What are some great New Zealand brands I can check out?

[LavenderHills]

I live in Australia and have a lot of favourite Australian brands for clothing and jewellery.

From the famous ones (Scanlan Theodore, Zimmerman, Dinosaur Designs) to the basic staples (Oroton, Trenery) to the small, ethical indie labels (Sarah and Sebastian jewellery, swoon-worthy coats from Friends With Frank, custom t-shirts from Citizen Wolf) there is so much to love!

I've heard New Zealanders wax lyrical about local brands over there, but haven't heard a lot of specific recommendations.

So tell me! What are great labels in the Land Of Jacinda?

It has been a long time since I’ve lived there but remember liking Kate Sylvester, Trelise Cooper and Karen Walker.

Oh from New Zealand ( waves across the ditch)

• Juliette Hogan. Much beloved by the gorgeous Jacinta. Made in New Zealand.Watch out for sales - online sale now
• Kow Tow. Ethically made, organic cotton. Quite structured - almost too structured now ( think Cos on steroids). Their Building Block pieces - woven organic cotton are more forgiving and wonderful quality
• Nisa for knickers, ( not for lg breasted) , camis and PJ - ethical cotton. Company started by former lawyer and employs refugee women who otherwise would struggle to find work. Expensive but I have had knickers couple yrs and still wearing well. Oh also do Greta merino socks.

-Charmaine Revelley from Dunedin - gorgeous silk dresses and 60s style coats. Made in NZ

• standard issue - gorgeous knitwear Greta quality NZ made merino. Good value in sales
• From knitwear - actually my favourite. NZ made

-Widdes Auckland bases, natural fabrics gorgeous dresses and kimonos

• Mckinley’s Shoes - Dunedin company , made in NZ , famous kids shoes but I have the most gorgeous chocolate ankle boots
• Nom D - beautiful but expressive. Dunedin designer.dresses last decades and knitwear good
• Zambezi. Auckland designer. Beautiful and expensive. Very edgy.

Lots great jewellery designers too - meadowlark, boh runga

I actually think NZ fashion is seriously under-estimated.

Hi Luna! We like the same :)

TK
Widdess
Zoe and Morgan (jewellery)
Mahsa, so expensive, but sooooo worth it :)
Moochi (quite cool for basics)
27 names

Kate sylvester my fave :)

Deadly ponies (handbags)
Saben (bags)
Paris Georgia

Oh this is a good thread! I was trying to find NZ brands a few days ago but had no idea how to find them.

I have had both Deadly Ponies and Yu Mei - it is not entirely clear that DP is totally made in NZ. My DP bag the leather wore very very quickly. My Yu mei however going strong 2 yrs - both the same prices.

Moontide swimwear

Lonely has some fab swimmers too

There is also a Made in NZ fb page. It got a lot of traction over lockdown.

Euphoria! I love their understudy series. Beautiful drapey stretchy black dresses that are stylish and super comfy.

there is a Facebook page called New Zealand Made Products that was created during Covid and is a good spot to find loads of pretty cool stuff

I’m not in NZ but am interested in clothes and looked at some sites mentioned above. Everything is so expensive Moochi $300 for a pair of trousers. KowTow similar at four times the price of Cos. Are the sites mentioned designer? Or is clothing generally very expensive?

@Alongcameacat anything NZ made is generally expensive.

If it's only designed in NZ and manufactured elsewhere it can be expensive/designer but it's often much cheaper. I don't both buying designer clothes made in third world garment factories though.

Kathryn Wilson (KW) shoes.

worstwitch18 Off topic but salaries must be very high too? If I paid €300 for every pair of trousers, it would be an involuntary capsule one!

I really like Moochi. Really comfortable to wear and find their styles often can hide a multitude of sins!

Oh and yes to Kathryn Wilson shoes, whoever mentioned those. So comfortable and well made.

@Alongcameacat

Median salary a year is about 52, 000 NZD (27, 000 pounds ish).

You can get cheaper clothes e.g. Glassons clothes which are made in china. Or from the Warehouse. For office workwear many people do have capsule wardrobes.

Blak has some gorgeous dresses etc

The brands mentioned are designer labels and not worn by the average New Zealand woman. There are loads of low-mid price ranges, including H&M and Zara which many of you would be familiar with.
The made-locally labels tend to be expensive because we are a (comparatively) high wage economy and cannot manufacture here at a cost that matches garments made in sweatshops overseas. Though there are certainly plenty of those garments available for sale here.

Agree, NZ design is underrated. I used to work in an office with a NZ woman and she had very few work clothes, but all NZ designer and just lovely. She would wear her clothes until they fell apart.

I was put off by price until I realised it’s a small population (customer base) and most are locally made with quality fabrics.

You’re missing all birds!

I think New Zealander Designer ( which for me means Made in NZ) are heaps better quality and much lower price than in the UK designer . We have some really talented designer and their clothes are pretty timeless.
No I haven’t forgotten Allbirds - best shoes in the world ( apart from Birkies.

I don’t think style and NZ go hand in hand. Beautiful country but not really known for its sense of style.

All birds and stylish don’t belong in the same sentence. Birkenstocks aren’t stylish either.
Is this thread about well made good quality clothes or style? There is a huge difference.