Making a name for themselves in fashion, food, design, and culture, these are the creative New Zealanders to know in London. <\/p>\n
Isabella Moore <\/p>\n
Opera singer, model, festival founder and creative consultant <\/p>\n
\n When some people want to learn more about their culture abroad, they may join a language
\n class or read a history book. Not Isabella Moore, a Samoan raised in Te Atatu South, who founded Mana Arts Co with her husband, Benson Wilson. The arts and culture platform hosted its inaugural Pasifika Fest UK in July, connecting with and celebrating tangata moana through performances, workshops and conversations in Bloomsbury, central London.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is really wanting to help, to tautoko us,\u201d says Moore. \u201cWe need to raise each other up, and show our Pasifika excellence.\u201d <\/p>\n
As an acclaimed opera singer (who trained in Wales and the United States, and has performed at high-profile events, including for the Royal Family), Moore made an appearance at the festival\u2019s Classical Coconuts concert alongside her husband and other leading opera singers. <\/p>\n
Before this, Moore and Wilson modelled at the Matakite fashion show (where Moore was also a creative consultant), and sang a moving rendition of Lota nu\u2019u. As a working model and the subject of RNZ\u2019s Cutting the Curve documentary, Moore is also calling for more diversity in the modelling industry. After a brief trip back home, where Moore walked the runway in New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria\u2019s opening night, she is next headed to New York City to work. <\/p>\n
Opera singer Isabella Moore at NZ Fashion Week’s opening night show. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
As she continues to find her voice, Moore is looking to grow the Pasifika Festival and its complementary Mana Arts Co events, as well as her consulting work. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll of this is happening for a reason,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel really proud and honoured.\u201d <\/p>\n
Chantelle Nicholson at her restaurant, Apricity. <\/p>\n
Chantelle Nicholson <\/p>\n
Chef, restaurateur, author and advocate <\/p>\n
While there are many small-plate restaurants in Mayfair, none are as committed to having a small environmental impact as Chantelle Nicholson\u2019s Apricity. <\/p>\n
This Northern hemisphere summer, its tasting menus and \u00e0 la carte menu reflect a rainbow of flavours – from golden-yellow courgette flower (as tempura with smoked marrowfat) to aubergine (with kimchi, fresh herb salad and makrut lime) \u2013 all made with hyper-local produce from sustainable suppliers. <\/p>\n
\u201cSimple whole food grown with care and healthy soil is always going to taste better,\u201d says the chef, who grew up in Hamilton, and spent holidays at her relatives\u2019 stonefruit orchard down south. <\/p>\n
As one of the leading female voices in the UK\u2019s hospitality industry, Nicholson is constantly questioning the way we plate. Apricity, which opened in 2022, continues to innovate and retains a Green Michelin Star and the highest Sustainable Restaurant Association\u2019s Food Made Good Standard rating. <\/p>\n
After 20 years in London\u2019s food scene, Nicholson is focused on the environment and her communities. She\u2019s an independent board member for ReLondon and a member of City Harvest\u2019s Food Council. <\/p>\n
Passionate about inspiring the younger generation, she hosts a Kids in the Kitchen event at her restaurant, as well as being part of Chefs in Schools and School Food Matters. Nicholson sees a restaurant as a whole ecosystem and also hosts Consciously Crafted events, where guests have learnt the art of pottery and floral arranging at her chef\u2019s table. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have these beautiful elements of nature in London as well as everywhere in the UK and the world,\u201d says Nicholson. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy wish is to protect it as much as possible so that it is left in a great way and everyone can actually enjoy it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Jeweller Jessica McCormack.<\/p>\n
Jessica McCormack <\/p>\n
Jessica McCormack believes diamonds shouldn\u2019t be locked away, they should shine in the light of every day. This was on full display at her British pub-themed summer party, co-hosted by Zo\u00eb Kravitz \u2013 Jessica McCormack\u2019s first ambassador, collaborator and muse. <\/p>\n
Jessica McCormack\u2019s stores are another masterclass in world-building. McCormack spends most of her time at the Mayfair \u201cmothership\u201d, an inspiring six-storey Victorian-era townhouse that is like a large-scale jewellery box, filled with treasures from a secret garden courtyard to an overflowing library. <\/p>\n
The jeweller attributes her eclectic aesthetic to her childhood in Christchurch. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was an antiques dealer and auctioneer, so I grew up surrounded by collected objects,\u201d she says. \u201cI have been completely fascinated ever since with jewellery from the late Georgian and early Victorian eras.\u201d <\/p>\n
