Fashion designer Kate Sylvester closing business after 31 years

Wednesday, 10 April 2024

• Fashion designer Kate Sylvester will close her business after more than 30 years.

• The final collection will be released later this year.

• The label has dressed high-profile Kiwi women, including Dame Jacinda Ardern.

Fashion designer Kate Sylvester is preparing to close her business after more than 30 years.

On Tuesday, Sylvester and her partner Wayne Conway, announced they were winding down operations and would close the business next year.

The final collection from the Kate Sylvester label will be released later this year. Its six New Zealand stores ‒ three in Auckland, one in Wellington and two in Christchurch ‒ will close.

Sylvester told the NZ Herald the decision to close the label hadn’t been rushed.

“We did a lot of thinking during our 30th anniversary. During this time we thought about how we wanted to continue, and last year was a culmination of feeling proud of where we got to as a business.

“We realised that we have done what we set out to do. We feel complete and that we’ve done a good job.

“Now we need to make a change and move on. When you’re working as hard as we are, you start to accumulate this stockpile of things that you want to do. This is what we’re looking forward to doing now.”

The couple launched the label in 1993 and have built a following among fashion fans who want interesting, well-made and timeless clothing.

The label has been a staple at New Zealand Fashion Week and dressed high-profile Kiwi women, including former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and musician Bic Runga.

In a statement, Sylvester and Conway thanked customers and staff.

“In the stores, behind the scenes, in everything that we do, it has been the people we have worked with who have kept us on this journey.

“We believe in the talent of the new generation of New Zealand designers, it’s your time to shine now.”