Design Cartel

www.missabigail.co.nz (This is my label's website. I only have a Facebook page for Design Cartel so far)
facebook.com/Miss-Abigail
facebook.com/designcartel.nz
Physical Address: 109 Willis St, Dukes Arcade, Wellington
Operating Since:  Shop has been open since Monday 5th November.  
I have been working on my own label for about 10 years.  I took a few years away from fashion for a bit of a career change to work in mental health & since moving to New Zealand, I am now completely all into it again.

What are you all about? I am all about meeting local New Zealand designers to share stories and help support each other.  I recently opened Design Cartel; a shop with about 15 designers, which always looking for more local talent.  Part of the reason I wanted to open a shop was so I can make whatever I want, when I want, without designing a year in advance. There aren't any wholesalers in Wellington so it makes it quite hard to source stuff so far in advance; then when you're ready to buy, you run the risk of a fabric not being available.

What kind of clothes do you make?
My designs are fashion forward, being quite girly and cute.  My recent range is toned down a little, compared to usual, to try and accommodate my designs to a wider range of people.  I love using bright colours and cute prints & I love velvet, with some of my pieces having a Victorian feel.

Who makes your clothes?  
My clothes are made in a factory in Napier called Sew Unlimited who are really lovely.

Who sells your clothes?  Can we buy them online? 
Currently they are only sold in my Design Cartel shop.  Online shop will be going live in the next couple of weeks.

What price range are your clothes in?  
My clothes range from $70 to $300 at the moment.  I am also looking into doing some Miss Abigail accessories soon, which may include brooches and scarfs.

What other NZ-made clothing labels do you sell?
Miss Abigail, Love Hotel, Beau, Desiree Clothing, Millicent, HLDB by Tina and twoWORLDS.

Why do you think NZ clothing labels outsource their manufacturing overseas?  
I think as it's cheaper & there just aren't too many places in New Zealand to get stuff made.

What could the Government do to help clothing labels keep it in NZ?  
Support the current manufacturers in some way.  

Anything to add? 
I just recently found out the only manufacturer in Wellington is apparently closing down in the next couple of months which is really sad.

Jane Sutherland

www.janesutherland.co.nz

facebook.com/janesutherland

Physical Address:  State Highway 6, Kingston 9748, Central Otago

Operating Since:  Established in 2004

 

What are you all about?
When creating our womenswear collections, we take a disciplined approach.  We like to create well-cut, wearable garments that capture attention with clever detailing; pieces that are timeless and will still be in your closet for ten years.  It can be hard to create garments that are creative with a point of difference but yet commercial enough to sell - it’s a fine line.  I feel it depends on whether or not you like creating commercial simple clothes or living a more complicated life!  I feel fashion needs more creativity – it is often as though the main focus is on wearablity, which is most definitely important and is the lucrative part of the industry; however the art aspect should not be lost in the process.  At the end of the day we are not fulfilling a utilitarian function, we are extracting the unique remnants of an artist's imagination that marks the current movements and influences of our culture.  We are creating something that should spark curiosity.

 

Who makes your clothes?
We use a local CMT factory in the South Island and skilled outworkers – it is nice to be able to have strict quality control and a close working relationship with the manufacturers.  Everything is NZ-made, including accessories – all jewellery is handcrafted by local jewelers and artists.

 

Who sells your clothes?
We wholesale to 8 stores nationwide & have just launched an online boutique which we are hoping to build on overtime.

 

What price range are your clothes in?
Anywhere between $90- $500.  Sometimes a fully lined woollen coat may exceed this; with handcrafted metal detailing on a lot of the garments, this can make things a little more expensive but unique!

 

Why do you think NZ clothing labels outsource their manufacturing overseas?
At the end of the day I believe it all comes down to cost – this mainly only works for mass produced lines.

 

What could the Government do to help clothing labels keep it in NZ?
Encourage New Zealanders to buy NZ-made & to advertise and educate people on the importance of supporting our skilled workers, designers and manufacturers.  Reintroduce a Buy NZ Made campaign supporting the fact that eventually if everyone is forced to move offshore, the trade in NZ will drop and where will we be left?!

Anything to add?

It is great to see clothes that are ten years old and people are still wearing them  It's an old-fashioned idea that we build things to last and I think we should all take a lot of pride in that and hold onto it for as long as we can and for further generations.

Even in the Dark

www.eveninthedark.com
facebook.com/eveninthedarkstudio
twitter.com/eveninthedark
Follow us! Like us!
Physical Address:  We're based in Ponsonby, Auckland.  We moved back to New Zealand from London almost a year ago and we love being home.
Operating since:  We launched our brand and online store in October 2012.  We are brand new.

Cara Hutchinson

What are you all about?
What kind of clothes do you make?
We design beautiful, uncommon clothes for women. Even in the Dark is a new label, and we're building it piece by piece, with new products dropping into store all the time.  Expect limited edition dresses, graphic t-shirts, sweatshirts and beautifully cut jackets.
We believe that quality and design integrity are fundamental to our customers' happiness and satisfaction - so we source the very best materials that we can and manage all of our design and production in-house.

We also want to do some good for others, so a portion of all our sales will always be donated to a charitable cause.  Right now we're supporting Room to Read, a charity that assists children in Africa and Asia to learn to read and to receive an education.  We are particularly excited about the Girls Education Programmes that Room to Read supports - through these programmes 13,000 girls this year will receive assistance to attend schools in locations where poverty, family situations and cultural traditions mean that these girls might not otherwise be in education.  We think this is such a fantastic cause.

Who makes your clothes?
All of our garments are made in-house - we design, cut, sew, press and finish all our garments in our studio in Auckland.  It's incredibly important to us to have a really high quality product and to ensure that we are producing our clothes in an ethical and environmentally conscious way. Producing our garments in our own studio helps us to achieve this.

Who sells your clothes?  Can we buy them online?
Even in the Dark is available exclusively through our online store.  We're really excited about all the endless possibilities of building a brand and our store online.  It gives us an amazing platform to attract new customers from New Zealand and around the world - so far we've sent our dresses as far afield as London and Norway (and as locally as a couple of doors down the road).  We're really enjoying getting into the social media sphere too and we're excited by the fashion tech start ups that are popping up everywhere.  It's such an interesting time to start a company.

What price range are your clothes in?
Our items will be priced between $50 - $400.  The upper end of the price range includes items like our limited edition, menswear inspired Shirt Dresses in silks and amazing cottons in our store now for $350.  The lower end of our price range will include garments like our graphic t-shirts, which are coming soon to our online shop.

Why do you think NZ clothing labels outsource their manufacturing overseas?
We imagine NZ clothing labels take their production offshore primarily for economic reasons and possibly because it can be difficult to find bulk production facilities here.  We're really happy that we are able to offer NZ-made products.  If in the future our production needs outgrow our studio capability, we hope to be able to use NZ-based outworkers and CMTs for our production.

Anything to add?
Thanks for featuring Even in the Dark.  This blog is such a great resource for discovering New Zealand design.  We're excited by all the great labels we've read about in the Home Made/Keeping it in NZ archives.