They've been known to drive across sand dunes at 3am, just to gain perspective. Or spin tracks in the dirt to let go of work-week tensions. They go off the grid on early morning hunts up the Arawhata Valley, and sometimes clock up nautical miles delivering yachts across oceans. Refreshingly, their clothes are a lot like them.
The great outdoors is what got Guy Brock, Sam Montgomery and Nathanael Allen, the trio behind functional outdoor clothing label Moreporks, into fashion. They didn't know anything about clothes, but they knew they were into them. Most essentially, they wished to design garments that could come along for the ride, as they bush-bashed across parts of the lower North Island or forged new trails in trucks suited for such rock 'n' roll activities. Those years spent as the most well-dressed, sartorially up-to-date adventurers have paid off.
The three guys met in various stages of high school, with Allen and Brock becoming fast friends early on, meeting Montgomery at different times further down the track. Their talents seem to have converged organically, too. Allen, and his mind for business, has taken charge of the label as director, Brock works on illustration and brand imagery, and Montgomery is in-house photographer, tasked with shooting new collections in supreme locations across New Zealand, as well as researching historical material for the brand to draw from.
And together Montgomery and Brock take charge designing new pieces for each seasonal collection. Allen recalls spotting Brock's talent for illustration and clothing design very early on: "I remember looking at Guy's art boards during design class and wondering why he was allowed to draw whatever he wanted, while the rest of us had to operate within strict teacher guidelines."
