A Stylish Stroll Through New York City With Georgia Pratt Holiber

Model, designer, muse and mother Georgia Pratt Holiber has made a unique space for herself in her adopted home of New York. The New Zealander takes to the streets in a parade of fashion celebrating a connection to her roots, both past and present.

My Side Of Town

A cool autumn day and a jolt of sun radiates off a dress of Georgia’s own design for her label Hilda Ereaut. The Emporia dress in pāua silk shantung gingham is a one-of-a-kind (POA) worn with vintage Vivienne Westwood velvet slippers. As one of her favourite local spots, Transmitter Park is the perfect spot for gorgeous views of the East River shoreline.

Sheer Etendre

Since arriving in New York 10 years ago, Georgia has connected with a range of people in the industry — including the clever designers behind underground label Gauntlett Cheng, a brand Georgia has modelled for and has become friendly with. Designers Esther Gauntlett and Jenny Cheng celebrate concepts of gender-fluidity and body-neutrality through their thoughtful designs, navigating their way as interns at Eckhaus Latta, and managing their own brand from their studio space in Dumbo. A shimmering organza wrap skirt and an asymmetrical lace top reinforce the brand’s whimsical aesthetic (POA). Icebreaker bodysuit $130. Untouched World socks $33. Custom Prada headband stylist’s own.

Come Into My World

Sunny Side Up

Georgia’s former AUT classmate Keva Rands has also harnessed the power of community and slow fashion through her gender-fluid designs for Papa Clothing. It made sense to reunite a piece home-made with love by Keva in this shoot in the form of the Hōkūloa dress, $475, made from a gingham cotton. Marni sandals (POA).

Maternal Instinct

On set with the team, daughter Hazel is surrounded by the creative energy fostered by Georgia and Nicolas, wearing a pair of gorgeous custom silk bloomers made by Georgia for this shoot. Georgia wears a Hilda Ereaut dress, made from 100 per cent silk charmeuse and carefully pieced together using a series of alternating bias-cut diamonds and French seams. Like all of Georgia’s designs, every item is cut and sewn in-house by a small team. Hilda Ereaut dress $780. Gloria x Heist headpiece $90.

Body & Soul

As a pioneer of Māori fashion in Aotearoa, Jeanine Clarkin started her eponymous label more than 27 years ago with a focus on championing indigenous design at home and abroad. Drawing her design inspiration from the conceptual body of the wharenui, whare tinana (body), wairua (spirit), mauri (life force) and te taiao (environment), this screen-printed full skirt nods to her pioneering streetwear roots and evolves her designs for today’s modern woman — like Georgia. Jeanine also incorporates patterns that originate from tukutuku and, through her creative practice, continues the tradition of Māori women’s fibre art. Jeanine Clarkin skirt $450. Hilda Ereaut wrap top (POA). Gloria x Heist headpiece $90. Georgia’s own rings.

Creative Pursuits

A fashion design graduate from AUT, Georgia cut her teeth at now-defunct label Miss Crabb, managing the workroom and production of the brand while simultaneously working on her own collection of clothes. Unsurprisingly, she’s continued to embrace her design passion with her clothing line, Hilda Ereaut, lovingly designed in her studio at Bushwick, where she shares space with her equally talented artist husband, Nicolas Holiber. Like large-scale sculptures, Nicolas’ artwork is a medley of vivid colour and texture, built up from a dense impasto body, made up of thickly layered acrylic medium. The New York Academy of Art graduate’s multidimensional works that combine painting, drawing and sculpture have travelled around the world via exhibitions from London to Shanghai and across the United States. To see more of Nicolas’ works visit @Nicolasholiber on Instagram. Georgia wears a moss-green crinkled silk Hilda Ereaut dress (POA). Natalia Peri necklace $730. Augustine mules $190. Nicolas wears Lucky Dip shirt $450.

Local Love

“We often come here and sit at the bar and order oysters and debrief on things that are going on in our lives,” says Georgia of Greenpoint Fish & Lobster at 114 Nassau Ave, a local fresh seafood eatery that she frequents with Nicolas in their neighbourhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Taking on the translucent drama of this ruffled silk organza dress like scales on a fish from AUT student Sheetol Chawla, Georgia nods to her AUT alumna with elegance and grace. From her collection entitled Spiritual Shift, Sheetol uses the natural and spiritual worlds as the inspiration for designs that encapsulate light, movement and freedom of spirit, using more than 500m of cording interspersed with pin tucks to give an impression of breathing, while the scaled layers convey a message of growth and movement. Stay tuned for our coverage of Sheetol’s inclusion at this year’s iD Dunedin Fashion Week this weekend here.

Read our interview with Georgia Pratt Holiber here, where she chats to Jessica Beresford about returning to her true calling — fashion design.

Photographer / Emma Anderson. Fashion director / Dan Ahwa. Makeup / Jessica Garvin. Hair / Izumi Sato. Set designer / Caz Slattery. Photographer’s assistant / Alec Vierra. Shoot assistant / Grace Gemuhluoglu.