\n worth pounding the pavement<\/a> for.\n <\/p>\n
It is where Barbara Herrick operated the first workroom for her label Babs Radon, creating elegant and structured womenswear for the post-war period. It is where the Pasifika Clothing Company<\/a> sought entrance to \u201cfashion\u2019s geographic and symbolic heart\u201d. It is where World first built a following in the 1990s, with slogan T-shirts and brightly coloured denim \u2013 a launchpad that eventually led World, with Zambesi, NOM*d and Karen Walker, to London Fashion Week for a formative fashion show<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was the boutique part of town, with New Zealand designers, in an era when New Zealand design had its heyday,\u201d says designer and fashion historian Doris de Pont (ONZM), who also took up residence in the district in 1985, with a store on O\u2019Connell St. At the time, de Pont counted doyenne Adrienne Winkelmann<\/a> and glamourpuss Kevin Berkahn<\/a> as neighbours. <\/p>\n In 2026, fashion still asserts a strong presence in the High St district. Crane Brothers is steadfast, and neighbours other menswear retailers including Edit and Strangely Normal. Tatty\u2019s and Emporio U<\/a> retail vintage, designer and second-hand clothing. Loaded offers streetwear and Pieces curates international designers. <\/p>\n General manager Emily Miller-Sharma has cited several reasons for the farewell, including the small size of the store, a decrease in foot traffic and concerns around staff safety. Speaking to the New Zealand Herald<\/a>, Miller-Sharma also raised issue with landlords who were \u201cholding\u201d onto empty properties, rather than filling them. <\/p>\n \u201cIt just absolutely makes no sense to me. If those spaces were occupied with creative people, the re-invigoration of the city would just be so much quicker.\u201d <\/p>\n Suzanna, a tailor working in the basement level Looksmart, says there is still a buzzing fashion scene on High St. Looksmart is kept busy with menswear, second-hand clothing and garments bought online. Clothing from surrounding retailers, including Tatty\u2019s and 3 Wise Men is often dropped off for adjustment and mending. <\/p>\n However, other local labels have left their homes on High St, in search of locations better suited to a new era in New Zealand fashion. <\/p>\n Commercial Bay has welcomed the shift of both Juliette Hogan and Zambesi. World, Karen Walker and Trelise Cooper have moved to Britomart. Street Life\u2019s Chris Cherry shifted focus to Workshop in Newmarket and Ponsonby.<\/p>\n De Pont says these changes are reflective of Auckland\u2019s growing sprawl. While there have been shifts downtown, independent labels have also made Grey Lynn, Karangahape Rd, Ponsonby and Newmarket their home. <\/p>\n \u201cI suppose that\u2019s the evolution of the city.\u201d <\/p>\n She theorises that changing shopping habits and routines within the High St district have had an effect. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if people go shopping anymore. I think [fewer] people work in the city as well. In their lunchtimes, they\u2019re not popping into little shops and boutiques.\u201d <\/p>\n De Pont also highlights the impacts of seismic shifts in the global fashion and manufacturing industry. <\/p>\n There\u2019s the proliferation of online shopping, acceleration of ultra-fast fashion production, increasing difficulties of manufacturing clothing in Aotearoa New Zealand and the opportunity in digitally focused, direct-to-consumer models for local labels. Increasingly, consumers in New Zealand are able to engage with a world of clothing where they are at the centre, rather than visiting central fashion destinations.<\/p>\n Murray Crane,<\/a> who has been in residence on High St for 25 years, also sees these impacts. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a fundamental shift in the way that people buy fashion … When High St was kind of at its peak in the fashion district, we didn\u2019t have those threats. We didn\u2019t have international retailers, online retail, all nipping at the heels.\u201d <\/p>\n However, despite also opening a new location in Ponsonby last year, he is certain High St is the right location for his suit and menswear offerings at Crane Brothers. Crane says he understands the safety issues raised by Ruby, but says incidents for Crane Brothers are rare. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very close to our core customer base, which is working professionals and independent business owners, so we feel like that\u2019s very much where we need to be.\u201d <\/p>\n Last year, Crane extended the lease at his current premises by 25 years<\/a>. This April, he\u2019ll give the High St another vote of confidence. <\/p>\nRuby will close its store on Auckland’s High St after 24 years.<\/p>\n
Founder of the New Zealand Fashion Museum, Doris de Pont (ONZM). Photo \/ Felix Jackson<\/p>\n
Murray Crane at Crane Brothers in High St in October 2005. Photo \/ Kenny Rodger<\/p>\n