Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Nick Leckie, co-founder of rainwear company Okewa which is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for its newest product line – raincoats made from recycled plastic bottles. ONE: How did Okewa start and what … Read more
Being boring is not just an unfortunate side effect of being Mark Zuckerberg, it’s a strategy, and nowhere is that more apparent than in his choice of clothing. In an essay from the freshly published second volume of the The California Review of Images and Mark Zuckerberg (yes, it’s really a thing) New Zealanders Kelly and Anna … Read more
Allbirds has a brand new product and investor – one from Brazil, the other from Hollywood. First, they came for our sheep. Then they came for our trees (but not before coming for our children). And now, they’ve come for our sweet, sweet sugar. I’m talking about Allbirds here, the San Francisco-based Kiwi footwear company … Read more
In the latest episode of their Spinoff TV segment looking at stuff white people inexplicably like, comedy group Frickin Dangerous Bro – Jame Roque, Jamaine Ross and Pax Assadi – investigate women’s mysterious love for brightly coloured yoga pants. Previously: Frickin Dangerous Bro review kombucha and bath bombs Watch The Spinoff TV, Fridays at 10.45pm … Read more
In the second part of the new podcast series Venus Envy, Parris Goebel, Karen Walker and Rosanna Raymond discuss beating the boys, the shoulders they stand on, and haircuts. It’s been a constant battle against the perception of what women should be, and what they can achieve in comparison to their male counterparts, for globally recognised … 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 sibling entrepreneurs Brittany and Johanna Cosgrove of Nopesisters, the social enterprise championing ‘fashion for a cause’. ONE: How did Nopesisters start and what was the inspiration behind it? Nopesisters started in October 2016 during Breast … Read more
Pip Adam won the Acorn Prize for best novel of the year at the recent 2018 Ockham New Zealand national book awards. Is her book actually any good? Readable? Likeable? Brannavan Gnanalingam – a losing finalist – makes his assessment of her story about fashion hags and bustling millennials on K Road. I held my breath while … Read more
A note from the editor regarding the WORLD founder’s response to Spinoff revelations about its ‘Made in New Zealand’ garment labelling Give Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet this: she didn’t attempt to hide from the story published on the Spinoff yesterday. The WORLD founder and ethical fashion proselytiser spoke widely to media, scattering arguments in her own … Read more
The outspoken ethical fashion champion has contacted The Spinoff with further comments about the garments that were manufactured offshore but boast ‘Made in NZ’ tags. Following the publication this morning of a story revealing the provenance of garments being sold at WORLD with a “Fabriqué en Nouvelle Zélande” label attached, the fashion house’s founder Dame Denise … Read more
Exclusive: Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet of New Zealand fashion pioneer WORLD is this country’s most out-spoken critic of off-shore manufacturing. Yet a Spinoff investigation has revealed that multiple garments labeled as made in New Zealand are manufactured in China and Bangladesh. “When did you last look at the label to see where it was made?” – … Read more
On Auckland’s Vulcan Lane, a small opening with a spiralling staircase leads you to a basement, transporting you into the world of American vintage 10,490km from its original home. Max Tetlow talks to the founder of Magichollow, Laura Wright, about how she took her business from a simple online webstore to Auckland’s premier vintage destination. ‘F*** … Read more
If Trelise Cooper is “deeply committed to strong ethical standards” she appears to have a funny way of showing it, says fellow fashion designer Denise L’Estrange-Corbet. This article was first published on Newshub.co.nz. Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet has slammed Kiwi designers who use third world labour to manufacture their clothing. The WORLD co-founder yesterday spoke to … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, Simon Pound of Ingrid Starnes writes about putting fashion on the street and the community it takes to make it happen. Last year, on a late March night, with dusk landing just … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, founder of the New Zealand Fashion Museum Doris de Pont celebrates the legacy of Bruce Papas. Fashion is synonymous with change and while the 4 Days of Fashion in the City is providing … Read more
To mark 4 Days of Fashion in the City, four of downtown Auckland’s fashion personalities are sharing their experiences of the industry. Today, Barkers’ managing director Jamie Whiting, discusses the changes technology has brought to bricks and mortar retail. The changes for fashion retailers in the last decade, but particularly the last three to … Read more
Every week we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Freedom Kids‘ Rachel Hansen who wants to help break gendered stereotypes among children – one ethically-produced, gender-neutral piece of clothing at a time. ONE: How did Freedom Kids start and what was the inspiration behind … Read more
Every week we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves through eight simple questions. This week we talk to Elisha Watson, who quit her full-time job as a lawyer to start Nisa – an organic cotton underwear company that employs women from refugee backgrounds. ONE: How did Nisa start and what was the inspiration behind it? Before … Read more
The Spinoff continues its deep dive into the world of weird and wonderful fashion and asks: is luxury French fashion house Maison Margiela taking inspiration from a 90s Kiwi television icon? Since its start in 1981, What Now? has managed to accomplish a lot of things in its 37-year history. It’s become New Zealand’s longest-running … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Henry Oliver talks to Russell Brown about Grant Fell. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to Russell Brown about his late friend Grant Fell: artist, filmmaker, magazine publisher, promoter and member of Headless … Read more
The Kiwi footwear has become a favourite of Silicon Valley elites. But are the shoes now furnishing the feet of top Republican and speaker of the house Paul Ryan? Jihee Junn investigates As the fire and fury raged through Washington DC, Donald Trump took to his Camp David retreat earlier this week to hash out … Read more
One of these things is a lot like the other – which is why Allbirds is suing Steve Madden for allegedly copying its signature Wool Runners. Three years ago, former All Whites player Tim Brown set out to make a woollen shoe. In 2017, everyone from Larry Page to Mindy Kaling is sporting Allbirds, rounding … Read more
Luxury brand Lonely is launching its first-ever maternity range, so co-founder Helene Morris talked to Jihee Junn about how and why it’s catering to mothers (as well as busting a couple of bra-based myths in the process). Last year, Auckland-based lingerie brand Lonely went viral for a simple ad campaign featuring two women in their … Read more
Sam Brooks has never been to the World of Wearable Art before. He reports on his experience as a first-timer to the show and a long-time lover of pretty things. On one level, the World of Wearable Art is the most lavish catwalk show in the world. On another level, it’s an art exhibition blown … 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. Alas, Simon is sick this week so we’ve decided to republish one … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: José Barbosa reflects on an essential item of his wardrobe. First, let’s get something straight: this hat is fucking dope. It has dope embroidered on the front in mint-as gold thread. The ‘O’ of the dope is extra wide and … Read more
Pete Douglas looks at how a litany of amazingly bad fashion choices correlate with the band’s best music. Nothing makes you feel quite as old as a band you’ve grown up with being inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. This struck me hard two years ago when I was faced with the sobering … Read more
Model and activist Andreja Pejić, in Auckland for Four Days of Fashion in the City, talks fashion, politics and trans issues with Brian Ng. My first glimpse of Andreja Pejić was a flash of blonde hair and the back of an ecru Surrealism Trench by Karen Walker. She was off almost instantly, clopping away in … Read more
Auckland’s fashion festival for the people kicks off today and runs until Saturday at venues around the city. Brian Ng has the lowdown. Fashion in the City ( Wednesday 29 March – Saturday 1 April) is sprawling around town this year: from a MAALA concert in Topshop to through a new look at fashion history … Read more
With stores closing and the sales never ending, it has to be asked – what’s going on with New Zealand’s fastest growing fashion brand? Things aren’t looking good for I Love Ugly. The Auckland-based men’s streetwear brand, which in fewer than ten years has grown from a one-person operation run out of a closet to … Read more