THE ETHICAL CHOICE

When it comes to a career in designing underwear, Elisha Watson is perhaps an unusual candidate. Up until mid-2017, she was a lawyer in corporate litigation with little interest in fashion.

But that all changed 18 months ago when she launched Nisa in her native Wellington. But she confesses it was more about making underwear with a message as her six sewing staff all arrived into New Zealand as refugees.

“At the same time I was working as a lawyer, I was also volunteering at the Red Cross helping recently arrived refugee families,” explains Elisha, 28. “I became very passionate about it and wanted to find a way to make a difference.

“Employment is one of the chief opportunities for integration, so I came up with a business idea and then in 2017, with zero experience in fashion design or production, I jumped straight in. I’ve definitely had to learn everything from the ground up.”

Ethical underwear wasn’t her only focus – she wanted the brand to also celebrate the beauty of body diversity, and Nisa’s advertising campaigns are more real life than New York fashion label.

“Lavish photo shoots were never our thing,” says Elisha. “So it made so much sense for our models to reflect who our supporters and buyers are, and be mirrors of the wider community. What’s trendy and what’s not is kind of by the by to us. People buy our underwear because they love our story and want to get involved, and it just so happens that the product is beautiful.”

It’s been a sharp, short rise to popularity for the Nisa brand and in February 2019, the company went from online-only orders to their first permanent store with an onsite workshop in Wellington’s Willis Street.