From farm to fashion for Morter
‘‘"My childhood was spent feeding chickens, moving cattle and mucking out horses stalls ... It taught me perseverance, dedication and hard work."’’
Rebecca Morter has gone from the farm to a world of fashion.
The former ACG Strathallan student, who grew up in Pukekohe, is now an international fashion designer with a store in London and her own fashion label.
Her rural upbringing was perfect grounding for such a career, she says.
‘‘My childhood was spent feeding chickens, moving cattle and mucking out horses stalls ... It taught me perseverance, dedication and hard work.’’
Morter’s eye for design was evident at school where she received ’’top in the world’’ in the Cambridge design and technology papers. She credits her teacher Matt Humber for ‘‘pushing’’ her to ‘‘try different things’’.
This led her to starting her clothing company Rein last year after graduating from London College of Fashion.
Her designs have been worn by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Cheryl Cole and her latest work has just featured on the runways of London Fashion Week.
Morter says she was always encouraged to follow her dreams.
‘‘I’ve always been ambitious, I’ve always wanted to build something with my own stamp,’’ she says.
One of her best pieces of advice came to her while doing an internship for fashion designer Alexander Wang.
‘‘When I told the design director I wanted to set up my own brand one day, he told me ‘You will get knocked down again and again, but you just have to keep getting back up’.’’