What happens when you take a Swedish greeting, source fabrics in China, and bring it all together in New Zealand?
You get Kiwi fashion label hej hej.
Long-time friends Alice Isles and Kiki Judd had always wanted to work together, and in January they launched the clothing brand.
Judd says the inspiration for the name, pronounced 'hey hey', came from her travels.
"Hej hej is a Swedish greeting and I was travelling in Sweden for a bit and I loved it how whenever you walk into a store they're like hej hej, and it's so friendly and approachable."
Friendly, approachable, and fun is exactly how the pair want people to view their label, making stylish and versatile womenswear pieces in linen.
The Cruise Control Collection is their first ever New Zealand Fashion Week showcase.
The show took place on a yacht in Auckland's harbour.
"We've got some beautiful sky blue, pink, burnt red, and a stripe. We wanted to make a collection where people felt like they were on holiday, even if they were stuck in their office."
The duo work from two different countries. Judd is based in China where a lot of their fabrics are sourced.
"I'm based in Shanghai and I take care of lots of the production, meet with our suppliers there, and then Alice is here in Auckland and she does a lot of our pop ups and dispatch and most of our design, the technical designing."
Although they miss each other, Isles says the distance is a creative advantage.
"We love our long distance relationship."
For now they're working apart to keep bringing beautiful garments together.
Newshub.
