Nisa founder Elisha Watson’s step-by-step guide on the most important things to think of when trying to build an ethical brand. Two years ago, I quit my job as a lawyer to start Nisa, an underwear brand that employs former refugees. I set up a garment manufacturing workshop with zero fashion or manufacturing experience and … Read more
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level. Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online connection. Founded in 2003, … Read more
Award-winning designer Nash Karaitiana just had his first show at NZFW. Alice Webb-Liddall caught up with him about his unique brand Unco, and his journey to Fashion Week. The Miromoda show at New Zealand Fashion Week is a must-see each year. Avante garde shares a catwalk with baggy streetwear, simple designs walking alongside wearable artworks … Read more
Fashion, beauty and modernism all play a part in the exhibition Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys. Megan Dunn talks to fashion designer Karen Walker and the show’s curator Mary Kisler about their collaboration and Frances Hodgkins’ close ties to fashion – plus the cheeky question, “was she gay?” This year is the 150th anniversary of the … Read more
Ahead of debuting her solo show at New Zealand Fashion Week, Korean-NZ couture designer Cecilia Kang talks about growing up ‘feminine’, being influenced by the LGBTQ+ community, and why an ‘administrative error’ at Fashion Week left her so shaken up. ‘I like something big,” says Cecilia Kang, gesturing to the giant nest of tulle protruding … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Paris Georgia co-founders Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia Cherrie. This week’s podcast features a chat with the duo … Read more
Backed by businessman Eric Watson and launched in a blaze of publicity, online trader Fashbae disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. Now its founder is traversing the globe in a jeep. Business editor Maria Slade tries to keep up with events. It had it all. A suave multi-millionaire investor and his lookalike son. An … Read more
For Auckland is a new Spinoff podcast of civic conversations with people working to create and sustain a better Auckland for all. In episode three, host Timothy Giles speaks to Grace Stratton about accessibility, in fashion and in Auckland. She’s launched a groundbreaking fashion business, been nominated for Young New Zealander of the Year, profiled … Read more
Revered Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto has unveiled the jersey the All Blacks will wear when they compete in the Rugby World Cup this September. The result is… meh, writes Josie Steenhart. Not only is there no white collar on the new All Blacks jersey, released yesterday (if we don’t count the accidental sneak peek … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Sue Dunmore, co-founder of lingerie brand Rose … Read more
After the Black Caps’ victory over Sri Lanka in their first match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Calum Henderson has made an important update to his ranking of every New Zealand ODI shirt. Has any other team in world sport worn such a wide and varied range of colours as the TelstraClear New Zealand … Read more
Most labels for bigger people aren’t plus-size enough and the larger price tags that go them are “bullshit”, a new Wellington business owner says. A Wellington fashion entrepreneur says the “fat tax” charged on larger sizes is one of the drivers propelling her to build her own plus-size clothing line. House of Boom is Joanna … Read more
In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Little Yellow Bird founder Samantha Jones whose social enterprise makes sustainably and ethically-made uniforms and basics. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Little Yellow Bird. We’re … Read more
It’s the 2019 Met Ball Gala, and the theme is Camp! In an act of fully precedented hubris, Sam Brooks ranks the looks as they come down the red carpet. It’s the Met Ball Gala, also known as the event that Rihanna wins every year. She’s the Vodafone Warriors of the Met Ball Gala. (Do … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major biodiversity report paints bleak picture, Victim Support strongly rebuts claims about donated money, and expect a reeferendum announcement today. An alarming report into biodiversity loss and species extinction has stark implications for world. Globally, the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystems has found that a … Read more
Auckland-based tech company StrutFit allows shoppers to virtually ‘try on’ shoes. So how does it work? And what does that mean for retailers? For eight months, I had my eye on a pair of black, patent leather boots – big, chunky, great for stomping around in. The other week, I finally plucked up the courage to … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Grace Stratton, founder of All is For All, about creating a pioneering online store that makes accessibility a priority. It all began last July with an uninvited tie. Grace Stratton – fashion enthusiast, uni student and wheelchair user – had bought a pair of pants online from a New Zealand designer, and … Read more
An update to James Dann’s groundbreaking 2016 investigation, now with 25% more shirts. It has been three years since the first Warriors Jersey Power Rankings appeared on The Spinoff, and a lot has changed in that time. They qualified for the finals for the first time in close to a decade, lost their best-ever player … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Offcut founder Adrien Taylor whose company takes fabric scraps destined for landfill and turns them into hats instead. ONE: How did Offcut start and what was the inspiration behind it? I started the … Read more
Self-described sneakerhead Dylan Moran on what drives collectors like him – and how stop-at-nothing resellers are distorting the market. You may have seen them – huddled masses of young people, perched on camping chairs with sleeping bags up to their ears, snaking along High Street or Queen Street in Auckland, or Dixon Street or Victoria … Read more
For a brief moment in the late 20th century, New Zealand produced some of the dopest hand-painted clothing on Earth. Don Rowe talks to the founders of Kozmik Klothing. Most everyone in the 1980s dressed like shit. That’s just a fact. But for a brief moment in the late 80s, on Auckland’s North Shore, there … Read more
It’s the second episode of Project Runway New Zealand, in which the designers have to make a streetwear look inspired by … Sylvia Park? Henry Oliver ranks the results. In the words of guest judge James Dobson (Jimmy D), can I be really honest… this was a shitshow. The streetwear challenge should have been a gimme for … Read more
A year on since launching Nisa – an ethical underwear company that employs former refugees – founder Elisha Watson reflects on all the things she’s learnt about running a business with a social cause. Quitting your job to pursue your dream is one of life’s great cliches. You’re probably working a desk job – stable, lucrative, maybe … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Joe Harawira, founder of clothing company Flo, which donates a free school lunch to a child in need for every product sold. ONE: How did Flo start and what was the inspiration behind it? I … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week, he’s joined by Murray Bevan of Showroom 22. We’ve just seen the end … Read more
‘We call ourselves slow-fast fashion’. Ellen Falconer meets the young label working across hemispheres and subverting the traditional Fashion Week model. On a yacht moored in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour last Wednesday, a crowd of 50 fashionistas sipped gin cocktails and slipped their feet into towelling slides with the words ‘oh hej’ stitched across the top. … Read more
H&M’s first multi storey experience in New Zealand opened to much fanfare last week as hundreds lined up to be one of the first to get a glimpse. Jihee Junn joined the masses on Thursday morning. Held at an offsite location in the heart of Grey Lynn, the Stolen Girlfriends Club show on Wednesday night … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Human Interface Jewellery founder Amelia Diggle who’s melding fashion and technology together to create a new form of ‘wearable tech’. ONE: How did Human Interface Jewellery (HIJ) start and what was the inspiration behind it? HIJ … Read more
Foam clog pioneer Crocs has announced that it is shutting down its factories. So what does that mean for New Zealand’s first and only Crocs store in Auckland? Jihee Junn paid a (much belated) visit to find out. The Crocs store in Newmarket has just a single review on Yelp: “Could there possibly be a … Read more