New Zealand label, Twenty-Seven Names, was born out of a childhood friendship. Founders Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett first met in primary school and spent their formative years vintage shopping, listening to music and playing early-morning netball.
When Anjali first bought a sewing machine, the first thing she says she did was make matching hoodies for her and Rachel. Years later, after Anjali finished her Design and Fine Arts Degree (with Rachel finishing the same degree just one year after), they set out to create their own label.
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“We wrote a business plan and got a small business overdraft and then just absolutely hustled to get it off the ground,” Rachel says. “We did everything ourselves. We designed, cut and sewed all of our first couple of collections.”
Although they’ve scaled up since their early days, Twenty-Seven Names is made entirely in Aotearoa. “We are committed to making in New Zealand and supporting the local industry,” she explains. “Right from the beginning we used predominantly natural fibres and surplus stock when sourcing our fabrics.”
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Fashion Journal: Hi Rachel. Can you tell me a little bit about yours and Anjali’s backgrounds in fashion?
Rachel: We’re a New Zealand brand, based in Wellington. We are childhood best friends who started our business the year after we graduated with our Design and Fine Arts degrees back in 2006. We had always had a love of vintage clothes shopping as teens and we wanted to work together, so starting the label felt like a very natural progression after studying.
How did Twenty-Seven Names get started? Talk me through the process and the challenges.
I was studying fine art, majoring in sculpture and my degree was one year longer than Anjali’s design degree so we actually launched the brand from our living room in my final year at art school. We wrote a business plan and got a small business overdraft and then just absolutely hustled to get it off the ground.
We did everything ourselves. We designed, cut and sewed all of our first couple of collections until we were in a position to have production sewn by professionals. We continue to work with so many of the suppliers and makers that we started building relationships with right from the beginning.
It was challenging starting a brand with no big financial backing, so in every way, we have grown the business from the ground up.
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How has your label evolved and what are you trying to achieve now?
We just wanted to have a go at working together creatively and to do something we both really loved. We are committed to making in New Zealand and supporting the local industry. Right from the beginning we used predominantly natural fibres and surplus stock when sourcing our fabrics.
We’ve grown from a small streetwear brand making hoodies and T-shirts to a full collection of womenswear in custom silk prints, knitwear, denim, cotton and coats.
How would you describe your label to someone who’s never seen it before?
We make functional, wearable and playful pieces with natural fibres such as silk, wool, cotton, linen and viscose. We always have fun with humour and prints, we don’t like to take things too seriously. There’s a lightness to our approach. We have a huge love of vintage and heritage brands and there’s always a nod to classic tailoring and simplicity too.
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What are you both most proud of in your work on Twenty-Seven Names?
Sustaining a New Zealand-made brand through the tumultuous times we’ve endured such as the Global Financial Crisis, Covid, our lives evolving and managing our expanding families. We’re most proud of providing a place to work doing something we love with our best friends.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
I wish we understood how quickly each season would come to feel. Originally, we made each range feel like an eternity, whereas now, they fly by. I love that each season we get the chance to tweak and improve all the ideas we have been cumulatively working on.
We’re able to pick up threads of ideas from past ranges and elaborate and play with those shapes. When we first started we had no back catalogue to refer to so everything we did was so much harder starting from scratch.
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Who do you think is most exciting in Australian and New Zealand fashion right now?
We love keeping an eye on young talent coming up through the ranks. We’ve been working with Caitlin Snell who makes a super cute range of bows and accessories and we’ve been lucky enough to work on making custom pieces in our TSN custom prints. Caitlin hand-makes all her pieces in New Zealand here herself, so we love to encourage and support her process.
What about the local fashion industry needs to change?
It’s not only Australia and New Zealand where the fashion industry needs to change. Globally fast fashion is taking an enormous toll on the environment. Choosing New Zealand or Australian-made clothing has such an important role in keeping our industry alive.
The more consumers can align their spending habits with their values the better for all of us. Although it comes at a higher price point, the quality and longevity make all the difference in the lifetime of the garment.
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Who are your dream collaborators?
We’re pretty lucky we get to work with two of our dream collaborators already! Lily Paris West is an illustrator, artist, photographer and musician (her band is Mermaidens), and we work with her on all our textile prints and T-shirt style prints, as well as collaboration on lookbook and campaign photography. Her talents are extraordinary and we’re so lucky to work with her.
Chloe Hill is a stylist, photographer and the creative powerhouse behind Cool Pretty Cool. Chloe is also based in Wellington and collaboration on campaign photography with her is a dream come true.
What designers are in your wardrobe right now?
Always TSN, with a little sprinkling of pieces picked up on our recent travels to Japan.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
Twenty-seven Names are available at our three stores in Wellington, Newmarket and Commercial Bay Auckland, as well as stockists across New Zealand. We’re also available online.
This article Why New Zealand label Twenty-Seven Names keeps its supply chain local appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-05-01 06:30:00
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