NZNY
A clothing label that merges the vibes of New Zealand, with the culture of New York.
NZNY (New Zealand New York) was my final exhibition piece as part of my studies at AUT. For a long time I had wanted to have a stab at my own clothing label, and so I seized the opportunity.
New York has always been a city I’ve felt a strong affinity for, but Auckland is my home. I recognise that the two couldn’t be further apart from one-another, however both NZ and NY are two places with strong cultures that are recognised internationally. Both NZ and NY produce amazing musicians, chefs, authors, designers and artists. I wanted to draw on the parallels of our two cultures, while highlighting the differences.
My goal was to create a label that would look like it belonged in either environment. Clothing that could be at home on Takapuna beach, or on the back streets of Brooklyn.
The Mountain Crown.
NZNY’s logo is a stylised crown, meant to represent both “The Empire State” and NZ’s strong ties to the British Crown.
I formed it out of simple mountain peak shapes, to represent the hilly, mountainous terrain of NZ. The choice of 5 peaks is intentional - they represent the 5 boroughs of New York city.
Design and Style.
Stylistically, I took heavy inspiration from street brands like Zoo York, Supreme, Huffer, and I Love Ugly. The use of black and white photography is a nod to both NZ’s unofficial colours, and the greys of NY’s endless urban suburbs.
I chose models from diverse ethnic backgrounds, to shine a light on the constantly shifting demographics of both places.
The set-up.
For my final exhibition set-up, I produced several items of brand and marketing collateral.
I produced and directed (what was then) my first photoshoot. I shot video content all over Auckland and spliced it in with Stock footage of New York. The letters “NZ” and “NY” were superimposed over the footage from each respective place. This video played on a constant loop, helping to cement the concept of the brand.
Over the design process, I collated an extensive playlist of Hip-Hop exclusively from NZ and NY. I hijacked the room’s audio-output to play this on shuffle. I wanted a vibe and mood to be set when people entered the space, so they would be more inclined to connect with my work when they got to it.
Finally, I produced a small booklet outlining the brand and it’s culture, it’s influences, and styling. The intention was to try and reach people who, like me, wanted to buck the trends of the time.
Products.
Of course, this couldn’t be a real clothing brand if I didn’t have clothing to show! I sourced high-quality snapback caps, and T-shirts from local suppliers. I then reached out to an embroidery firm, and a local screen printing company to produce the final pieces.
I created swing tags out of dense card, that featured a blurb about the culture behind the brand and a style “tip” from the brand guide I also produced. I attached these to the pieces via high-quality shoelaces. The idea behind this was that for each season, exclusive laces would be designed and shipped with the tags. People would be encouraged to purchase at least two items each season in order to get a set they could then personalise their kicks with.
I was happy with the end result, and it seems many people that attended the exhibition enjoyed the brand, and products too.
I kept stock in the drawers of the display cabinet and ended up selling most of it.