The NZ fashion brands dominating the social media game and the influence of social marketing
Nathalie Owen investigates
In FASHIONZ’s second instalment of our Battle of the Insta-Brands Series, New kids of the block OHEN discuss their meteoric rise and Kowtow’s Gosia Pitaek talks building a sustainable fashion brand through a digital lens and the influencer impact on social commerce.
Just like my first sip of coffee, which, let’s be honest, is as vital as oxygen, I can’t seem to function without my
morning social media fix. It’s a dopamine high that I keep chasing to refresh. While my job as a fashion journalist fuels this habit, my constant need for new content to stay ahead of the curve keeps my inner addict plugged in 24/7.
The New Zealand public is equally as dependent, with Kiwis spending on average 2 hours and 15 minutes a day scrolling on social media, according to Data Reportal, with 87.4% of our 5.33 Million strong population (Stats NZ) over the age of 18 being active users.
As for the stats, here’s a quick breakdown of how many New Zealanders dedicate their time online, as of early 2024 (Data Reportal), with Facebook, Instagram and TikTok leading the charts:
Social media is significantly shaping consumers spending habits and has become a key component of fashion brands’ digital marketing strategy. How designers leverage these platforms to engage customers, reach new audiences, foster brand loyalty and boost revenue ultimately comes down to effective creative and strategic performance marketing.
Instagram and TikTok serve as visual diaries, providing brands with a direct line of communication to their customers, dominating our feeds. Think about it. How many more times a week do you see your favourite labels, like Maggie Marilyn, Paris Georgia, Ruby and Kowtow, pop up on your Instagram than your BFFs? The algorithm is meticulously designed to sell products by anticipating and catering to your preferences. Armed with your browsing data and online sales history, Meta (parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) knows your wants and desires before you’ve even typed the words ‘Brown Suede Jacket’ into TikTok or Google.
Capturing consumers’ attention to the point where they actively stop scrolling is a strategic art form and a skill Milly Hewat Wall has mastered as the Co-Founder and Director of Someday Studios. As far as what consumers want from brands on socials: “It has to be insightful or either make you laugh, cry, cringe, or learn something,” she says. “If people don’t save it or send it to a friend, it’s not doing its job.”
A majority of my saved folder consists of style inspo, memes and my favourite girl crushes looking like a 2000s magazine dream in the latest offerings from local and international designers. Think Rosalie Burns, Zeenat Wilkinson, Liv Purdon, Caitlin Wigg and Aki Curtis. Influencers continue to be a big drawing card for consumers, which Hewat Wall credits to “their organic content being more relatable than traditional advertising, which helps create a deeper emotional connection with consumers.” Blurring the lines between influence and purchase, inevitably compelling us to stop, shop and scroll.
OHEN: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Influencer marketing is one brand-boosting super tool, local luxury lingerie brand OHEN has heavily invested in, with many of their social media campaigns featuring Kiwi women modelling their delicate designs.
The label, which was founded by Anja Bucher and Lu Blade-Bittle, already has a cult-like following, despite being less than a year into business. This is, thanks in part, to its myriad of muses including Rebe Burgess, Abby Plested, Rosalie Burns, Sarskia Melville and Portia Prince, who feature in the OHEN ON digital campaigns.
“Building a strong community has been a big goal of ours and social media plays a huge role in this,” Blade Bittle says. “For us, it’s not just about selling lingerie, it’s about being part of a movement that celebrates sensuality and self-expression.”
“OHEN has built a community-first brand,” says Someday Studios’ Hewat Wall. The full-service creative communications agency works closely with the design duo on all aspects of the business: from Brand, PR, content, campaign launches, community engagement, influencer and KOL relations, to events and activations.
“Lingerie is intimate and personal, so our focus has been profiling women their consumers can resonate with; mothers, artists, and business owners of various vocations,” Hewat Wall says. “This has seen the most engagement as people want to see themselves reflected; they appreciate authenticity and that’s what builds brand trust and loyalty,” causing a ripple effect with a rise in engagement, sales and repeat customers.
