In Conversation With edt. #3

“A Southern girl sitting on her porch, fending off the alligators wearing sequins.”

A wild scenario, similar to those of what dreams are made up of: blazing heat, exotic creatures, and high energy are what sparked the initial concepts behind the brand new collection from Glassons, edt. #3

Designer of edt. Kiriana Pettersen has elegantly morphed this vision into wearable, everyday pieces — ink blue t-shirts, corduroy dresses, basic denim, floral prints and luxe tops. It’s a collection that walks the line between reality and illusion – the love and attention we give to our indoor plants, versus walking into the set of Little Shop of Horrors, for example. But that thin line becomes very interesting when you’re talking about design and concept. It’s the exact point where creative choices and directions are made, resulting in the edt. girl getting to make up her mind about how she wants to interpret, wear and enjoy each piece.

I sat down with Kiriana Pettersen, Emma Gleason (Digital Marketing Manager of Glassons) and Harriet Were (photographer of edt. #3 campaign), to discuss the new edt. collection, talk about our local fashion scene, and our fascination with greenhouses…

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Yasmine: So Kiriana, you worked at Topshop for 5 years where you started as an intern?

Kiriana: Yeah I was the only intern there at the time and now they have something like 20 interns. It was kind of awesome because at that time we were in a small place where the whole design team didn’t even have their own desks so we did the whole rotation thing. Slowly I made my way through the ranks. Especially in the UK – there is such a hierarchy system in the industry.

After I was an Intern, I was an assistant for a long time and then maybe after 2 -3 years I got my own department – casual trousers (laughs) – so this covered jeans, joggers etc. This was also when chinos were really big, so everyday was like “what is the new chino? – Shall we add a new belt loops or new buttons?” I did that for a year.

Emma: Was this pre drop crotch?

Kiriana: Yeah it was (laughs). So after doing this eventually I got the jersey department – which was the biggest department so that was the scariest thing of my life as it made up 40% of the business. It was a beast but then I got my own assistant, which made it easier. I did that for two and a half years and then Glassons called me.

Yasmine: Where are you from originally?

Kiriana: I was actually born in the USA and my father is Norwegian – so I moved to Norway and then mum and dad split up when I was 14. We came to New Zealand and I went to high school in Taupo, and then university in Wellington; I’m use to shifting around.

Yasmine: You have now being at Glassons for a year or more now, is this right?

Kiriana: It was March last year – so a little over a year.

Yasmine: When you started it was the first time Glassons ventured into a high line, what was their reasoning behind wanting to start something like that?

Kiriana: I wasn’t bought on board to do that exactly. Basically they had the Lambton Quay store in Wellington, so they wanted a boutique collection for there. They asked me to do this only two months before it would hit stores. I was like: “I have 1 week to organize this,” so I went straight to China and did it all there. It sold really well so they wanted to keep doing it. Now it’s a major thing but isn’t really part of my job description.

Yasmine: So you aren’t exclusively doing this – you are doing everything?

Kiriana: I do several trends and develop them. Everything moves so fast – we do one new trend a week, which is insane where as at Topshop we would do about 12 a year.

Yasmine: How does edt. sit in your retail environment?

Kiriana: Glassons divide their stores into top stores – so edt. sits in their main stores or flagship stores. What is good is they want to keep it quite tight so it is very in the now – some of it is only made into 50 units (tops), which is quite cool because you have this idea of the high street brands that there is a lot of merchandise and then it will be repeated.
We are trying to bring on board that we don’t repeat any styles. This is because we don’t want customers to think “Oh I can just come back and it will be on sale next week – who knows they may even have another colour!” It is more limited.

Emma: edt. is also merchandised to have its own corner of the store so it has breathing room and space and it creates a nice shopping experience.

Yasmine: Yes because I suppose aesthetically it stands alone as quite separate?

Emma: Right. Its good for Glasson’s because we hope it is aspirational but still an accessible price point.

Kiriana: It is still commercial though. You know how you go to the UK and UK girls shop at Topshop and they are not afraid of shopping there or admitting to wearing the brand.

Yasmine: Yeah, so you are speaking to another customer with edt. and seeing what else she finds in store?

Kiriana: Yes and customers are becoming way more educated these days – look at any teenage girl today, I was not as clued up with everything as they are now – with access to internet etc. But yeah, I feel like your average suburban girl is way more clued up these days.

Yasmine: It’s true. With your most recent collection, what were some of the ideas behind that?

Kiriana: Well the reality is that we update some of the styles we have already worked with. Lately it has been a bit paired back and classic but this collection is a bit more nutty from where we’ve been before. I had this idea of a southern girl sitting on her porch and fending off the alligators wearing sequins (laughs) so it’s a combination of the super luxe with some authentic denim in there too. There are cord dresses and wrinkled fabrics, all awesome.

Emma: All my favourite pieces were the first ones to be questioned – like the knit dress – Glassons wanted to see it in a colour.

Yasmine: I guess they have to be conscious of what mainstream New Zealand thinks and they are under a bit of pressure in that sense.

Kiriana: It’s also that they are so involved in the retail aspect. They are always going around to the different stores in Rotorua or around New Zealand and spending time with the customers. It’s easy to get into a bubble and assume everyone has a certain level of taste but in reality, it might not be like that everywhere.

Yasmine: In terms of Harriet shooting the campaign: What were some of the ideas that you wanted to put across to her before shooting?

Kiriana: What we thought was awesome was having a talented local girl to shoot it – it makes sense being Glassons, and we should be backing New Zealand talent. We should be backing people like you, Harriet. We love your work. Having a story of integrity – it’s real and important for our brand. And those little moments you picked up on during the shoot were perfect!

