Kayla, who appeared at a special COOP evening at fashion store Tilda in Mount Maunganui last week, says winter 2016 sees the COOP girl going through a "punky phase", which will continue into spring. "It's a little bit punk, with detail such as black raw frills on a sweatshirt and sweatpants. The COOP girl is rebelling against everyone."
Kayla's main inspiration when it comes to design is travel. A hectic schedule visiting fairs scouting for the latest fabrics for COOP gives her rich content for design concepts. "I like to take a lot of photos when I travel. I took some photos of really cool Japanese signs, and I ended up turning it into a screen-print which we used on T-shirts."
Like the Trelise Cooper brand, COOP is big on prints, and has its own aesthetic influenced by Kayla. The designer likes to mix her prints with plain fabrics "with an edge".
Kayla's rise to the top was not an overnight success. As a high school student with a passion for fashion, Kayla began interning at Trelise Cooper HQ in her school holidays.
Follow your dream and passion. Work hard and get yourself noticed, and it will pay off.
She was determined to work hard and make an impression: "I remember my first week there - I was in high heels, hair done, perfectly made up, my outfit buttoned up from top to bottom, and I was stomping down boxes in my heels."
Fast forward a few years and Kayla continued to spend her weekends and holidays working at Trelise Cooper while studying towards a Bachelor of Design and Fashion. She did whatever she was asked to do - from working in the store, to helping at fashion week - and the jobs got more glamorous.
After three years interning and doing part-time work, Kayla got her big break when she arrived at work in her old Toyota, dressed to the nines and toting cupcakes for her colleagues.
Trelise Cooper herself was arriving at the same time and was struck by Kayla's style.
"She said 'you look amazing!' and asked me to come up to her office, and she offered me the job of design assistant," Kayla recalls. "She offered me the role because I had shown commitment to the company. I express myself through the way I dress personally and I think that she really liked that."
Since then Kayla's life has been a whirlwind and she still has moments when she has to pinch herself. "When I arrived at Shanghai Airport on my first trip there, there was a valet driver waiting with a sign for the Trelise Cooper team, and right next to him there was a driver with a sign for Dolce & Gabbana. It made me realise that just because we are in New Zealand, it doesn't mean we're not doing what the international designers are doing."
Kayla loves that every day is different, encompassing everything from design, fitting garments, or preparing for a runway show. "Follow your dream and passion. Work hard and get yourself noticed, and it will pay off."
TOP TIPS
Getting into the fashion industry
*Don't be afraid to work hard. Kayla gave up parties with her friends to spend weekends working and getting valuable experience.
*Don't be shy - get yourself noticed.
*Muck in - don't be afraid to unpack a box or sweep a floor.
*Dress for the job you want. Kayla always expressed herself through her fashion and was well-groomed.
