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NEWMARKET. How did you get into the fashion industry?
Emily. I started making my own clothes in my early teens, lying on top of lengths of fabric on my bedroom floor and tracing around my body with a marker pen to make a “pattern”. I love playing with colour and texture and shape, and I genuinely can’t imagine not making my own clothes.
N. Can you describe your personal style and does this influence your designs?
E. A fundamental ethos for our team is “works hard, knows how to party”, and I think that’s how I would describe my personal style. Easy to transition from one environment to the next, durable, and with a lil’ bit of razzle dazzle.
N. RUBY has a clear and distinct brand voice, how did you build this?
E. The first COVID lockdown was a real catalyst for change with how we communicate with our community. There was a genuine need for urgency which meant we couldn’t overthink what we were saying. Also, it was a really intense time for us – as it was for everyone – and it felt good to connect with people on a human level. This way of being really resonated with our community and it has just felt right to keep going. I see the way we communicate very much as a conversation rather than a big old monologue from us, and personally I get a lot of joy from that.
N. 2023 saw some big moves for RUBY, including some of our favourite initiatives within the fashion industry like the TAKE B_ACK FRIDAY x RUBY SAYS RECYCLE pilot which ran in your Newmarket store, can you tell us about this campaign and why it was so important for the brand?
E. “What is RUBY doing for Black Friday?” is a question that is asked every year, and it had never felt right for us to engage with it. We know that Black Friday does not come from Aotearoa AND the heavy discounting associated with it drives the type of consumption that is seriously harmful to our planet and people. But at the same time, we are in a cost of living crisis, and for a lot of people, Black Friday is a way of being able to buy pieces for themselves (or make a start on their Christmas shopping) at a discount.
Our view was that we can shape this month to be something that works for us here, in a recessionary environment, in a way that positively shifts the dial regarding the way we consume.
It was cool as well because we asked our customers to become active participants in our circular experiment, and boy did they participate!
N. You also recently relaunched the RUBY website, creating the RUBYVERSE, what was the catalyst for this change?
E. It was time! The project had been “going to happen next year” for a good five years, and in the end, our Sales and Marketing Director (and my sister!) Anna-Lise was like “IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN THIS YEAR”. It was a huge undertaking – as well as the website change that all can see, we changed our point of sale and inventory management systems. Overnight, every person in the company changed the way they worked. I can feel my heart rate starting to increase a little bit just remembering how major the shift was. But, almost a year on, we have found a good groove, and I feel proud of our website. We had a lot of fun thinking through the way the website would look, and how people could navigate through it.
I think the end result shows our product beautifully, but is a great encapsulation of the RUBYVERSE: it showcases the work we have done on our Toolbox For Change strategy, and is a strong platform for our wider community to write about issues that are important to them in our The Best Is Yet To Come series.
N. Can you tell us about your latest collection?
E. Sequence celebrates a shift in season and mindset. Following a summer of welcomed chaos and well-deserved moments to recharge, now is our ‘Polishing Era’ where our fun is done with a little more refinement.
N. Where do you find inspiration when planning a new collection?
E. I get deeply fixated on things – it could be a colour, an artist's work, or a certain pattern making technique, and then I just play around interpretations of them in a piece of clothing. It’s also part of my job to just absorb everything that is happening around me, and I like to think of my brain as a filter that spits out clothing that people want to connect with.
N. What are your favourite pieces from the new collection?
E. Matilda Cardigan in Cherry – love the pop of colour and gold buttons to add spunk to any outfit
Annie Trench – beautiful layering piece to take me through any day
Kaarina Silk Shirt – LOVE the print and ruffle detailing
N. RUBY always has incredible winter pieces, are there any trends you are loving for the cooler months?
E. Brown coats, red knitwear and raw denim
N. Is there one piece over the years that has surprised you with its success?
E. I love how much our Firebird Pants have resonated with people, over such a long period of time. I’m proud of these pants – the fit is great, fabric is beautiful to wear, and they are made in New Zealand. It’s always cool when you can clearly see that one of our Rubettes discovers them, and then their whole friend group buys a pair, and then their whole workplaces gets one. They very much have their own life out in the world.
N. RUBY’s sister brand Liam has also extended into creating patterns over the past few years, how did this come about?
E. Me, 5pm, during the first COVID lockdown: “what have I got in the back of the cupboards that I can make into dinner?”
Lockdown for me was like being stuck inside at high school on a rainy lunchtime: all that exists in the world is right in front of you. Kind of the pits but also kind of the best thing.
The joy I felt using up that new type of lentils I bought ages ago or actually making the stock I had been freezing leftovers for was so real and so true. I wanted to bring that same sense of worth back into my working life - both in the way I approached making a collection and in what I offered to our Rubettes.
Making things gives so much to people. There is a slowness in the very internal process that goes on when you make things with your hands that can be a powerful tool for wellness. It also shows us, quite viscerally, just how talented the people who make our clothes are, empowering and humanising these highly- skilled machinists in a way that words on a page can’t.
N. What is the most loved piece in your wardrobe?
E. The Liam Beignet Dress. It’s in a linen with a beautiful drape, the way the neckline and panelling flow together mean the fit is en pointe, and I think it’s a playful use of pattern making.
N. What has been the highlight of your career so far?
E. The establishment of Mindful Fashion. I co- founded Mindful Fashion with Kate Sylvester in 2018, and we now how over 100 member businesses from the clothing and textiles industry in New Zealand . The idea is that we work collaboratively to strengthen our industry and create a sustainable, circular and thriving future.
N. What’s next for RUBY and Liam?
E. Honestly, we want to have a good time, make clothes that people love, and continue to experiment with ways that we can push our industry into the future we want to see.
This interview appears in the Autumn/Winter 2024 issue of NEWMARKET. magazine, for more, click here.
Tags: Fashion News, Interviews