Emma: In terms of concept though, the idea that you don’t feel beautiful all the time but sometimes you will catch yourself in the mirror and say “Oh hey!” (laughs) so it is those little kind of moments that you see in the photos that we were focusing on as a whole for feel of the campaign.

Kiriana: Sometimes mainstream campaigns can appear kind of confused or they are unrealistic, so to speak. How she is always smiling and happy? That isn’t your average girl in reality.

Yasmine: I think as well, there is that old school photographer that exists – aspiring to shoot a certain way. And I feel like you, Harriet, are not coming from that place – you are coming from a fresher perspective that is more about catching moments rather than creating them.

Emma: I feel like female photographer have a different eye compared to a male photographer – they are a bit more compassionate.

Yasmine: Harriet said you guys shot in a greenhouse?

Emma: Yeah! An industrial plant house business in Otahuhu and they have these giant palms. It is amazing, a little run down and rustic; it really fit the whole story behind the collection.

Yasmine: And who were the models?

Harriet: We had two – Natarsha and Marie.

Yasmine: Natarsha has gone overseas now hasn’t she?

Harriet: Not yet, but soon though!

Yasmine: That was fast! Good on her.

Harriet: They’re both such lovely girls – nice and smart. You’d catch them straighten up each other’s clothes or hair during the shoot. So cute!

Kiriana: If you have a daughter you want her to be like that!

Yasmine: Beyond Glassons and edt., what are some other things you are interested in Kiriana?

Kiriana: Um- I have this weird split personality (laughs), I am obsessed with sports. I swear if I weren’t in the fashion world I would be in the Olympics.

Yasmine: What sport would you be in?

Kiriana: Skiing??

Yasmine: I knew you were going to say skiing!

Kiriana: Haha, I actually booked three weeks off during the Olympics so I could actually watch it!

Yasmine: That’s so cute!

Kiriana: Haha, besides that, I am always in magazine stores and always looking at blogs.

Yasmine: What are some of your favourites?

Kiriana: I love a couple of the Danish mags – but I feel like they are going down hill lately – one called Cover. I was obsessed with it when it first came out! There is a Japanese one – I can’t remember the name though– similar aesthetic your blog Yasmine – quite cool. Old RUSSH-like you know?

Yasmine: I still have the desire to buy RUSSH, even though I feel it lacks something it first started with. Its concept has fallen apart a little I think. At the end of the day, magazines will have to compromise somewhere to make money to keep it going.

Emma: I hope that never happens to The Gentlewoman.

Yasmine: I worry for The Gentlewoman! In the fact that everyone is trying to copy what they are doing – that aesthetic could eventually become mainstream, and redundant in a way – over saturation is the worst.

Emma: They are still better than everyone else – it is the only mag I read cover to cover.

Harriet: I ‘ve never looked at it.

Emma: It is great. There are nice interviews from so many different people, and the treatment of clothes – so beautiful.

Yasmine: So what was it like all working together on this?

Kiriana: It was so chill. Compared to the more commercial shoots and how those go- this was really low-fi.

Yasmine: It is funny that this, what could be considered, high-fi brand has just had such a low–fi campaign.

Kiriana: Yeah, I got sent through a credit list of everyone on the shoot for a campaign in Australia we did and there were so many people on set! The First Assistant, the Second Assistant, an Art Director, a Creative Director – just too much; I don’t understand what everyone’s doing there!

Emma: Yeah I feel like we could just shoot it at my house with a box of beer!

Kiriana: Haha! That would be awesome.

Yasmine: So Harriet, did you shoot it all on film?

Harriet: I did.

Yasmine: Do you ever shoot with digital?

Harriet: Nope. Maybe because I don’t have one. I don’t want to get one though because I already know how to use my own camera and I feel like I take more considered photos because I have less photos to take, if that makes sense.

Kiriana: Do you find that because you are not looking through a little viewer screen you see more with your own eyes? Because you have to notice more and be more in tune?

Harriet: Yeah, probably.

Emma: What are your favourite things to shoot?

Harriet: I haven’t done the fashion thing or model thing for very long.

Kiriana: Oh yeah, that was the first time you had photographed more than one girl. How did you find that?

Harriet: That was really hard because there are photos that were good but one model would be noticeably stronger, and then they also move differently. With one girl you get better and faster results.

Yasmine: What are your favourite pieces from the collection?

Kiriana: The corduroy dress.

Yasmine: And how is the colour palette?

Emma: Lots of black and white, and one red cami – because you always need to have a colour! And there is one dark, inky blue t-shirt too.

Yasmine: Where are your thoughts on the local industry?

Kiriana: I’m worried about the small brands. I want them to grow – I believe it’s Glassons job to support them and generate collaborations. It is something that we’re currently looking into. Topshop does capsule collections – giving the younger designers exposure. Think about JW Anderson and what Topshop did for him. Even if it isn’t a designer, it could be an artist? I feel like we should be speaking more to the industry.

Emma: We keep looking over the Tasman as well – when we shouldn’t because that industry is so different! Things are so hard for young designers here – it’s hard to get people to spend their money on things.

Kiriana: I think that growing up in Scandinavia – you have the whole of Scandinavia on your doorstop and geographically – we are so far away here in New Zealand. It makes it harder.

Yasmine: I often wonder sometimes, though, if we forgot about that geographical aspect and thought – Fuck it, we are here and we are just doing what we want. I wonder if then the rest of the world would be like, “Wait a minute, what is going on down there?”

Kiriana: But they do though. People I’d meet in the UK would always ask about what is going on in New Zealand. We definitely have value in their eyes.  We could be a center for leather, flax linen perhaps?

Emma: There is a leather mill in Greymouth that does the leather for Alexander Wang and Prada.

Yasmine: That would be a cool story!

Kiriana: There is a lot we could do in this country, it has everything we need.

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