Murray Bevan (owner of FashioNZ) asked for a personal and honest account of the last 12 months… “sooo buckle up”
We’re over halfway into 2024, and even now, when I think about 2023 my puku (stomach) does somersaults. It’s been a mixture of wonderful highs and heartbreaking lows that resulted in my first and complete burnout (we’ll save that story for another day ha!)
It’s not like our industry hasn’t seen challenge before. I’d still say the most detrimental impact on the New Zealand fashion industry occurred when 80% of our designers and fashion houses moved manufacturing off-shore.
2023 and 2024 have seen pernicious impact via climate change, wars, genocide, politics, racism and inflation. Add in surviving Covid, lockdowns and a complete shift in society’s means of socialising and consuming.
This shift in consumer behaviour has seen a deviation to online shopping and an overall dramatic decline in high-end New Zealand fashion revenue. New Zealand Fashion Week was cancelled because nobody could afford it! New Zealanders are now traveling overseas, so what was once a buy local, support local mindset, has shifted to off-shore shopping. The roll-on effect for those of us who are 100% New Zealand made means costs over all areas of NZ manufacture have increased. Time frames have pushed out, the industry has less work, smaller unit runs, higher material and labour costs and businesses are downsizing or closing left right and centre.
TO SAY THE NEW ZEALAND FASHION INDUSTRY IS FRAGILE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
As always, in the harshest of times, when individuals and businesses are at their most vulnerable, true character is revealed.
For an industry that is not known for kindness, my personal experience has been one of authentic care, support and encouragement from fellow designers, contractors, suppliers and the NZ fashion industry at large. E rere ana taku mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa, thank you to you all.
Murray was courageous to buy FashioNZ when he did; the industry was in disarray with no real sense of optimism for the future, however he stepped in and started reaching out to the entire industry through words and articles of truth, honesty and camaraderie, he told of the small triumphs that were unfolding, he inspired and shared, he invited collaboration and in general has been a beacon of hope.
Fashion Quarterly and Shark Beauty NZ rallied and hosted the recent FQ Awards. Man, we needed that! What a wonderful and innovative idea in the midst of very scary and fractured times, again another courageous effort to bring us all together in celebration of eachother!
It’s tough… it’s going to be tough for at least another 18 months…
For us at KIRI NATHAN, sales are like that ball of tumbleweed rolling aimlessly down a dusty dirt track… soooo, were trying to diversify and reach into our kete of superpowers. We’re focusing on our funded programs and initiatives, another huge ask in the current economic crisis, but we turn up every day, we work our butts off, we look after each other and we know this time will pass.
It’s an easy time to point fingers and make snarky remarks. Don’t be that guy, no one likes that guy ha! Let’s hope our industry continues to support each other and we find new ways of building towards a future we can all be proud of. Hang in there whānau, He waka eke noa, we’re all in this together.