Helping you make considered purchases and cut through all that algorithmic online noise, Retail Therapy is our guide to what’s new and notable in the fashion world, from the latest aspirational pieces by luxury brands to local fashion news. This week: fresh collections, seasonal sales, and some sad news for South Island retail.
New in
Well-timed Wixii pieces
Local label Wixii — purveyors of slinky, clinging knits, slouchy separates and all-round great layering pieces — has released a new collection. Staples like its tube top and cardigans return, but there are also some very appealing propositions like a lush cashmere hood, and a clever ‘polo sleeves’ design (pictured) offering an inventive way to add warmth if you’re already stocked up on jumpers for winter. 136/146 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, Auckland.
Rug up with a beautiful blanket
With temperatures dropping and El Niño making its long-awaited presence known — delivering cooler weather and a “polar blast” — parking up on the couch with an engrossing novel, movie or show is very a good way to spend your evening or weekend. And when you consider how many hours this activity takes up, and the comfort it brings, investing in a joy-bringing blanket carries weight.
While checks and neutrals abound, sometimes you want a bit more material interest, and the new range from Noa Blanket Co offers just that. Entitled ‘Limitless’, a name that draws from familial connections, heritage and future possibilities, the woven-to-order blankets are locally made from 100 per cent New Zealand wool. Patterns are the hero, to great effect; designs draw from everything from traditional tāniko embroidery, central tāhūhū beams of whare roofing and tukutuku latticework, to the natural world and ancestral history.
Also adding value to such an investment is the knowledge that you’re supporting a local family business. Noa is run by Whakaawa Te Kani and Josh Te Kani, and Whakaawa recently spoke to Leanne Moore for Viva’s new In My Studio series. “We’re very proud to be 100 per cent grown, designed and made here in Aotearoa,” she tells Leanne. “Noa Blanket Co is our long-time dream and something we believe in.”
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Advertise with NZME.Cartier reboots the Baignoire
French luxury brand Cartier has this week unveiled an elegant new collection of Baignoire watches, translating a historic brand design, which dates back to 1912, for the contemporary moment. That original release revised the rectangular and hexagonal styles of previous watch faces with rounded edges for a softened, elegant look. This new collection re-proportions and miniaturises those iconic oval faces, so they can be donned on slick bangles, striking leather straps or delicate link chains, making the pieces more comparable to jewellery.
And in a starring role, French-English singer and actress Lou Doillon, pictured here wearing the gold version (POA), is the face of the new campaign. She regards the Cartier pieces as emblems of celebration, recalling a particular occasion: “For my eighteenth birthday, my mother gave me a Baignoire watch” — and Doillon models the newly released pieces in a collection of scale-bending images, demonstrating that elegant je ne sais quoi so befitting of the French luxury brand. For New Zealanders, the range is available at Partridge Jewellers.
What’s happening
There’s vintage Carhartt at Magichollow for a limited time
If you like a bit of classic workwear — and really, what’s not to love, between the strong proportions, great fabrics and quality of make — then head to Magichollow this weekend, where there’s a pop-up sale of vintage Carhartt pieces (lots of them) taking place on Saturday and Sunday. 161 Karangahape Rd, Auckland Central, Auckland.
The last bottle of Road by Karangahape is up for auction
A cool, clever fragrance that caused a stir on Tāmaki Makaurau’s famous strip when it was released in May, Road by Karangahape is an innovative collaboration between local perfumer Of Body and the K Rd Business Association. “An ode to home, and familiar chaos,” chief scent smith Nathan Taare told Viva when we reported its launch. “It’s a surprising, magnetic smell that will compel deep nostalgia in anyone within the wearer’s radius.” Released in staggered drops at assorted small businesses on Karangahape Rd, and with only 150 bottles available, the fragrance became sought-after. Now, there’s just one bottle left, currently being auctioned off (closing at 7pm tonight), with all proceeds going to Lifewise.
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Advertise with NZME.The South Island’s historic H&J Smith department stores are closing
In more sad news for Aotearoa’s retail landscape, although still profitable, historic Invercargill-based business H&J Smith Group has announced it will be shutting down the company’s namesake retail spaces after 123 years. “It will close its southern department stores in Queenstown, Gore and Invercargill with the loss of 220 jobs by November,” reported The New Zealand Herald’s Anne Gibson earlier this week. “[The group] says the way we shop has changed,” citing the domestic and global decline in the department store model as a key factor, and gives Gibson comprehensive answers to questions about what happens next, including gift cards and its school uniform operation.
On sale
It’s seasonal mark-down time for Slow Store
On for two weeks (ending July 14) at its Ponsonby store and online, Slow Store’s winter sale kicks off today, offering some very good discounts — reductions range from 20 to 50 per cent off — on its popular range of furniture and wares for the home. 10 Ponsonby Rd, Grey Lynn, Auckland.
Kate Sylvester has launched its seasonal sale
A good chance to pick up some of the label’s versatile designs at a discount, standouts include a librarian-cool tweed dress (great for layering), this fluttery silk-georgette number (currently $200 off), and a favourite of mine: the ‘Valetta’ shirt (pictured) originally released in 2000 and reissued for Kate Sylvester’s latest collection, ‘93 23′, which thoughtfully draws from its archive, as ode to its 30th anniversary this year.
Zambesi is holding a scramble
This suitably named sale event is a one-day-only chance to dive into everything from samples and seconds to fabric and even coat hangers — and given the depth of the brand’s archive, we anticipate some really special things in the mix. 16 Gundry St, Newton, Auckland.
