up his own media campaign which would certainly have been the equivalent of Facebook. He would have me dress in the latest look – Courreges boots and Mondrian minidress for instance, and I paraded up Queen Street window shopping in the hope that either the Herald or Auckland Star photographer would find me. We imported pantyhose to wear with minis. About once a month a photo would be published of me with the latest look, from Big Zipper, to crochet collars, to colourful raincoats. The raincoats were the subject of a legal battle, Bill’s description to the fabric supplier was that the “Water pissed in, and the colour pissed out”. Never a dull moment when Bill and Peter were around.

After ten fairly tumultuous years in the business I married the boss. To anyone who knew Bill, not such a coup! He promised life would never be boring, and perhaps that is the only promise he kept.

However we had more than forty years of exhilarating married life before Bill passed away at the age of ninety two years ago. In the late 1980s Bill retired to run his gamefish charter business on

ACCESSORY ALERT

ZORA + WALTER CROW

26 I February 2016

Te Ariki Nui and I took over High Society Ltd. The fashion business has always been a business about change, and over such an extensive period of time I have certainly seen a few. The proliferation of Australian, and now global chain retailers in New Zealand has brought an unprecedented level of competition, along with the loss of trade barriers to importing clothing from Asia. During all this time we have steadfastly remained New Zealand manufactured. This has meant we have had to remain very focussed on our market segment, and be very aware of price-points and quality to ensure we meet that market. Sometimes this has involved using expensive fabrics with low labour content, and at others cheaper fabrics with high design and labour content – we are always tweaking the equation to ensure we hit our demographic.

What has remained unchanged is our unwavering love of the industry, and the flexible, loyal and hardworking team of people we have been able to bring together. My greatest pleasure is to see a great selling style doing well for our retailers – it means we have hit the mark! I acknowledge that new NZ designers are way more savvy than me regarding social media and the global reach possible, but I am equally determined that we match this new standard and move forward in this direction. It is the “business of fashion”, not the fashion business, that has been my passion and the reason the company has been able to survive when so many others have dropped out.

My concerns for the industry include the proliferation of designers coming out of the fashion schools – these very talented

people are not being taught the business side of their chosen industry, and have no ideas regarding costing, margins, IRD requirements and even on how to lower the construction costs of their design ready for production… The independent retailer faces an ever increasing challenge to stay viable. We see it is part of our service to support and encourage retailers to utilise social media to drag customers to their shop and away from the malls, with special events, etc.

As a company we decided back in the ‘80s that our forte was wholesaling, not retailing, and we have focussed on three brands with a long history – Catalyst 27 years, Obi 15 years and Chocolat 13 years. These brands occupy different demographic and target markets, and while this is expensive in terms of design and sampling costs with separate photoshoots etc, but it does mean that if one label has a bad season it won’t sink the whole ship.

Is the industry in crisis? Since the GFC we have witnessed the closure of many of our peers, and those remaining in the market are generally manufactured off-shore. My concern is the for the implications on the infrastructure of the wider market – can we retain fabric suppliers, button suppliers, fabric binders, CMT’s etc. As a born optimist I believe we can, and we certainly thank you, our retailers, for your ongoing loyalty and support.

2016, which marks my fifty-second year at Society Fashions Ltd/High Society Ltd, is the year I stand back and Anita Lock completes taking over the reins here. Come mid-February I am off for a skiing stint in Colorado, and then leave on 1 April to fulfil a life ambition – a year in Italy based in the hamlet of Acqualoreto in Umbria. Roll it on!

Arrivederci amici.

Auckland jeweller Zora Bell Boyd has teamed up with accessory label Walter Crow to release a limited range of rings based on a fictional tale. The collaboration centres on the story of an adventurer who falls in love with an opera singer in Sardinia before the singer is involved in a tragic accident with a deadly plant, hemlock water dropwort.

“We’ve never done exclusively female jewellery and Zora challenged us to find the female in Walter’s story. The opportunity to inject some Shakespearean type drama was an exciting prospect,” said Peter Bowden, co-founder, Walter Crow.

The result was a collection which included Zora’s trademark unrestrained style and Walter Crow’s muted colour pallet. Rings are available online through Walter Crow or in store at Zora Bell Boyd.

behind the business

SUCCESS UNDER

30 AMANDA NAKARMI

inDETAIL

This month Apparel chatted with 24-year-old Amanda Nakarmi, showroom manager at fashion PR company Showroom 22, to hear about how she got her start in the industry.

