Mardle

www.mardle.co.nz
facebook.com/mardle
twitter.com/mardleme
Physical Address:  No physical shop, the Mardle workroom is currently based in my apartment's lounge!
Operating Since:  August 2008

Shiana Weir (right) during recent shoot

What are you all about?
Mardle is a Wellington-based label developing both women's and men's clothing with a fresh approach to the modern Kiwi wardrobe.  The concept for 2011 is for me to design and develop pieces on a project-by-project basis.  Breaking the rules of season-by-season collection releases, my aim is to have a higher level of choice throughout the year.  Designed on a whim but always with the same outcome in mind - to create the new favourite 'go-to' pieces in your wardrobe.

What kind of clothes do you make?
Instinctive 'go-to' pieces for the modern wardrobe.  There's a casual elegance about a Mardle piece, combining great fabrics with intriguing shapes and silhouettes.  The Mardle colour palette is made up of dark moody tones with fresh pops of colour here and there.

Who makes your clothes?
As part of Mardle's continuing commitment to the New Zealand fashion manufacturing industry & dedication to a higher quality of product, every stage of the manufacturing process is carries out in Aotearoa.  I do all the pattern drafting and sampling & I am currently making all pieces to order, and have found it is quicker and more cost effective to produce most pieces myself.  If I am doing larger runs (5 or more), I will send the pieces out to Stitch Products in Porirua.  I am on the hunt for a contract sewer to whom I can send one-off pieces and small runs to free up my time again for concept development and pattern-making.

Who sells your clothes?
Mardle is currently available from http://www.mardle.co.nz/ and at Salisbury Boutique in Dunedin.

What price range are your clothes in?
The Mardle 'New Favourite Tees' start at $50 and I'm currently producing dresses for under $250.

Why do you think NZ clothing labels outsource their manufacturing overseas?
Well, the number of factories in NZ is steadily declining.  This is also contributing to a lack of choice which makes it difficult to get competitive pricing in NZ.  For small labels, it is a case of having orders too small for most manufacturers to take on, but not necessarily wanting to produce larger runs & sink capital into stock.  It's a tricky business and a fine line between overproducing and meeting demand.  The manufacturers who do still operate find themselves overwhelmed with orders.

What could the Government do to help clothing labels keep it in NZ?
Provide incentives for small manufacturing businesses to keep afloat which would hopefully, in turn, lower the costs of manufacturing in NZ & make it more affordable for small/start-up labels to hit the ground running.

It would also be great if there was a centralised list of manufacturers and suppliers for businesses to approach.  When I first started, it was a challenge just finding out where to start looking for suppliers & who to contact to get certain product.  I also found that although many suppliers were NZ-owned/operated, a lot of their product was produced overseas & didn't fit in with my 100% NZ-made approach so changes to my plans had to be made.

Anything to add?
It is hugely encouraging to see so many labels springing up all over NZ and to see the staunch support the general public has given NZ labels in the last 10 years.  People's willingness to pay a slightly higher price for high quality NZ-made products has encouraged so much growth in our fashion industry.  Thanks NZ!