MINUTES WITH

Lewi Brown Founder & Creative Director of Earls Collection

Lewi Brown's interest in streetwear began at a very young age as he grew up skateboarding and playing basketball in Belfast, Christchurch. The purchase of his first Michael Jordan singlet as a kid from Champions of the World and his ever-growing interest in fashion trends made Earls Collection a perfect extension of himself after he retired from professional rugby.

Being a self-taught designer, Brown realised that in men's fashion, sticking to core silhouettes and adding subtle touches evolves the pieces of clothing into finer garments. With Earls Collection, he wishes to provide premium clothing at not-so-premium prices as he knows the hardships of coming from a humble background and being raised by a single mother.

Brown loves that the new generation does not have a specific style. Instead, they have made fashion all about experimentation and a form of selfexpression. He also likes that the world is heading towards a more sustainable future in fashion.

He acknowledges that his biggest inspiration and biggest supporter is his mother, but he also likes how Dwight Yorke and Lenny Kravitz have pushed boundaries. He also resonates with Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, who have gone on to do multiple things and explored different paths.

Regarding expansion, the Earls Collection wants to refine its wholesale programme and collaborate with other people and companies with a similar vibe. Although their online store and social media, especially Instagram, work wonders for the brand with its polished look, Brown's biggest goal would be to have a retail store someday in Australia and New Zealand.

Boston And Forest

Hannah Wills has always had fond memories of wanting to sew. Around the age of four, she had her own toy sewing machine, from which she first learned to create garments.

“My grandmother and her sister, who was a dressmaker, were so amazed that I had cut the shapes and put them together without having any help at such a young age,” Wills explained.

Wills grew up in Dunedin, and after finishing high school, she decided to study design, pattern drafting and commercial sewing at the New Zealand Institute of Fashion and Technology. From there, she found herself working for a few designers and gaining key hands-on experience in the field. She then worked for herself as a dressmaker before taking on the rest of the world.

Moving abroad led her to enter a sales and marketing role within Australia. However, over a decade later, she decided to retire from her marketing career and get back to her true passion for design.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Wills became pregnant, and at the time, she struggled to find any locally-made baby items online. Because of this, she decided to launch her very own business selling natural, sustainable and adorable baby products.

“Out of pure frustration of being unable to find New Zealand-made items from natural fibres, Boston and Forest was launched,” She said.

Boston and Forest is a onewoman brand, as Wills takes care of everything from outsourcing, designing, advertising and all the inbetween.

The brand offers a wide range of minimal yet stylish home accessories, from her best-selling tissue box covers and door stops to family wheat bags, along with baby clothes and accessories, nursery decor and even something for the mums like scrunchies and eye pillows.

“Everything is designed with longevity in mind, with our burp cloths doubling as hand towels meaning they can live on longer than the few months a burp cloth is needed for.”

What makes her brand unique is the neutral-toned pallets used. Wills believes kids do better in calm spaces, so creating toned-down pieces that blend into everyday life is one of her key focuses. At the same time, she only uses natural fibres to ensure safety and sustainability.

Quality over quantity is one of her brand's key values while also ensuring everyone involved in the creation process is happy, paid fairly and treated well.

Her goals for the future is to be stocked in many stores across New Zealand and abroad, along with opening her very own flagship store one day. Wills has also been lucky to have such incredible mentors along her journey. Because of this, she hopes to give back to the fashion industry by opening a mentoring workspace for new designers and creators to operate out of, providing support and training to nurture their talent.