DFS Queenstown is now home to rock 'n' roll fashion & accessories brand Stolen Girlfriends Club, avant-garde designs from WORLD and alluring modern jewelry from Zoë & Morgan.

About Stolen Girlfriends Club

Tell us about your brand.
The brand started as an art project in 2005: a collection of 12 paintings under the title ""Stolen Girlfriends Club"". The concept was simple, a group that would steal girls away from bad relationships. The theme really struck a chord with people and the art sold out in one night. What really hit me though, was the fact that people seemed to like the theme more than the actual art. It was a brand that we had created inadvertently, purely by intuition, a gut feeling. Following that initial art show, we then evolved the art into fashion, considered pieces that we wanted to wear ourselves but couldn’t find in the market. A small androgynous collection of solid silver jewelry, denim, and T-shirts. One hundred collections later, we now have stores around the world that carry the brand.

What do you like most about New Zealand fashion?
I like that I can be dark! We love black and it's our national color so why not embrace it.

What inspires you?
Rebellion has always inspired me. Good art and music that rejects the status-quo, that bucks convention and goes against the mainstream. It’s a type of creativity that really challenges you and forces you out of your comfort zone. We need that to ignite the senses and to encourage creativity. I’m also obsessed with juxtapositions and you’ll see this a lot in my work, taking two things that are different and combining them into something new and unique.

About Zoë & Morgan

Tell us about your brand.
Zoë: Zoë & Morgan launched at Paris Fashion Week in 2005. We are a family who love to travel, so we set up a structure that would enable us to do so while staying connected and finding inspiration for growth and new possibilities along the way. We started by wholesaling to select boutiques all over the world, which gave us the freedom to live in a few different countries. And we have now established flagship stores in Auckland and London. The collections are crafted with care using responsible materials with each piece telling a story. The contemporary collections are crafted from sterling silver, and our bespoke collections are made from gold and platinum, with stunning specimens of nature. 

What made you become a designer?
Morgan: As a teenager, I remember looking around and thinking I would like to make things that I didn't see anywhere in stores. From childhood, I drew pictures of my house, clothes and life in the future. I love to imagine something and then create it - this process feels like magic. There is a special satisfaction that comes from the physical realisation of creativity.

Zoë: Funnily enough I too remember being 16 years old standing in Dad's jewelry shop, with a knowing that I'd be a jeweler. I've always been interested in designing not only products but a lifestyle that I love to live. Right from the inception of the business, I was designing a cool life, jewelry, travel, and connection and I always considered fun as part of the ever-growing plan.

What inspires you?
Morgan: Nature is a huge source of inspiration for me as well as ancient jewelry and textiles. Architecture, museums like Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Louvre.

Zoë: I'm inspired by meeting new people and hearing their stories, designing items that speak their language. I find inspiration in stillness, designs come to me in meditation and quiet moments of observation

About WORLD

WORLD, established by Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet and Francis Hooper, is recognized for its eclectic and avant-garde designs. Fueled by energy and passion their vision and work has seen the label develop into what it is today from a cupboard at the back of an arcade. Later into WORLD’s journey the brand welcomed the creative expertise of Benny Castles who assumed the roles of creative director and designer. Their work has challenged expectations of New Zealand fashion through innovative use of intense clashing color combinations and daring incorporation of eccentric fabrics.