Designer Maggie Hewitt (far right) with models in Maggie Marilyn’s new Somewhere collection. Image supplied.
Celebrated local label Maggie Marilyn launches a new range of essential pieces today called ‘Somewhere’ which reflects the brand’s sustainable values. Founder and designer Maggie Hewitt has been innovative and experimental in her approach to fashion from the beginning of her label and this new range draws on her and her team’s learnings over the past three years of running a global fashion business from New Zealand.
The fashion industry is rapidly changing especially within the sustainability sector and it demands that businesses be forward focused and in tune with circularity. As Maggie and her team developed a robust strategy for sustainable growth, transparency and adoption of impact targets for the years ahead they realised that there were ways to change and develop the brand to strengthen its sustainability and create a truly circular structure.
The result is the brand’s carefully created new offering, ‘Somewhere’, that offers a seasonless range of pieces that are sustainably produced with all garments manufactured in New Zealand.
“Over my first year in business, fashion took me all over the world and swept me off my feet. Ironically, I soon found that it had transported me so far from what I knew that all I wanted was to return to my roots,” says Maggie Hewitt. “So when it came to designing a line of seasonless styles, I designed the simplistic pieces I wanted in my wardrobe, the pieces I grew up wearing. Then when it came to naming this line that reflects coming back to my grass roots, it came naturally; Somewhere. Somewhere is the name of my childhood home in the Bay of Islands, it represents that place where arriving feels like a warm embrace, where you truly belong. I hope that when people wear this line, they are transported to their very own Somewhere.”
Maggie and her team realised that producing a range where fabrics and suppliers remain consistent, presented a clear pathway to achieving full traceability, circularity and an opportunity to work with those at every tier of the supply chain to improve the ecosystem of sustainability throughout. It means that ‘Somewhere’, will effectively future proof its own existence.
Each piece is designed to be of long lasting quality at an affordable price and provide effortless year round wearability. Every garment is traceable through each tier of the supply chain from farm to finished garment with each pieces’ fabric, production and manufacture details also available on the brands website to give customers the full picture of how everything was produced.
Maggie believes that good design can and will last a lifetime, but if a customer doesn’t want a garment anymore each one has been developed so they can be remanufactured into new garments when shipped back to Maggie Marilyn HQ in New Zealand. Meaning ‘Somewhere’ will offer a closed loop, regenerative cycle that is sustainable and innovative. Each production run will be numbered so when garments are returned there is a deep understanding of provenance.
The collection itself is composed of tshirts, turtlenecks, shirts, cardigans, leggings, jeans, blazers, crewnecks and singlets. The knitwear is made from ZQ and Responsible Wool Board certified, non mulesed New Zealand merino wool, while Maggie Marilyn have used GOTS certified organic cotton from India and Turkey, and GRS certified regenerated nylon from Italy for the rest of the pieces.
It’s an exciting step forward for a brand that has already achieved a lot in a short time and with her eye firmly on the future Maggie is looking at ‘Somewhere’ as a testing ground for the development of her business. Something tells us the future is going to be very bright indeed for Maggie Marilyn.
Images supplied.