Yoda.
I'm Chelsea Daniels and This is the Front Page, a daily podcast.
Presented by the New Zealand Herald.
New Zealand fashion has had a shakeup in recent years, with both well known and homegrown brands shutting up shop Kate Sylvester will shut its doors this year after thirty one years of trade, and newer labels like Mina, Heyhei
and Nissa have all ended production. The struggles are perhaps best epitomized by New Zealand Fashion Week, which canceled its twenty twenty four season after cancelations in twenty twenty, twenty twenty one and twenty twenty two, and the issues show no sign of stopping, with global trade wars highlighting how many designers actually manufacture their goods in China, Vietnam and Cambodia all hit hard by tariffs. Today on the Front Page to discuss the state of.
The industry, we're joined by Weaver's departing fashion and creative director, Dan Alwa. So Dan, when you think of New Zealand fashion, what first comes to mind?
That's a really great question. Has changed so much over the years, but I think the first thing that comes to mind is our innovation. You think of brands like Untouched World, for example, who are such a stalwar of New Zealand manufacturing. Their textile innovation is incredible. And over the years, you think of designers like the ones that showed at London Fashion We can the early two thousands
that cohort of Karen Walker's and Busy World. You think of innovation, and you think of creativity, and because of our proximity to the rest of the world, we just are resourceful and.
The textiles and stuff as well.
Like you mentioned like Untouched World, I think of Marino, you know, I think of Cashmere Juliet Hogan on the world stage, those moments and those prints and everything. It's quite nice to kind of look at a New Zealand designer and kind of know that they're from New Zealand.
Almost There's a huge appetite for New Zealand fashion on the world stage and there will continue to be in the past, now and into the future. Even now we're looking at the incredible work that Ambia work Sted has done for the Air New Zealand uniforms, and just recently there's two Kiwi designers confirmed for the Australian Fashion Week schedule in may Win, Hamlin and Paris, Georgia. So brands like that will continue to fly the flag for New
Zealand fashion. And I think we really do punch above our weight in terms of what we can deliver in terms of fashion. Good design qualities really paramount and right now we're thinking about how to close the gap and make more of a circular economy around textile waste and finding waste to be less wasteful with the way that we consume.
You've mentioned a lot of those big brands as well, but there are also those smaller, down to earth kind of homegrown brands as well. And I noticed that Nissa is one of the latest brands to shut down. They cited a continued decline in sales while costs kept rising. In a statement that staff said, if we raise our prices anymore to cover these our products will become less
attainable for our customers. Now, is that one of the main hurdles for these local brands, the cost to actually make things on shore.
It's one of the biggest hurdles for all fashion brands at the moment, whatever level you are, whether you're established or emerging, and if you want good quality garments, especially
with the brand like Nissa who trade in undergarments. You want these garments to last as long as as they can, so to invest in good quality fabrics and to pay people the fair wage to create these onshore, it does require a lot of sacrifice, and I think there's a disconnect between the consumer and designers, where designers are really
trying to focus on good quality manufacturing. There's not a lot of manufacturing left in New Zealand, but the manufacturers that we do have we have to try and support because I think what people forget is they have the power to spend money not only on the brands, but they're actually supporting a whole infrastructure behind the designers. It's
the pantern makers, it's the suppliers, it's the logistics. So there's a whole industry of people that we need to get behind to really support the local industry to see them survive. And so when you mentioned brands like that, it is quite sad to hear because it has been really challenging. There's just not enough of a market here
to scale. So they're comparing with ultra fast fashion, which is the likes of Tamil and Shin it's really disheartening for a designer to sort of compete with that competition when the consumers are really stall driven by price. And when you think about it, New Zealand Made it used to have a really beautiful cachet when we had campaign maybe I think in the late eighties, early nineties, and today it's sort of is the same as a premium
Japanese denum, you know. I think New Zealand Made we have to really think about what that actually stands for now, and I think it's a really critical time.
We're just going to keep growing a business, but it's not just about growth. It's one of the things that upset me early on was that no one could talk about anything about how big businesses were or what the GDP of the country was. There was no conversation about what was happening to the planet and the people on the way through to get those numbers. So we'll definitely keep growing.
How do we change the consumer's mindset into buying underwear that cost fifty dollars but will last you potentially a lifetime if you look after them, versus a pack of ten for ten bucks.
