Store closures and epic discounts suggest big trouble at I Love Ugly

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

The Spinoff reviews New Zealand #6: Countdown supermarkets

We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time.  There once was a Countdown in central Hamilton. It lost it’s ‘o’, and became C-untdown. How we laughed. That laughter, and the store in question, are dust in the winds of time. Judging by the quality of their wares, Countdown … Read more

Cheap thrills: The problem with H&M’s hyper-disposable fashion

Hordes of shoppers will descend on an Auckland shopping mall tomorrow for the opening of fast-fashion retailer H&M’s first New Zealand store. Anny Ma explains why she’s staying home instead. High fashion and fast fashion represent two opposing poles of the garment industry. One is aspirational, inspirational and dreamily sartorial; the other is a rogue … Read more