Juliette Hogan

Meet the Designer Part 1: Juliette Hogan

Meet the Designer Part 2: How Juliette Hogan is Great Full...

On the beginning…

I was incredibly naive about what was required to be a designer. Returning after a stint overseas, full of confidence, I jumped in head first and established myself as a label. I set up at my parents' house in Karaka and with my mum's sewing machine,
I pottered away by myself out there for a few years, wholesaling the collection to stores New Zealand-wide before opening my first store in Ponsonby in 2007. That's when I managed to move the workroom [there] and that changed things for me.
It was challenging, but now I feel fortunate that this hobby of mine has become fruitful.

On fashion made in New Zealand…

93% of our product is made in New Zealand, which I'm incredibly proud of. As a New Zealand based company we need to look after our local communities, and to me that’s the manufacturing community in New Zealand. 

On sustainability…

Sustainability in fashion needs to be considered. The industry contributes greatly to the state of the earth. We need to look after both our own backyards and the global environment. By making clothes locally, we are helping ensure our community is sustainable. When creating and designing clothes, we are mindful about decisions such as fabric and ensuring our clothing have longevity. Our customers are loyal because they are able to mix and match pieces from past and current seasons. I think it's important to create garments that last the test of time in their durability as well as their enduring aesthetic throughout the seasons.

On advice for those starting out in fashion…

It's definitely a journey and a challenge but it can be incredibly rewarding. I think that if you have a love of something and determination, you can make it through tough times.

On a discipline that’s propelled her forward…

Mum early on encouraged me to approach situations with a positive mindset. I think that put me in a really good headspace: being able to look at everything as something that is worthwhile to go through and help inform making decisions going forward.

On inspiration…

I love travel, I love seeing new things, I love spending time in new places, in both urbanscapes and also landscapes – looking and interpreting colours in nature. Big open spaces inspire me the most. They give me space in my mind to plan the future while being incredibly influential in terms of design itself. 

On being a working mum…

It's a juggle, but I've got a great team around me: a supportive husband, a wonderful nanny. I get to call the shots as a business owner so I don't have to be at work if my girls have something on. Being at work, I'm being the best version of myself. And I feel proud that [the girls] are going to grow up and see what I've created and know that I've worked really hard. Hopefully I instil in them the idea that if you work hard and you love what you do, you are going to have a rewarding and full life.

On the joy of raising a family in New Zealand... 

I love family and I love New Zealand. I love my extended family. I love my parents. I think that being able to share experiences with people gives you so much joy and gives you so much meaning to your life. I wouldn’t want to have my family in any other country. I think that we are incredibly lucky here in New Zealand.   

On being grateful…

I feel gratitude most of the time. It’s part of who I am as a person. I feel grateful for being in New Zealand, grateful for the opportunity that it presents, grateful for the people that I have surrounding me in this company to enable me to continue to move forward in the company and develop as a brand. I feel grateful for my husband, giving me my little girls. There are so many things that contribute to who I am as a person, that I wouldn’t swap for the world. 

On having access to exceptional medical care...

How lucky we are in New Zealand. Having access we have to medical care and the likes of Starship, knowing that the country will take care of us should we be sick. I'm so incredibly grateful. I couldn’t imagine being in countries, or being a parent of children in countries where there’s not that same support shown to us. 

On my inspiration for the Great Full print…

When it was time to think about the print for this project, I was in the hospital with my little girl Daisie. She's fine but we've had a couple of stints in the hospital. With the deadline for the print looming Wednesday, Daisie was admitted Monday. I had a really wakeful night at Starship. We wanted the print to relate to our Spring / Summer Collection, and to who we are as a company, and Juliette Hogan as a designer.  The ribbon print is from our SS19 Collection and being in the hospital that night I was thinking wouldn't it be wonderful to reflect [my daughter]. Bringing the ribbon print into a daisy chain was a really great way to show that.