“Influencers have definitely helped us grow our brand presence and reach new audiences,” Blade-Bittle says. “If it’s done correctly and authentically, it has a huge impact,” Hewat Wall adds. “Consumers are clever and are very happy to call ‘bullshit’ on brands and influencers.” So, when a celebrity or influencer genuinely connects with a brand and its audience, it instantly builds confidence and impacts consumers’ purchase decisions.
Although OHEN’S Loyalty Programme has been a runaway hit, other strategies haven’t translated as well with audiences. “When we’ve put imagery out on our paid channels that hasn’t shown the fit of a product really clearly, it tends to underperform,” the duo says. “Customers want to see how a piece looks on real body types like theirs.”
So when it came time to launch their limited edition Periwinkle collection, they pulled out all the stops, from print billboards, social, paid and presale for loyalty members. “Our audience lives online and having the ability to connect with us through video and imagery is crucial, especially for lingerie, where fit is so personal,” Blade Bittle says. “Seeing how our pieces move and fit on real bodies in this digital space helps our customers make informed, confident choices.”
However, the duo admits that the tactile experience of flipping through a magazine or seeing a billboard in real life evokes a level of authenticity that digital spaces can’t quite replicate. While social commerce is undeniably the way forward, there’s something to be said for the value traditional marketing still holds, as it cements digital ads and social media campaigns into the consumer’s physical world. According to Statista New Zealand, “53% of Millennials remember seeing advertising on social media.” So, when consumers see a campaign in the wild, it makes that brand or product feel closer within reach.
OHEN’s community has a global reach, with the US being the label’s second-largest market, after New Zealand, followed by Australia and the UK. “We’re surprised by how many messages and orders we get from overseas given how young we are,” the duo says. They plan to expand their NZ stockists in 2025 and are looking to move into the Australian market, with their sights set on the UK next.
For an independent start-up label, the global market growth OHEN has achieved through social media is ground-breaking, proving that with a combination of good creative, the right digital strategy and performance marketing, the sky’s the limit.
KOWTOW: A LESSON IN BRAND BUILDING & LONGEVITY
However, the power of being able to hold court in a sea of ever-expanding Instagram brands, particularly in the sustainable fashion sector, is a true testament to the quality of a designer’s product, compelling brand story-telling and strong customer loyalty. Which is no mean feat and an accomplishment Kowtow founder Gosia Piatek has safeguarded over her 17 years at the helm of the Kiwi favourite fashion label.
“Kowtow has always taken a different approach to marketing and been connected with a global digital community since day one,” Piatek says. “Social media shifted this connection, allowing us to reach new people and bring them into the brand’s purpose, in a way that added meaning for our customers.”
With 123K followers on Instagram, the certified Fairtrade brand has an impressive online audience, with their highest-performing content being authentic BTS Reels. From Gosia talking through the ‘Nature is Home’ collection, which has 90K views on Instagram, to videos on How to wear the ‘Quilt Jacket’ (89.5K) and Unboxing the ‘Composure Cardigan’ (82K) on TikTok, Kowtow’s content is real, relatable and resonates remarkably well with its online consumers.
@kowtowclothing With the launch of our first plastic-free collection, Gosia talks through our natural alternatives to synthetic components – a vision to create clothes that can return to the earth without harm. The base material of Kowtow clothing has always been 100% certified Fairtrade organic cotton but we have previously used plastic garment components. These sit in the thread that holds a garment together, the edge of a cuff and in places like elastic in waistbands. All new Kowtow garments are now plastic-free. #kowtow #kowtowclothing #kowtowloves #sustainablefashion #sustainability #ethicalfashion #plastic #plasticfree #plasticpollution #fashion
“I have always spoken my mind,” Piatek asserts, “and that has been the same since the start.” These BTS videos are a natural extension of her approach and are deeply rooted in the narrative behind the clothes. “We talk about the philosophy, the details and consideration for people and planet,” she says. “It’s an interesting and genuine story that seems to connect with our community, who have a shared set of values.” Although Piatek admits that despite regularly being front and centre, she still hasn’t gotten used to watching herself back on film.