Back at the mothership, a basement workshop reinvigorates some of the rare antique jewellery techniques McCormack discovered while working in the jewellery department at Sotheby\u2019s. They meld these with modern designs. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven after all these years, London\u2019s creativity and cultural diversity continues to inspire me every day.\u201d <\/p>\n
In recent years, McCormack has opened another townhouse in Chelsea, and a concession store in Harrods. For New Zealand, there is a dedicated retail space at Simon James. <\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand will always be incredibly important to me \u2013 it\u2019s home, and it continues to shape my perspective in so many ways. <\/p>\n
Such a personal approach has seen the brand outperform luxury industry trends, and now Jessica McCormack is rolling out stores across the US \u2013 on Madison Avenue (opened in 2025), in South Coast Plaza (opening later this year), and on Rodeo Drive (to come in 2027). <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, McCormack is working on a new collection, Bows. It\u2019s a challenge she set herself to reinterpret such a classic (and pretty) jewellery motif in a way that is new and distinctive. It\u2019s a fine balance. <\/p>\n
Fashion designer and stylist Lyall Hakaraia. Photo \/ Crystal Te Moana Nui Squares<\/p>\n
Lyall Hakaraia <\/p>\n
Fashion designer, stylist, club and collective founder <\/p>\n
Time is merely a construct for Lyall Hakaraia, who reaches to the past and present, and seems to be everywhere at once. <\/p>\n
They grew up in creative circles in Koror\u0101reka (Russell), and, after attending the Elam School of Fine Arts, moved to London as fashion and club culture were colliding in 1990. <\/p>\n
Hakaraia learnt to sew alongside the likes of Alexander McQueen while running a market stall, then shop, in Notting Hill. In 2008, they opened VFD, a queer club and exhibition space in Dalston, and went on to create dancewear designs for Madonna, Beyonc\u00e9 and Lady Gaga. <\/p>\n
Hakaraia is still a creative director of VFD, and is involved with the queer black carnival group Fagamuffin and wellbeing support group Black Trans Project. With a new wave of Pasifika people arriving in their adopted city, they take pride in mentoring new talent. <\/p>\n
More recently, they have been a consultant for the repatriation of Hinemihi o te Ao Tawhito in Surrey, and of a Kiwi ceremonial waka from Cologne, Germany. Such work \u201cfeels, for me, that it\u2019s a tap on the shoulders from my tupuna\u201d. <\/p>\n
Among other projects, Hakaraia recently held the Matakite fashion show and cultural activation at the British Museum. Bringing designers together from across the Pacific, it was a moving offering to their ancestors while connecting with contemporary identities. Available to pre-order, Hakaraia\u2019s limited-edition Matikuku P\u0101paka scarves are printed with a carving by Momoe Tasker, who is also a member of the InterIsland Collective, an art and activist group which Hakaraia co-founded. <\/p>\n
For the future, the polymath is looking to undertake a PhD that will bring together quantum physics, material culture and Te Ao M\u0101ori. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe very core of quantum physics is that particles are in many places at once,\u201d Hakaria says. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this really interesting correlation with \u2026 the way that we have been viewing the universe for aeons.\u201d <\/p>\n
Monument founders Leah Forsyth-Steel and Victoria Spicer.<\/p>\n
Leah Forsyth-Steel & Victoria Spicer <\/p>\n
On the eastern edge of London, Monument gallery showcases museum-worthy pieces to live beside. From Tom Dixon\u2019s Biorock chair, covered in man-made coral after it was submerged in the ocean, to a selection of abandoned concrete spheres from St Ann\u2019s Square in Manchester, each distinct acquisition could come with its own didactic panel, but is best displayed in an entirely new context. <\/p>\n
Monument was founded by Aucklanders Leah Forsyth-Steel and Victoria Spicer in 2020 after the mutual friends cemented their friendship in London. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw a kindred spirit in each other,\u201d says Spicer. \u201cThe passion and the respect and awe, and the obsession of finding these things,\u201d says Forsyth-Steel. <\/p>\n
The pair, who have each been in London for around 14 years, have complementary skill sets. <\/p>\n
Forsyth-Steel worked at galleries and museums and has the strategic and creative vision for the business, while Spicer, who went to art school and has worked in film, is more focused on the practicalities \u2013 and photography. <\/p>\n
Monument attracts the attention of serious collectors spanning the UK, US, Europe, and Asia. (It also ships to New Zealand \u2013 a concrete outdoor garden set has already landed.) <\/p>\n
It also offers a 350-piece collection of stand-out pieces available for hire. This is a favourite of the fashion set, with clients including Gucci, Burberry, and Valentino. The pair also offer private sourcing and styling services. <\/p>\n
