03 Magazine: November 03, 2023

40 Magazine | Feature
“I’m really passionate about supporting
emerging designers – I’m such an advocate
for supporting the younger generation as
they start their own labels.”
“Three months later, she’s now working in the spaces we
sketched up on that first day. It’s at times like this you just
have to say the space spoke to me.
“Like any construction zone, we encountered unexpected
hurdles, but my amazing building team worked night and day
to ensure we finished on time.”
And liberally applying a taylor/The Shelter/Dunedin fashion
signature hue didn’t hurt.
“By painting everything inside matte black, it enhances the
mood and enables people to enjoy finding their personal
zones of interest within the space,” says Vicki.
So why Dunners for this latest project?
“Dunedin has a fabulous creativity and as a city it
celebrates individualism – it seeps through every aspect of
the city,” says Vicki.
“So to me, it was to be the perfect location for our second
Shelter store.
“Dunedin has a strong and long-standing fashion and design
identity, and I hope to add to this and be part of making
Dunedin a design hub for the South Island. Our own building
at 41 Filleul Street was once an old garment factory, so it’s
fitting to bring the building back to its roots, housing New
Zealand design.”
And despite launching something new and arguably a bit
different into an industry Vicki describes as having always
been a tough one (“fashion has a glamorous exterior yet a
very hard and crunchy inside”), and in a particularly rough
economic period, she’s delighted by the city’s reaction and
remains optimistic about the local industry as a whole.
“We’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the response
to the store.
“We really wanted this space to be more about the
experience, the stories of the designers and their brand
identities rather than just being about selling things.”
Vicki says the unique creativity of New Zealand design “is
nurtured by our ability to think outside of the square and our
remoteness to those big commercial fashion hubs”.
“Our uniqueness is supported by our fabulous population
who celebrate individuality – this is one reason why we hold
and support emerging New Zealand designers at The Shelter.
It really is an honour to discover and showcase the talents
of the young designers, and hopefully we can help build their
business base and ensure they have the building blocks to
reach international markets like we have.”
In turn, Vicki has found plenty of personal inspiration during
her extended time in the south.
“My family and I recently did the Otago Rail Trail, which
was a huge highlight for me. Our new collection ‘Interrupted
Perfection’ brings together all the inspirations from that trip!
“But please ask me this again in another six months once
I have more visits under my belt, and my Dunedin training
wheels taken off. I really look forward to discovering some
of the great places in the area, and now I no longer have my
paintbrush in hand!”