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Nakarmi was born into a family of writers, so communications has always been a strength. “I was lucky growing up as my family gave me the best opportunities and I got to make the most of having two cultures,” she said. “Growing up, my dad was constantly travelling as a foreign correspondent and later bureau chief for several media outlets worldwide. Now he’s a communications strategist, working on the branding of large Korean media companies.”

Nakarmi’s pathway wasn’t always straightforward, as she didn’t always know what she wanted to do.

“I had a lot of pressure at school to do law or science but I was also a young girl who just wanted to read Vogue! I spent all my spare time absorbing fashion but I didn’t know how to make it work for me.

Architecture was this marriage of creativity and the mathematical part of my brain, it was a perfect degree,” she said.

Nakarmi met her boss Murray Bevan seven years ago, when she was still in high school. She only saw the showroom for a brief minute. “I thought it was the dream office but I never let myself entertain that thought until I saw this role come up.

Fashion was always a guilty pleasure and now it’s my job!” Having studied a Bachelors of Architectural Studies and Master of Architecture

at the University of Auckland, Nakarmi believes a formal education is important for the work that she does. “No matter what you do, it teaches you valuable communication and analytical skills. Having written a thesis on design, I can appreciate the brief, the target and the message.”

Last year was the biggest year in the history of Showroom 22, which deals with over 40 brands, and as the manager, it’s a big role that entails Nakarmi overseeing the movement of client news, samples and creating engagement. “The sheer volume of work we do as a team means that I’m constantly judging about 50 things, producing unique ideas and pitch angles, and generally helping the media and our clients be creative.”

Nakarmi said people skills are highly valued at her office and most necessary skills for the work she does.

“Our roles are based on being highly effective multitaskers, but at all times, being nice people!”

The most important thing her job has taught her is learning not to sweat the small stuff. She attributes success at such a young age to aiming for it.

“I put myself out there and in the frontline of where I want to be. No matter the opportunity, relevant or not, I’ve made sure I’ve given it my best.” Nakarmi doesn’t have a typical day, saying that once she gets to work, it can be unpredictable. “No two days in PR are the same but Monday is always press clipping day. If you print it, I’ll be reading it!” Nakarmi tries to gym as many days as possible and picked up tennis last year.

In her down-time she’s big on current affairs apps, and currently loves opinion pieces on The New York Times.

She doesn’t have a TV in her house, which has been a “refreshing” lifestyle change.

“I love going out for dinner. Auckland is so full of exciting restaurants that don’t just make good food but are aesthetically amazing. There is always a new place to check out.”

LUCILLA GRAY

Imagine the serenity of walking through a Japanese garden, the sound of nature, the whisper of the wind.

Hold that thought. It is there that Lucilla Gray built her Spring/Summer 2016 collection, harnessing various Japanese design principles while experimenting with new techniques. “I worked with new techniques this season such as the pleating. I used this to distort the print in the collection, which evolved and developed over time,” said Gray.

Mimicking those of the Japanese garden, this season Gray looked carefully at Japanese design rules, one of which is simplicity and expanded on it to put together a full collection. The result was a showcase of garments that blended romantic minimalism with graphic lines, all in line with Gray’s established signature of bold silhouettes. The colour palette came naturally, mixing earth tones with hints of pastel.

Working from the silhouette first, Gray will develop an idea and the direction before moving onto sourcing fabrics, however everything is subject to change as the elements each start to influence each other. “The stand out piece this season would have to be the pleated trouser worn by Marni at fashion week. It is a dramatic yet simple design.”

The implementation of pleats this season posed a challenge for Gray, who wanted to bring new elements to her design process. It doesn’t stop at pleats however, as Grey looks to expand her brand, eventually opening up a flagship in order to bring the company to full bloom.

Gray urged that young designers need to be able to take risks. “I want to see the brand become more progressive.

It’s important to create a unique design identity.”

apparelmagazine.co.nz

I 27

edited

The 8 Big Retail Trends of 2016 Here’s your heads-up on the eight key retail trends of 2016. Be they consumer movements, product trends or economic shifts, these are the big eight driving demand in the next 12 months. Time to get cosy with them. And don’t worry, we won’t wheel out ‘omni-channel’ or ‘m-commerce’ once. Here’s to the future. By Katie Smith, Trend Analyst, EDITED LEFT: The shape of things to come….big.