Yeah, I think we're just really spoiled by choice. I think that's what we're comparing with in terms of these fast fashion retailers. So when you work in media, when you're talking to designers, we really have to nail the message home that shopping local is better for the long term, not for the short term. Buying underwear or bad quality clothing that's destined for landfall will only last you so long,
so have to really educate consumers about that. So in twenty twenty four, Mindful Fashion New Zealand teamed up with EY to release a industry report called Threads of Tomorrow, which was really a comprehensive lock at the wider industry and how much value it brings to the economy. And I think in twenty twenty three the fashion industry actually accounted for one point nine percent of the GDP, which is more than the building industry, but that's a paralleln
retail sector combine. So in terms of supporting the local fashion industry, it's just really about getting behind our designers and really changing the mindset of how we consume. Think, you know, with the announcement of the tariffs, for example, that maybe that will be it's sort of a wait and see what will happen there because it's how that impacts and trickles down to our designers. We've got to really stay in touch with how that impacts them. It's very much a wait and see.
Yeah, and you mentioned the tariffs as well, and I know that a lot of those She and Timmy, those ultra fast fashion retailers that just pump out those micro trends and trends, and that's what you see on the TikTok the Instagram. That's what the kids are going for those massive halls with all these clothes and everything. Hopefully the tariffs, so that's the tariffs are going to make
those clothes more expensive to Americans. Do you think that how Americans shop and how Americans treat trends does trickle down to New Zealand and how consumers here feel?
Yes, sir no.
I think as New Zealand is because we're so isolated by nature. We are opshop lovers, We love vintage. There's an opshop in every small talent in New Zealand. And I think we are pioneers in terms of sustainable fashion design. So I feel like as a nation we are inherently more connected to the environment. So yes, there's a truckle down impact from the way that Americans consume, but the way that we consume is a little bit different. So I think that will serve us well in this period
while we're going through this change. And to go back to your question around educating the consumers around being better shoppers, I think we just have to keep reminding each other that New Zealand is naturally concerned about the planet and the environment, and we do have talented designers that are coming up with solutions to be more sustainable designers.
So I don't know about you, but I've seen online videos of these Chinese manufacturers lifting the lead, so to speak, on which high luxury ash and brands actually have their goods made in China. So from Prita to Tzara to Lululemon, people are thinking, well, why am I paying X amount when it only costs so much to make Why do you think people are so surprised by this.
I think because we live in an era where everyone's talking about digital marketing and marketing, and you know, consumers are still there's like an allure to luxury. But I think that's changing too. I think people are realizing, you know, with a report like that factories make the same handbags as they do for say a sublux brand like Michael Cores or Caspade, and then it trickles down to something
that you might find in a department store. They all come from the same factory at the end of the day. I think it's a good thing that we're communicating that, and I think the luxury industry should be more transparent. And that's not to sort of paint all luxury brands in the same light. I think there's something to be said about brands that still manufacture and quality controlled factories. So there's an artisanal aspect to luxury that is inherently
sustainable too. So yeah, it's an interesting one. I've seen those tiktoks two and I think they're quite funny.
This is Ermes Penny Himalaya. It is the shared dream or Chinese women. No, not just Chinese, it is the shared dream of all human women.
Do you know how much it cost?
That's the pootique two hundred and sinty thousand US dollars. But do you want to know what the price we have for our bag made by our factory. Well, I'll just Terry Risk. That's the one tenth of the price at the Potick. And what you should see and know is that we use exactly the same leather. This is crabile letter, exactly the same as Ermes.
So jarring to see these brands and these clothes and bags that we love so much, the Emes belt bag or something, you know, and seeing them in that kind of environment, it's kind.
Of like a switch up, like oh oh wow. But that, like you.
Said, there are still a tilias in Paris. But at the same time, you know, brands like Prata do manufacture the goods in China because brands in France are seeing the same thing as the brands in New Zealand, that it's getting costlier to make stuff.
And it's a whole education piece. And that's not to say that making in China's bad. I think made in China is really It's changed a lot over the years, and some of those factories have cutting each technology that you can't find anywhere. It's the reason why so many of our designers manufacture in China. But you're right, I think you know, it is quite gyring to see a brand that's so world renowned, you know, made in these
factories and it might be certain categories. For example, you've got the footwear in China, but then you've got sort of the ready to wear in Paris. So it's kind of like, I think it's a good thing that the consumer. The more the consumer is educated, the better we are, and it trickles down to how we consume locally.
So I also read an article about the fashion industry break for the impact of Trump's tariffs and a comment about it potentially setting the sector back fifty years, right. But then on the other hand, I read another article that in the fifties and sixties, ninety five percent of clothes that America wore were made in America, and that's now two percent. So could a reset for the industry actually end up being a good thing for local manufacturing.
