This week we talk to artist and co-director of Season Jade Townsend (Ngāti Kahungunu) and ask her about her style, outfit staples, and why she prefers to shop IRL.
How would you describe your personal style?
Under-cover Scouse. Scouse is the term for someone from Liverpool, where my mum is from. I lived there for my high school years and the fashion is pretty outrageous. Think WAGS and Scouse-Brow — lots of clashing luxury brands, super bold hair and make-up. You can never be too dressed up in Liverpool, even just to pop to the supermarket.
What are your go-to outfit staples?
I like jeans from Evisu, A.P.C. or Junya Watanabe with a t-shirt or dressy top. I love the effortless Japanese and French style, except I can never be so restrained. I’ll have to add something with a bit of edge like the clogs in this shoot by Needles x Troentorp or chunky jewellery by Moniek Schrijer. I love accessories.
How or in what ways has your style evolved over time?
I have recently opened a gallery called Season at Commercial Bay with Francis McWhannell. It is a stylish space, so I can wear lots of pieces that are often in reserve for dinners or nights out — which don’t happen that frequently anymore. I like to be influenced by the place I am living, to buy from local designers, and for my style to reflect popular culture. I am less adventurous than I used to be, but I hope it is just a phase — a combination of māmā life and too much lockdown. More glam events, night outs, weddings, and exhibition openings, please!
Tell us about your outfit today?
I’m wearing my favourite coat, which I bought from an independent store in Seven Sisters, London, about five years ago. The shop would be open until late and always filled with people socialising — music spilling on the street. It sold a range of things from CDs to food. My mother-in-law Jane, a textile artist, told me it is mud-dyed African cloth. I loved carrying my son, Hayes-Ānaru, in a front pack underneath. I could still button the coat up when it snowed.
How would you say fashion makes you feel?
I love it when I have planned enough time to enjoy getting ready, and I can try on different options to have fun with clothes. It’s the best energy when my husband and I get ready together. The house is filled with yummy smells from hot showers and a bit too much perfume. My husband always offers to iron my clothes. We play music and have a drink. It doesn’t matter what I wear because I’ll always feel excited and beautiful with him — that loving look he gives me makes me feel like a million bucks.
What is your preferred way to shop?
IRL, always. I waste too much time browsing online and not committing to purchases. I have a lot of respect for shop owners and retail assistants who are passionate and friendly. I feel great about buying something when I get a sense of what that contribution means to the makers. I’m interested in merchandising and boutique interiors, so I enjoy visiting beautiful stores.
Can you tell me about one of the all-time favourite outfits that you’ve worn?
My wedding dress and wedding party dress. I remember thinking I’ll never feel this amazing again — the flowers in my hair — never to be recreated. The wedding dress was see-through hand-made lace, and the party dress was a tiny knitted white Mark Fast dress. I’m pleased I wasn’t conservative and embraced being a young bride.
What is it about fashion or what you choose to wear that excites you?
Most of my favourite pieces I have had for a long time, or they have been handed down to me. They are full of memories of travelling, having fun, relationships, music, the art I was making at the time, exhibitions I had visited, my aspirations and bold young taste. I love how fashion is like time travelling. I think about that a lot — I’ll hand down items to my tamariki, and in that process, we will be able to share aspects of my life that they may not have previously known about.
Discover more of our favourite trendsetters and the transformative power of fashion in the new winter issue of Fashion Quarterly, on sale now.