7. Retail Activism

1. Respect For True Pricing

4. Shoppers Are Hungry

Retailers know, more than ever, that price is sensitive – in today’s conditions it’s something of a fluid notion. Over the course of the next 12 months, we’ll see an increase in electronic pricing as retailers strive towards price parity with competitors across all channels. But we’ll also see a slow yet sure move towards a respect for the right price.

Too many retailers have been stung by downwards spiralling of price point and the worst hit won’t be in a position for an about-turn in 2016. But there does need to be a greater monitoring at product development stage to make sure the right price is secured as the first price, and will be a top line priority for most retailers in 2016. Steadily this will win back the full price shopper.

Feed them. No really. This year an increasing number of retailers will create destination retail spots with the aid of food and beverages. Dwindling footfall is just one sign that people don’t just want to shop – they want destinations. And at a time when food and drink spend is strengthening, why not serve them the stuff they want in the hope they buy some clothes alongside?

Urban Outfitters are giving it a crack – they’ve bought up a pizza chain. Everlane have closely aligned with local produce and incorporated bars at their pop-ups, and who hasn’t flexed their credit card after a glass of something fizzy at Vogue’s Fashion Night Out? Food destinations are social media fodder too – retailers JUST need to get clued up on their food trends. What’s big for 2016? Foodie experts say celeriac, kebabs and natural fats. Thinking hats on?

2. Get Them the Goods Delivery gets even smarter this year. In an age where Uber can deliver puppies to your office or you can ‘one-tap’ order a pizza through your Apple watch, apparel retailers need to up their game.

Consumers will be prioritising super-convenient same day deliveries across cities, globally. There’s a heck of a lot of logistics that need figuring, so retailers had better get creative. Drones might not be a viable option, but delivery to train stations and gyms could work. Hey, it could be worse – at least a dress won’t spoil if cold.

Part of getting products to consumers at any cost will see a greater number of retailers revealing real-time inventory to consumers, allowing visibility across all channels.

3. Volume If there’s one thing to take away from the Spring 2016 runway shows, it’s that things are about to get big. Ruffles, frills and flounces draped over everything, oversized cami dresses and slouchy pants all tripped their way down the catwalks. Get familiar with your tricky sleeve shapes: bishop, leg of mutton, bracelet and angel sleeves all return on coldshouldered blouses, prairie dresses and dramatic tops.

Done right, this trend will see retailers soar through the year – once consumers are warmed up to the idea of wider cuts and looser pyjama-style fits, they’ll stick around through Fall. And we’ve not forgotten the gents either; pants are getting wider in menswear too.

28 I February 2016

5. Sporting Chances Look, athleisure isn’t going anywhere. We don’t need to go over the basics, we gave you enough of that in 2015. And 2014. And 2013. So what’s new on the table? Well, the Rio de Janeiro Olympics will have a retail impact.

It’s going to be a color explosion – sports apparel should follow suit and swimwear might get a little cheeky. Football will also fall under the spotlight in June this year, with all its recent controversies set to culminate around Euro 2016. Hair salons should also be prepped for this one…

Let’s be real. In 2016 global politics isn’t going to get any more palatable. The US will select a new president in Fall, Britain will debate leaving the EU and the United Nations will get a new Secretary-General.

Instability in Russia doesn’t look to be resolved any time soon and terrorism is taking a toll world wide.

We could all do with one big holiday away from this, but in lieu of that happening, let’s give consumers a voice. The watered-down version? Slogan tees. But we’ll see an increase in designers referencing their position in themes of collections, as well as bolder brands acting as a platform to open up discussion among their followers. The message: We’re together in this.

8. Micro Accessories If 2015 was about the bucket bag, 2016 will be about the micro bag. Teeny, tiny hand-held bags were seen on the runways of Christopher Kane, Saint Laurent, Moschino and Diane Von Furstenberg. Kenzo’s pouches were strapped to belts at models’ waists.

Ornate box bags were seen at Dolce & Gabbana, Olympia Le Tan, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Anya Hindmarch… need we go on? So what’s this trend all about?