It's early days. I feel like it's watch and wait and see, because you could see it both ways. But either way, I think a reset is a really good way to look at it. There are pros and cons, and I think it also depends on the capability of onshore manufacturers. Do we have the infrastructure still that we used to have fifty sixty years ago? Does America even have that? So we really have to question that and
look at our cottage industries. We have to look at our makers, our knitters, our weavers and really kind of find solution to come together to work together. And it's one of the reasons why there's so few and far between opportunities for the industry to connect. So I'm excited also to talk about New Zealand Fashion Week coming back because that is an opportunity to look at that event differently. You know, I think a lot of the argument over the years is that it's turned into some sort of
influencer playground. But one of the missions this is to really connect with designers to come up with solutions for them, to find ways to get people backshopping, supporting local and working with designers to figure out how they want to turn up. Designers don't have the resources that they used to, So do they want to do an ind season store event in store? Why not? You know? Does it always have to be a runway show? Can it be conversations, Can it be lunches. Can it be a chance to
network and meet people in real life? Because we just currently don't have that. So I think the more that the industry is able to have opportunities to come together to meet other people in the industry, not just for designers to meet other designers, but designers to actually connect
with the wider industry. I think that's when you can start thinking about the solutions that are urgent and how we can come together to talk to government about support because there's just a huge lack of support there.
And in terms of New Zealand Fashion Week, have you seen any other fashion weeks around the globe that have taken things from the runway, say, and taking them into real world situations.
What are some cool ideas that you've seen.
Yeah, I think Copenhagen Fashion Week is one that we've been looking at closely, just in terms of the way they organize the programming. There's a diversity in programming that's relevant to the consumer, which is really important. Traditionally New Zealand Fashion Week's been a trade event, but increasingly it's become more sort of half trade half consumer, which it
has to be to survive. And so some might argue that it becomes a fashion festival and not a fashion week, but it's sort of like, to me, they're both the same. With semantics, It's like the public doesn't care it's a week long event of fashion that they can be involved with. I'm excited about that. And Copenhagen's really been a good one to look up in terms of how they approach sustainability.
London Fashion Week's another good one. I think they really made a huge commitment to making it actually a sustainable fashion week across the board. So yeah, I mean it's returning to New Zealand in August and I hope that people turn up for it, and after a hiatus last year, but it's a chance for us to really look at what fashion means to us as New Zealanders, how we
can support our designers. Yeah, and a time where we're sort of questioning our identity as a country, I think how we get dressed in the morning is still something that we have power over.
And Dan Media Watch recently asked if there's life in lifestyle journalism in New Zealand now, do you think that there is and how does that flow onto the success of our local industries.
I think there is, you know. I think having worked on beav and the brand and built it up with a really great team for the last ten plus years, we've seen changes come and go in the media in general. Lead alone lifestyle. But I still feel like this value with strong lifestyle content in a newsroom environment. Not everyone wants to be bombarded with hard news every single day,
and I think there's value in lifestyle journalism. I think even here at in Zinni, we have the best lifestyle journalists in the country, so I think that's something to be incredibly proud of. I'm excited, especially about the independent lifestyle media that we have. You know, we've got some great examples here like Ensemble Magazine, Capsule, even a heritage magazine like Fashion Quarterly that's independent. So I think there's
room for everybody at the table. But I think we also need to think about the quality of content that we're putting out there and really investing in our lifestyle journalists.
Are you optimistic for the future of fashion in news Land? I saw just this week that Kate Sylvesta's sons are actually going to keep one of her brands going despite her namesake brand closing, which is an amazing development. Are there more bright spots like this out there?
I think there are, But I think, as going back to Las Star Media, it's our responsibility to shine a light on those stories as well as the closures, So I'm excited about it. I think it's a brilliant story because the boys three sons are all graduates of design and they've been working with the business since they were teenagers, so it's a natural progression for them. But it's a really good timely conversation to have because we're thinking about
succession plans for some of our established brands. It's like where to next when you've got people that are figureheads in those businesses, but you know, getting on in age, and I think it's really important to think about the future right now. And I feel positive. You know, I've been in this industry for over twenty years, and it's you know, it's easy to be jaded in an economy that's so small like New Zealand, but actually there's some
really great stories to continue telling and to celebrate. And I think we're so creative and innovative, you know, as a country, and I think that's something to still hold on to.
Thanks for joining us, Dan, Thanks.
For having me.
That's it for this episode of the Front Page. You can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage at enzedherld dot co dot enz. The Front Page is produced by Ethan Sills and Richard Martin, who is also our sound engineer.
I'm Chelsea Daniels.
Subscribe to the front page on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts, and tune in tomorrow for another look behind the headlines.