Photo Recall: High times on Auckland's Fashion St

In 22 years in business, World founders Denise L'Estrange-Corbet and Francis Hooper have moved into bigger premises 4 times - but they haven't had to travel far. Photo Researcher / Emma Walter

Denise L'Estrange-Corbet can't imagine being in business anywhere other than Auckland's High St.

Having said that, this week she's been in Christchurch looking at the possibility of opening a World Beauty store there, and other World shops are in Newmarket, Ponsonby, Wellington and Sydney.

But "head office" will always be in the narrow, quirky little street running parallel to Queen St.

When this photo was taken of Hooper and L'Estrange-Corbet in August 1992, the couple had just made their second move - from a tiny shop in the long-gone Century Arcade at No5 High St to a larger space at No18A High St.

It was a brave move at a time when, post-stockmarket crash, things were still grim and the street was dotted with empty shops.

Three years earlier, in 1989, they had spent their "honeymoon" pulling up carpet, painting walls and putting in glass shelving in their first shop.

But it wasn't long before they outgrew their second shop and moved to a bigger space at No25 High St, before the fourth move in 1999. Now they're in 280sq m of ornate space in what was once Lewis Eady's private theatre at No57. That's where the head office and the World Deluxe store is today. World Man is opposite.

In those 22 years as High St tenants, they have seen "incredible highs and troughs", but L'Estrange-Corbet is determined the little street will flourish and retain its uniqueness.

She is an active member of the High St Guild, formed a year ago to promote High St and Vulcan Lane.

This Friday the precinct will hold its inaugural First Light evening, planned for once a month during the summer.

The street will be blocked off to traffic from 4pm to 10pm, and shops, bars and restaurants will stay open until late.

L'Estrange-Corbet would like to see more New Zealand designers join the High St ranks, but acknowledges that one of the CBD's most expensive strips of real estate has probably priced itself out of the reach of newcomers.

She's not "crazy mad" about the big Australian companies - "the Peter Alexanders and the Veronika Maines" - moving in at the expense of Kiwi designers who cannot afford the high rents.

She'd like to see landlords be "a bit more negotiable", especially with young designers starting out.

"They can't do what Francis and I did 22 years ago because our rent was $100 a week, which we thought was a small fortune, but it was manageable."

Now someone renting a shop in High St would be lucky to get away with $1000 a week minimum, plus expenses and staff.

But without local business owners, she says, High St risks losing "that lovely quirky New Zealand edge".