Kowtow has always been open and transparent about its vision and conscious approach to clothing. “Social media has been a natural home for that transparency and a space for a two-way conversation,” Piatek adds, allowing the brand to connect with its community on a deeper level. While simultaneously increasing the visibility of the ethical impact of the industry, “with leaders and change-makers flying the flag for a better way of making clothes and treating people in the process.”
“Partnering with like-minded change-makers on social media, who share our views on responsible fashion, helps get our brand out of fashion feeds and into discussions for positive change that matter to us.”
Kowtow continues to set the bar as a leader in sustainable, ethical fashion and has recently removed all traces of plastic from its clothing. While their garments have always been made from 100% certified Fairtrade organic cotton, they included plastic garment components, such as thread or elastic in waistbands, which is the current industry standard.
Going plastic-free was a mammoth undertaking, which included the removal of the brand’s best-selling product, the Kowtow legging, as it contained elastane, which takes 200 years to decompose. But for Pitaek the ethical implications on the planet far outweighed any profits, and while initially a huge risk, the gamble for a vision of clothing that can return to the earth without harm, has paid off. Returning to 100% Mother Nature has never felt or looked so good.
“Going completely plastic-free was the perfect moment for us to share the journey we’d undertaken with the industry and our customers, fostering collective knowledge and amplifying our voice,” the designer says.
To celebrate the milestone, Kowtow curated the aptly titled ‘Goodbye Plastic. Sincerely’ campaign in two parts: firstly, releasing the Kowtow Plastic-Free Handbook, an open-source resource designed to inspire the industry to adopt more sustainable and ethical fashion practices. Piatek admits that “while this move made us nervous, it aligned perfectly with our core values of radical transparency, community upliftment, knowledge sharing, education, and positive impact.”
Secondly, they initiated a strategic campaign spanning digital, social and traditional outlets, complemented by product launches, including the Goodbye Plastic. Sincerely Tote and a Wear Nature. Not Plastic Tee, as well as in-store mirror decals that encouraged customers to pose while promoting the ethos for change, which they often shared on social media.
“We discovered that a pivotal moment occurs when we explain to someone that every part of their garment, from the elastic to the trims and thread, typically contains plastic,” Piatek says. “Once people understand this, they cannot unknow it, creating a powerful realisation.” Kowtow’s ambition was to bring their plastic-free clothing story into the mainstream media and spark a powerful and open dialogue, to which they have succeeded.
The brand continues to utilize a mix of paid, owned and earned brand-building techniques to support awareness, engagement and community building, which they continually review and refine based on community feedback and effectiveness.
“Social Media gives us the privilege of being able to listen, learn and adapt and our community quickly tells us what resonates and we follow their lead,” Pitaek says.
It has also been a powerful tool for their local and global stockists to see a snapshot of the brand. “This has been a helpful initiation for potential stockists as we teach them more about what we stand for, how engaged and active our community are and ways to wear and style the clothes,” she says.
“Kowtow has leveraged a digital-first strategy to grow brand awareness through the funnel, all the way through to advocacy,” says Kowtow’s Marketing Manager Rachel Turner. “With specific touchpoints and channels used in different stages of an online journey. Our team are in a continual feedback loop from creative through to execution, refining what’s working and what’s not. From content through to media bookings.”
Influencers and Content Creators that align with the brand’s values and aesthetic have been a key part of their social marketing strategy, working with influencers like Mari Jasmine and Jessie Kirk. “We find this has the right audience cross-over and creative outputs,” Turner says. “When we get the recipe right these can be a helpful commercial driver.”
Piatek knows Kowtow’s strength lies in its global community. “The more we listen, the more we can offer genuine connection points and explore new ways of sharing our story,” she says. “As we get deeper into TikTok (with the brand expanding into TikTok Shop in 2025) we’re finding there’s even more scope for behind the-scenes and personal connection, so watch this space!”
With Kowtow’s mission to create clothing that can return to the earth without harm and commitment to transparency woven into every stitch, they have fostered a genuine and authentic connection with their customers that transcends the traditional constructs of fashion.
