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28th Aug 2019
The sun streamed into the Glasshouse in Auckland’s Morningside, where dresses, hung high on the line above attendees, air dried as tulips spilled in pinks and oranges alongside lemon trees and sunflowers that decorated the grass below. Enter the welcoming gardens of Maggie Marilyn’s world: a safe, pastel-hued space where a sustainability-first mindset promoted an atmosphere not of peril, but of optimism to inspire change in an industry that desperately needs it.
An upbeat score set the scene for a celebration of hyper-femininity without environmental compromise, beckoning women to dress up even if they have no occasion. Mini skirts that sat below the hip in cornflower blue came first, followed by safari jacket-style shirting in marshmallow pink that was teamed with coordinating shorts in a no-brainer pairing. Balloon sleeves attached to dresses that displayed the designer’s bent for frilly embellishment defied gravity, and lent themselves as anchor points from which blazers with Victorian-inspired ruffles, amplifying this knack for detail, sprung out. Peplum bustiers, tailored trousers, a hint of print and bias cut dresses, this time rendered in surprising black, rounded out the inclusive collection, meaning there were offerings available for every woman.
“At the heart of it, we still want to be a brand that empowers our customer and tells her that it’s okay to want to buy a beautiful new dress and still feel like she can go out there and change her world,” explains Hewitt exclusively to . “Sustainability is a huge driver behind everything,” she adds simultaneously, highlighting, “It’s not like I can design to my heart’s content and try and make our values fit into my designs; it has to be a fusion of the two.”
And, while Hewitt drew inspiration from a wide net of references (Meg Ryan in Kate & Leopold (2001); Pantene colour swatches; the Bay of Islands where she grew up and returns to design each collection), she emphasises the pivotal role played by the returning customer in bringing the collection to life in just six short weeks. “It comes down to me designing for the customer,” she says. “It being our ninth season and three years in business, we really know what works and what doesn’t work for our customer so that’s always a great starting point as well.” At the same time, designing pieces for a fashion show enabled Hewitt to exercise different creative muscles and toy with new styles: “this collection was fun because I go to design pieces for the runway, which usually we wouldn’t design for a look book to sell in a showroom, so that was really exciting.”
Still, the collection (even if some styles were geared for the runway and not necessarily for retail) remained thoughtful, and never superfluous. This sense of careful refinement feeds into Hewitt’s holistic approach: “you have to have a purpose or a story that you’re trying to tell with your brand,” she says, “people are craving something more than just beautiful clothing.”
She’s fostered this perspective not only from consumer interaction, but her own experience with clothing, which she identifies as a spiritual one that can uplift or disempower depending on how pieces have been made. As Hewitt explains: “[Manufacturing in New Zealand] enables us to have a deeper connection to the clothing… to know the name of the person that buttonholes our blazers, the person we get the fabric from, the person who presses them at the end… trying to bring that humanness into fashion.”
Which is why, when Hewitt explains her hopes for the future – where sustainability is par for the course in founding new businesses and consumers are receptive to education – one believes her, and flashbacks of models sashaying in resplendent eco-friendly ensembles replay in the mind. “Revolutions start at a grassroots level and every single person has the power to make a significant impact,” Hewitt explains, as she evokes the same uplifting spirit encountered hours earlier as the show came to its finale, her band of considered women clapping to Florence & the Machine’s You’ve Got the Love.
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