French home for Kiwi style

Trelise Cooper designs will be on sale in Amsterdam. Photo / Babiche Martens

An expat Kiwi is opening a shop in Paris dedicated to stocking New Zealand fashion.

Catherine McMahon, who has developed the store, believes the Parisian fashion scene has room for a concept store selling only top New Zealand designer labels such as Karen Walker, Trelise Cooper and Kate Sylvester.

Koko opens on September 16 in the Marais, a district of central Paris known for up-and-coming designers.

The labels Koko will stock are no strangers to exporting, but gaining loyal clients in the European fashion industry is challenging as many retailers are only interested in stocking a collection for a season or two.

Kiwi labels can go through agents but they have a stable of other products they are promoting as well, McMahon said.

"What I've been doing is really pushing New Zealand and really pushing our product."

With a business degree, a background in retail and years of travelling under her belt, McMahon took the plunge in April and sold up everything to move to Paris.

She saw Koko as the first of up to half a dozen stores around Europe retailing New Zealand fashion, she said.

Making connections was important in France and she had been investigating every avenue, from talking to people in pubs and at dinner parties to contacting influential bloggers.

"And if you're not here on the ground you can't connect with people to get that sort of thing."

She felt she needed to educate French people about Kiwi fashion, Mahon said.

"God bless New Zealand Tourism for those wonderful ads about jetboats down the river and all that, but they think we all just wear polar fleeces."

New Zealand Fashion Week owner Pieter Stewart said Kiwi designers were currently selling into Europe in pockets.

There were freight, timing and cost issues and New Zealand concept stores had been tried before in London and not worked.

However, Stewart admitted that was some time ago.

"New Zealand designers weren't used to timing their deliveries as they needed to for a store. Often they [the store] want the whole collection delivered at once."

The success of McMahon's venture would depend on how high her costs were and how much of a mark-up she had to put on the clothes.

"I say good on her, it would be fantastic if it works."

Trelise Cooper chief executive Alex Brandon said the Koko concept was a good idea: "It gives you a point of difference."

Trelise Cooper was sold in boutiques dotted around Europe but there was not yet a big market for the label.

Brandon agreed New Zealand design houses had evolved in the past few years and were now used to delivering to European standards.

"There's always been the talent here in terms of design, but I think now there's actually the talent here in terms of the business side of things, to really understand how to work in global markets."

Trelise goes global

Fashion label Trelise Cooper is opening its first flagship store outside of Australasia in Amsterdam next month.

Chief executive Alex Brandon said a Dutch retailing group approached the design house and wanted to open a chain of Trelise Cooper stores across Europe.

The first store was opening in Amsterdam because that was where the company's head office was.

Trelise Cooper is currently sold into boutiques in a number of European countries but Europe was not a big market for it yet compared with its Australasian and US businesses.

"We were thrilled to be approached by these guys who can have any label in the world. It's a huge thing for us and a great thing for New Zealand fashion."

What's in store for Parisians

What: Koko, New Zealand fashion design store

Where: Opening in the Marais district of Paris in September

Selling: Karen Walker, Trelise Cooper, Kate Sylvester and Sylvester, World, Zambesi, Georgina Baker jewellery.

On the web: koko-nzconceptstore.com