For more than 30 years, Kate Sylvester’s name has been synonymous with iconic New Zealand fashion. And while she recently closed her business to embrace a new chapter, her creative legacy is set to leave a lasting imprint on the country’s fashion landscape.
This year, Sylvester is honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the FQ Fashion Awards – a recognition of a career that not only helped shape Aotearoa’s cultural style narrative, but also stood as a beacon of originality and intellect. Her label became a symbol of clever, considered design – as influenced by literature, art, and music as it was by silhouette and fabric. But beneath the cultural references lies a risk-taking brand with an unwavering commitment to authenticity.
For Sylvester a defining moment in her career was the Brighton Rock show at Australian Fashion Week in 1999. “It was a beautiful show that really captured the magic of Wayne [Conway] and I as a creative team. And we sold that collection to both Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman in New York so it was both a creative and business milestone.”
As writer and editor Amanda Linnell recalled in Fashion Quarterly’s summer issue, Sylvester’s shows always struck a perfect balance between intellect and cool – and particularly at that show.
“I sat front row while the crowd murmured with intrigue at the table-height runway laid with fine bone china cups and saucers,” she wrote, describing the Brighton Rock show. “Models walked and kicked the teacups out into Sydney’s fashion A-listers. It brilliantly captured the essence of Kate Sylvester the woman, and put her brand on the radar of international buyers from around the globe.”
The launch of Mindful Fashion NZ in 2019 was another meaningful milestone. Sylvester reflected on the power of collaboration: “recognising that we, the fashion industry, are a community, that we can work together, be stronger together.”
Creative director, stylist and journalist (and a judge at the FQ Fashion Awards) Dan Ahwa says Sylvester’s design ethos has always come from the heart. “That’s what has always drawn me to her brand and the way she operates and moves in our industry,” he says.
“Whether it’s co-founding Mindful Fashion NZ and advocating for all our makers and cottage industries through championing emerging talent, she has a passion for this industry that is genuine. She’s unpretentious and has never been closed off from helping others thrive. Most importantly, what inspires me about Kate is that she has genuine taste. Whether it is a historical figure, a song, book or film, there are strands to the way Kate has conceptualised her iconic collections for over three decades, alongside partner Wayne who has further amplified the Kate Sylvester brand through their memorable shows and retail spaces.”
So when Sylvester announced last year that she would be stepping away from her namesake label, the industry felt the shift.
“I’ve been creating collections for over 30 years,” she shared. “Managing deadlines, manufacturing, always on a schedule. Now, for the first time, my days are open. It’s exhilarating.”
While her departure marks the end of an era, a new chapter is already being written. Her three sons – Ike, Tom and Cosmo – are now continuing the label’s beloved diffusion line, Sylvester.
For Kate, the thing she’s loved most about her career is seeing women looking fantastic in the clothes she’s made and hearing stories, how much they love pieces they own, and how certain clothes empower the wearer, and enable them to live their best lives. “I especially love that although the Kate Sylvester brand is over, the clothes live on.”
And we couldn’t agree more. While we’ll miss the singular vision and romantic elegance Kate Sylvester brought to the runway, her legacy endures – not only in the garments we continue to treasure, but in the hands of the next generation who carry her story forward.
