THE INVESTMENT DRESSER
I’m not normally that moved by the sartorial expressions of the Royal family, but I am interested in the Duchess of Sussex and her backing of lesser known brands with a keen sense of ethics to them. On her recent tour she wore a white tuxedo dress by Maggie Marilyn – albeit altered, with the original puff sleeve arms removed (I much preferred the intended design, but I guess those yoga-toned biceps won’t reveal themselves). As is the way with these things, it sold out instantaneously.
But the designer has much more to her bow than dressing a Duchess. At only 24, and two years into heading her own 10-strong studio, she has received a nomination for the respected LVMH Prize, and was picked up by Net-a-porter with her very first collection. It’s easy to see why. Her designs are a sweet combination of exuberant joie de vivre and a clear grasp of how women want to dress.
Her elegant silk column dresses – in juicy candy stripes or plain navy – work as well with a pair of scuffed trainers as sharp heels. For a designer at her age to have such a strong understanding of wardrobe pieces that work hard is impressive. Unsurprisingly perhaps, she grew up in “a house full of women. When I started my brand I knew there had to be something for my 17-year-old sister and my 50-year-old mother. Pieces that were attainable, aspirational and inclusive.”
While she is producing luxury pieces, by bent of manufacturing in her native New Zealand her prices are competitive – she also allows online customers to pay for her pieces in instalments across six weekly payments. The label has a strong sense of community and supporting women at its core. In this way, she also feels a strong responsibility to creating mindfully. She describes it as “liveable luxury” which relates as much to her production as the end result. “Luxury to us means lessening our environmental impact every season, having a transparent supply chain, paying our makers fair, living wages and building a relationship and bond with these people that surpasses a business exchange,” she said. What she really offers is a way to invest in fashion that will bring as much joy and longevity to the wearer as, hopefully, the people involved in the process of creating it. Her sunny, positive attitude radiates through her designs, notably in their slightly cheesy but rather charming monikers – the Get ’Em Girl dress, We’re on to Something shirt and the Kiss Me Now trench. “You can’t underestimate the power of positive affirmations. I want our woman to believe she can go out there and change the world. I believe she can and she will.” Why not, eh?