Whether you realise or not, fashion designers play a crucial part in your summer plans.
Whether you’re picking out a frock to wear to the summer wedding that’s finally going ahead, planning your festival lookss or hunting out one outfit you can wear until the heat breaks, your best options were designed right here in Aotearoa by a cohort of talented taste-makers.
With that in mind, we asked a trio of designers behind some of the country’s leading brands to share where they’ll be seeking inspiration for future collections this sunny season.
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Keva Rands, designer and founder of Papa Clothing
Do you go away over summer?
I always head back to the town I grew up in where my family home is, Matapouri. Usually it’s to camp on my parents lawn and visit the beach four times daily. It’s a staycation because my partner and I are living in Whangārei which is only a 45-minute drive away.
Summer is when I feel most grateful to be based here in Te Tai Tokerau.
What will you be wearing this summer?
I’ll be thrashing my caramel linen ‘Gracie’ shirt and the new tie-up ‘Lava’ mini skirt , especially when I go to the beach.
Cotton singlets are essential under the shirts, so they can be worn unbuttoned. Plus my Crocs with all my Pacific flag Jibbitz [shoe charms] all over them, so I can walk the gravel road!
What’s on your holiday reading list?
Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly, a story about two queer siblings based in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s been highly recommended by my partner who says it’s funny and that Auckland almost feels like a character in the book.
I’ll probably also read How to Loiter in a Turf War again by Coco Solid, because it’s hilarious and empowering.
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Keva Rand’s Crocs have Jibbitz representing the Hawaiian flag, Kanaka Maoli flag and Samoa flag, as well as the Trans and POC inclusive queer flag.
Can you share an early or quintessential summer memory?
Last summer we welcomed a new niece into the world and her parents were living in Tauranga at that time. Right before she was born we decided to take my heavily pregnant cousin, a chilly bin, massive mat, a nervous young Staffy puppy and heaps of family members down to the Pori Pori swimming hole just outside of Tauranga. Suffice to say the water was beautiful, but the long rock climb was very difficult.
What do you cook and eat when it’s hot?
We love steak with salad from our garden. We have heaps of lettuce heads and herbs coming through already, but a few have been lost to the highly organised mafia of slugs and snails that live in our backyard.
What are your hopes for 2023?
I’m really looking forward to putting more into the business. It feels like I’m finally getting a good rhythm with the waves [collections] of clothing which means I can also start doing more of the special projects I’ve been working on in the background soon.
Is there a gig or event you’re looking forward to over the break?
I’m more looking forward to sitting at home with my darling and our UE Boom than leaving the house for live music these days, haha.
What’s your go-to summer beverage?
We like fizzing water at home and mixing in different syrups.The Six Barrel Soda flavour, Cherry and Pomegranate is our favourite.
Steve Dunstan, Huffer founder and brand director
Do you go away over summer?
I’m lucky to spend plenty of time on the West Coast at Piha, and will do with a trip to Taranaki to further explore the coastline. There seems to be some much to do in the region from amazing walks, multiple surf breaks with good food and culture.
What will you be wearing this summer?
Not a wetsuit. Hopefully the water is warm, and I can surf in shorts and a t-shirt. With spending time outdoors and on the coast, I tend to wear loose flowing silhouettes.
At Huffer we have a category of products called Missions. These garments have technical capability and functionality in a street of summer adventurous that work in a multiple of environments.
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Huffer founder Steve Dunstan.
Can you share an early or quintessential summer memory?
I grew up in the Canterbury region in my younger years and I have memories of camping on the Banks Peninsula with other families. I remember getting a polystyrene surf board for Christmas, and getting the most intense chest rash.
What’s on your reading list?
Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty.
What do you cook and eat when it’s hot?
My wife Ngahuia makes the most amazing raw salads mixed with anything else that BBQs and hopefully some fresh fish.
What are your hopes for 2023?
For a year with fewer disruptions that are out of our control and for people to come together, healthy and well. Peace and togetherness for the world.
Caitlin Crisp
Do you go away over summer?
Absolutely! Myself and the CC team take two weeks off starting from Christmas Day. January is quiet for us, so it’s the best time for all of us to switch off and recharge the batteries for the new year.
As for where, I’ll be out on the boat.
What will you be wearing this summer?
All things CC Resort. It’s our first year doing a resort collection and there are so many beautiful easy to wear linen pieces. I have my fingers crossed that CC Swim will be ready too, stay tuned…
Can you share an early or quintessential summer memory?
We spend every summer as a family in the Marlborough Sounds on the boat. I remember ski-school, early morning swims and showers on the duckboard. Every summer is the same and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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For Caitlin Crisp, summer is best spent recharging on the water.
What’s on your reading list?
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. It comes highly recommended by my colleague Laura; I’ll try to get my hands on her copy.
What are your hopes for 2023?
Health, happiness, and to hopefully lock in a wedding date (eeeppp!).
What’s your go-to summer beverage?
Champagne! There is always something to celebrate – we have a few family birthdays in summer, so there’s always a bottle of bubbles in the fridge ready to go.
Is there a gig or event you’re looking forward to over the break?
Hidden Valley & Plane Sailing.
What do you cook and eat when it’s hot?
Whatever we can catch. Most meals are fish, salad and potatoes.