The mini bag is part of a wider trend in premium and luxury. We’re seeing retailers extend their merchandise offering into lower price points through accessories like key rings, patches, phone accessories and bag trinkets. This is being further driven by a current appreciation for kitsch in luxury. These lower margin items are a great way for brands to get their first interaction with a new generation of customers.

That’s not to say you’re going to score a bargain on that Louis Vuitton number.

6. Lights Are On & Everyone’s Home

We’re expecting more retailers to dabble with homewares in 2016. The reasons are two-fold. Firstly, times are tough for a lot of us. Netflix and chill is real.

We’re spending time bunkering down in uncertain economic times – nesting is a by-products of that. In fact, we don’t even need to leave the house to meet the love of our lives anymore.

Secondly, print power. Online retail has facilitated consumers’ current print adoration. Printed items stand out and give consumers something to fall in love with when fit concerns might have been a blocker.

Retailers investing in prints and collaborating with artists to differentiate are wise to embrace category expansion as a way to maximise their efforts.

Best-selling mini bags from December 2015:

And there we have it – we turn you out into the new year ready to tackle its unique challenges. Here’s to a bumper year of retailing with smart decisions at the right time for your shoppers. Watch this space, we’ll be analysing global data throughout.

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Quality comes PAD System is the from complete understanding what high design suite that satisfies the standards are and aofstrong technical requirements all Pattern Makers, from desireand toMarker achieve these made measure designers to on ato continuing basis. mass production, while reducing cost & improving productivity.

For more information visit www.padsystem.com or call:

NZ: +64 3 312 6697 +64 9 299 6801 AU: +61 2 8307 Call us now to see how we 3821 can help with your manufacturing requirements.

Ph: 07 8475990

email: sales@najie.co.nz

Simplicity is best.....

GUY THORNTON

NAJIE CLOTHING COMPANY

Offi ce, inquiries Factory and Showroom: 6A Henderson Onehunga, Auckland All to Simon onPlace, simonjohnston@xtra.co.nz or 0274 736327

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PH 0

Providing technical support to the clothing industry for the past 33 years

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MORE THAN JUST BIAS BINDING Mannequin Sales & Hire www.generalproducts.co.nz Incredibly Durable Contact PHILIP TANNER Designed in New Zealand 30 APPAREL NOVEMBER 2010 philip@generalproducts.co.nz or 09 3735762 100% Recyclable 30 app arel

​Contact Sally Koh: 09 570 2886​/029 333 1668 or sally.ablefashion@gmail.com 95A Ireland Road, ​​Mt Wellington, Auckland

MAY 2009

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ph. 09 579 5566

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30 app arel MAY 2010 • Pick and Pack to Store Level • MAF Compliant 30-31 AP Classifieds 0809.indd 30 Pack Compliant • Scan 30-31 AP Classifieds 0809.indd 31 • Full Steam Tunneling and Pressing Service Available • Close to Auckland Airport Contact Rod Limbrick 029 335 9745 09 629 4540 fashionlogistics@xtra.co.nz 159 - 161 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill, Auckland apparelmagazine.co.nz

I 29

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Experts in design and production preparation for NZ and Off Shore Manufacturing Professional Pattern Making, Grading and Marker Making (card or CAD)

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AUCKLAND FABRIC PRINTERS

Auckland fabric printers specialize in screen printing fabric on the roll for merino wool, linen, cotton, lycra, nylon, blends, knitted and woven fabric.

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FREEPHONE 0508 243 629 MOBILE 0274 341 433 sales@afprinters.co.nz

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C Ph: (09) 369 9249 or email he 21D PORANA RD, W

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Ph 09 276 8338 or email keencutting@xtra.co.nz 5/91 Huia Road, Otahuhu Auckland 1062

Ph: 09 523 1698 Email: bruce.renshaw@xtra.co.nz www.brasnbras.com

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FRINGE MAKER & BRAID MANUFACTURER NEW ZEALAND

New Zealands only Fringe and Braid manufacturer. Fringe and Braid for all occasions, eg. lampshades, mats, cushions, curtains, furniture trim, banners, umbrellas, bridal cars, limousines, clothing, costumes, show ribbons, arts and crafts.

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CONTACT THE FRINGEMAKER

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apparelmagazine.co.nz

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Fashion: WORLD / Photographer: Garth Badger / Model: Liv Odriscoll 62 / Make-Up: Lochie Stonehouse for MAC