I’m so excited to introduce you to the new FashioNZ, it’s been a year now since I became editor and the plan for this new site began forming back then and has slowly become a reality over the past six months. Being able to relaunch the site with the clean, more responsive version this week is a dream come true for me, having been a FashioNZ reader myself since the beginning.
As many of you know, FashioNZ was New Zealand’s first fashion website, launching in August 1998 and from the start it established a strong relationship with both the local fashion industry and you, our wonderful readers. Over the years the site has continued to bring you the latest in fashion news, first-hand accounts from fashion weeks, helpful fashion and beauty advice, new season lookbooks and interviews with amazing designers, stylists and industry innovators alongside weekly competitions and an online store full of great clothing, shoes and accessories.
We will be continuing to do all of those things with the new site but have several exciting new developments with our first ever fashion editorial “The Secret Garden” that was shot recently and that I’m so pleased to be able to bring you with much bigger, more high-res images than we were previously working with on the old site. The editorial features the latest summer fashion from some of our favourite local labels and conveys the friendly, inclusive tone that runs through the rest of the site. We also wanted to do something was natural and not overly photoshopped so that it feels real and relatable to you. I was so thrilled to have such a brilliant team to work with on-set that day and a huge thank you must go out to our talented team of James Yang, Lulu Wilcox, Carolyn Haslett, Sharlene Cassidy, Carolyn Ebrey and of course our gorgeous models; Idette, Marcela and Summer.
As well as being a wealth of stories and fashion information, FashioNZ has long been a resource for the New Zealand fashion industry as well. We wanted to expand that section to be even more useful and the first stage of our industry section expansion has been completed with a regularly updated jobs board now available for those looking for a fashion job and specialised fashion recruiters represented in the industry section as well. Next up is an expansion of our fashion training section with several more fashion schools coming on board over the next couple of months to provide a great platform for those looking for the right fashion course. We have further industry expansions planned for next year as well and with the end result being a bountiful resource for anyone who wants to get into fashion, or is already in fashion and wants to retrain or get another job.
For the new site it was important to me that we bring on new voices which we have started to do over the past few months and I’ve been thrilled to welcome Sophie, Meagan, Linda and Charlotte to our FashioNZ team. We aim to bring you intelligent, inclusive and body positive content that is knowledgeable, warm and inspiring as well as entertaining and insightful. If you want to know what’s going on in fashion in New Zealand you need to be reading FashioNZ.
On that note, it was such a pleasure to interview iconic New Zealand designer Dame Trelise Cooper for our relaunched site. Having been in fashion since the early 80s she has seen countless changes in the industry and has continued to evolve her business to remain a leading New Zealand brand. Her insights into the fashion industry and her incredible life make for a fascinating read.
This new version of FashioNZ is particularly special to me because it’s a joint project with my sister, Carolyn. We’ve been working closely together this year refining our vision for FashioNZ and her graphic design, web design and business skills are a perfect complement to my editorial and journalism experience. I’m so incredibly grateful to be having this experience with her and although I’ve thanked her in person for her amazing expertise, hilarious late-night editing commentary and skill for picking the exact right emoji to text me to make me smile, I’d like to acknowledge her again now as without her this site wouldn’t be as beautiful or clever as it is.
With Christmas just around the corner now we are so excited to be ending FashioNZ’s year with the high of launching this excellent new site. I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed creating it for you.
Thank you to all of you who have supported us and FashioNZ, we appreciate it more than we can say.
Here’s to new beginnings and a fabulous summer!
Evelyn