It’s more than just selling clothes. Kowtow’s success lies in its values, ethics and passion to push beyond the boundaries of sustainable fashion, inspiring customers and the industry to question what they can do to protect the planet. It’s an ethos and open dialogue reflected in their social platforms, sparking a conversation for change.
THE INFLUENCER IMPACT:
A concept that is championed by Kiwi influencers such as Chloe C Hill and Jessie Kirk, who inspire their followers to support local sustainable brands. “Influencers can be powerful drivers of initial interest in brands, and can also revitalise established brands by introducing them to new demographics or reengaging lapsed customers,” says Christine Kearney, Partner and CEO of performance marketing agency, PH Digital.
“For brands audiences don’t know, consumers typically seek social proof that the product is reliable and of high quality,” she says. “For brands they already love, they look for a mix of beautiful, shareable imagery alongside authenticity. It’s about establishing trust and creating a visual narrative that resonates with them.”
Hewatt-Wall agrees, adding that we are all voyeurs, especially younger consumers who are digital natives. “We want to see behind a brand, the inner workings, we want to know about the failures as much as the successes because it makes us feel like insiders,” she says. “Look at TikTok and the rise in podcasting, it’s all based on realness and is social proof that there’s a real person behind the brand.” This builds a deeper emotional connection that’s hard to replicate with polished advertising and why the rise of influencer and user-generated content resonates so strongly with online audiences.
AKI CURTIS
Cue Aki Curtis of The Sleek Avenue, who first entered the local fashion scene in 2012 and is one of NZ’s OG influencers, long before the term content creators even existed.
The former Advertising Agency Art Director has always brought an editorial and high-fashion flair to her work, producing content and partnering with numerous luxury fashion and local brands: including Gucci, Prada, Karen Walker and Deadly Ponies and shopping destinations such as Westfield, which has become a mecca for the international retail market.
“When I first started it was all about featuring polished, curated and editorial imagery. Now it’s all about videos, being candid and spontaneous,” she says. “I still like to have a bit of both.”
“NZ is a sustainability-focused country and influencers do in fact influence shopping behaviours,” she says. “When I see people I follow buy certain things, I want to find out where the clothing is from too!” As to what works, “good content inspires people and makes them actively want to engage with that [brand or product] and make a future purchase.”
Curtis recognises the seasonality of social trends. “Certain content styles perform incredibly well for a month or two, then engagement falls off a cliff,” she says. However, testing the waters with something new can be more challenging once you’ve had a taste of success. “The hardest reel I ever posted was the one after I had a viral post with over 12 Million views,” she admits. “But nobody knows what works 100% of the time” and that unpredictability is the beauty of social media. “The only thing that will move you forward is to keep trying.”
As to the brands she chooses to partner with, while quality and craftsmanship are important, Asian representation is what matters most. “Asians make up a big chunk of luxury spending and 17% of NZ’s population,” she says. “When I see Karen Walker and Deadly Ponies featuring Asian faces on their posters or digital campaigns, I want to shop with them! When Fashion Quarterly put an Asian model on the cover, my niece sent me a photo telling me that ‘there’s finally someone that looks like us’. It means so much to our community, especially the younger generation.”
New Zealand prides itself on being a vibrant, multicultural society, so in an industry still predominately led by Pākehā Content Creators representation and diversity are so important. With influencers such as Curtis, Zeenat Wilkinson, Dennise Palpal-latoc, Siposetu Duncan and body-positive icons Jess Molina and Jessie Kirk representing the true faces of New Zealand fashion and inspiring the next generation of content creators.
With Gen Z, who are the future of fashion consumption, prioritising values, ethics, quality and authenticity when spending (Nielsen IQ), brands such as OHEN and Kowtow are leading the market. From ethical and design transparency, clear brand messaging, showing their garments on real Kiwi women that align with their core values and strategic and genuine social marketing that show the true inner workings of the brand; that engages audiences to connect on a deeper level. This ultimately builds the type of online social community that turns a simple social media campaign into a part of the consumer experience. That is the real power of digital influence and the key to longevity in social commerce. The online world may move at lightning speed, but the community it builds between the brand and the consumer lasts forever and that’s liquid gold.