Small Business Project: Demand for custom dog coats picks up pace in Wellington

Monday, 25 May 2026

The Small Business Project is a weekly series that shines the spotlight on Kiwi small businesses doing interesting and unusual things in their industries.

Wellington menswear designer Clare Bowden has started making custom coats for dogs. An extension of her fashion business Mandatory, Bowden is excited by the venture and tells Aimee Shaw branching out to a new clientele came about from natural demand - and is surprisingly rewarding.

What has your venture set out to achieve?

Mandatory is a a menswear store and atelier so we've been designing and making on-site for a long time. We sell ready-made things that we've made, but we also custom-make a huge amount of jeans, coats and shirts - all sorts of things - to get better fits for a variety of guys, who are different builds.

We started making custom dog coats about a year ago. I wanted to provide something in the circular economy. We’ve been offering our clients a service where if they have a near-dead coat or raincoat, they can bring it in, in a clean state, and we can aim to upcycle it into dog garments. But we also have fantastic remnants that have always been too good to throw out, but are not viable for a coat, and we style those for dogs.

We're making a bit of stock, but there’s a lot of demand for custom fit, because people are telling us the dog coats they've got are too loose, slightly too short, or too long, and it’s transformational when they fit properly. We've got a few hacks now to turn them around in an efficient manner and, when we're looking at the fabrics, you can personalise for the dog and owner, which is fun.

We've got an open store, dogs are welcome, so we do see a lot of dogs as people take their dogs anywhere. We’re just getting this venture properly established, but we've got window displays of the dog coats, and there's a huge amount of interest so far.

How much time and money have you invested?

I’m at the stage where I’m establishing base patterns, prototypes and standardising measurements. We're using our ability to vary those, just the same as we do for our human range. We haven’t needed to invest in any new machines or anything yet, we’re just running on the side as a project.

Our latest commission is a SPCA rescue dog, Wanda. She's a sort of teenage Mastiff cross, and she hates the rain, so we're making her a raincoat. So far we’ve made six coats, and we’ve got another six in the works, and our stock range as well.

Do you feel like this can become its own spin-out business?

I think it’s set to expand. I've been visiting my sister in Sydney recently and noted the dog culture there too. It’s quite a thing once the coats fit dogs properly. Ruby, one of the dogs I made a coat for, was nervous initially that I might be a vet or vet-adjacent type person, but since making her dog coat she totally recognises who I am. They just absolutely dig having stuff that fits them properly. Despite her very demure and sweet features, she’s a total outdoor tomboy of a dog. This project is allowing us a new way to demonstrate our artisan craft and meet a few more people.

There’s been strong interest. People are very conscious of waste, and ending up with things that are okay, but not as good as they could be, so this is a real opportunity to get a great fitting product on their dogs. Most people we meet who are into a dog coat, they've had one or two before, and they've been less than satisfied about the fit and quality, so they’re really enjoying our beautiful coats. One of our dog clients - Tiny who lives in Auckland - is getting around in a Harris Tweed.

Our dog coats start at $125 for a small dog, pretty close to a stock size, and then they're up to $185 for a big dog with specific features. Each one takes us a couple of hours with the size adjustments, after the half-way fitting to take their measurements.

What’s the biggest challenge your business is facing?

The economic uncertainty; people's general uncertainties are putting a lot of pressure on things. Wellington has seen considerable loss of jobs, which has made things more difficult, but fortunately due to us having more of a national presence, the main thing is that our city's looking really good and inviting and has got good things going on for us to see people from the regions. People are more discerning with their money and so Mandatory’s flexibility and being able to make things is definitely a huge help.

What’s the biggest issue impacting your industry?

The massive amounts of importing of stock online is a problem. It is a bad idea to buy textiles online. The massive online purchasing is seeing people get things that actually aren't right, and aren't as they said they'd be. Then what's happening to all of that product? It's piling up as waste.

What’s next for Mandatory on the dog coat front?

We'll see how we go. We're busy organising a QR code to go in the window to better inform those people as they go past. We've got a long way to run through the winter season, and we’ll celebrate our 29th birthday next month.

Dog coats are an exportable product, so with more experience with different dogs, I could develop methods to do custom-made remotely, as we do with with our menswear. It would be a challenge to overcome, because personalising these coats to particular dogs, that is the spin.

The secret sauce of the Mandatory Dog Coat is the fabric, combined with a tailored fit. I expect it to be a while before these compete with my menswear line of coats and jackets, but the efficiency and reach of this popular and compact product are attractive from a business perspective.

What’s one thing you wish you’d known before starting the business?

To ask for help with leasing. It is a minefield for many businesses. I have landed on my feet and prioritised a good landlord relationship for our new combined atelier space, now in its ninth year. I understood this to be important as I left two fantastic landlords of 20 years when the business had a separate shop and workroom previously.

Most helpful piece of advice you have ever received?

Sell what you know to whom you know.

If you would like your business to feature in The Small Business Project, email Aimee Shaw at aimee.shaw@stuff.co.nz