While they are driven by instinct, the duo is most interested in radical design, especially from Germany and Britain in the 1980s, and is currently researching underground Japanese designers. <\/p>\n
To elevate their archival furniture and art objects, they are perfecting prototypes for a range of plinths and platforms. They\u2019ve shown at Salone del Mobile (with the help of Tom Dixon) in Milan and Art Basel Week in Paris, and are thinking about London Design Week next, so long as it feels aligned with their interests. <\/p>\n
Chef and author Dara Klein.<\/p>\n
Dara Klein <\/p>\n
Chef, restaurateur and author <\/p>\n
Dara Klein grew up in her parents\u2019 beloved Wellington Italian restaurant, Maria Pias. \u201cIt was a very kind of classic trattoria in the sense that it was a restaurant imbued with a family story,\u201d says Klein. \u201cIt was our house.\u201d <\/p>\n
It took moving to London (for love, in 2019) to realise she wanted to create her own restaurant home. <\/p>\n
After working in kitchens across London, she held a residency at The Compton Arms in Islington, before officially opening Tiella with a friend and restaurateur from New Zealand, Ry Jessup. <\/p>\n
Housed in a former Victorian pub on East London\u2019s Colombia Rd, the re-imagined trattoria is at the centre of Londoners\u2019 renewed interest in regional Italian cuisine. With mahogany wood panels inside and sky-blue seating outside, Tiella is welcoming every day of the week but especially Sundays, when diners come with sunflowers in arms from the neighbouring flower market. <\/p>\n
The menu is full of family nostalgia, from seasonal passatelli in brodo (a dish from Emilia-Romagna, where Klein lived until she was 6), to textural trie pasta inspired by Klein\u2019s grandmother\u2019s pastificio in Puglia. <\/p>\n
Continuing her family story, Klein has now launched a cookbook, La Trattoria, which, as well as sharing recipes often on the menu at Tiella, is an ode to cooking from the heart. It\u2019s soon to launch in America, while Klein is furthering her reach with forthcoming TV work. <\/p>\n
Running a restaurant that cuts through the busy London dining scene requires a sharp focus, but it\u2019s worth the grind. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment I get really exhausted or burnt out \u2026 I can go to a meal or to one of my favourite places and the most beautiful thing is that you can be constantly re-inspired,\u201d says Klein.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be a really beautiful network of friends that are almost like family.\u201d <\/p>\n
Author Eva Wyles.<\/p>\n
Eva Wyles <\/p>\n
While her work often explores themes of loneliness and missed connections, Eva Wyles has landed on her feet in London. <\/p>\n
After developing a manuscript for a short-story collection at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and the International Institute of Modern Letters, which won her the Jean Squire Project Scholarship, Wyles moved to London in 2023 and continued to edit and add to her collection. <\/p>\n
Here, what became known as DeliveryWomen was picked up by an agent within days and published by Influx Press in 2025. The debut was met with praise, and she\u2019s now part of a prolific writer\u2019s group of authors who attend each other\u2019s book launches. <\/p>\n
Next, Wyles turns her attention to the novel. Set in London, her next story is inspired by the many old and ornate buildings Wyles has walked past (especially where she lives between Camberwell and Peckham) that have been split into flats and, at times, fallen into disarray. Without giving too much away, it focuses on a newcomer to a flatshare who uncovers hidden tensions and relationships, with a sprinkling of magical realism. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think I was interested in that contradiction in a city.\u201d <\/p>\n
Already connected to a film agent in America, where she previously spent time working in the industry, the story may take on a life of its own. But for now, Wyles wishes to stay put in London. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s one of those cities that gives you back what you give it,\u201d she says. \u201cAs time\u2019s gone on, I\u2019ve just really developed such a strong love for it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Interior designer Veere Grenney.<\/p>\n
Veere Grenney <\/p>\n
World-renowned interior designer <\/p>\n
Veere Grenney is recognised as one of the world\u2019s finest interior designers and greatest aesthetes. <\/p>\n
Born in Dunedin and raised in Auckland in the 60s, Grenney had an innate love of interior design, but no clear path to pursue it. He found his own way via the Hippie Trail of the 70s. <\/p>\n
On reaching London, he ran a small antique store in Notting Hill before securing his first \u201cproper job\u201d in the 80s with leading London design firm Mary Fox Linton, then becoming a director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. In 1996, he launched his own company, Veere Grenney Associates, which in 2026 officially rebranded as Grenney Greig, to acknowledge a 25-year collaboration with Natasha Greig. <\/p>\n
From their Chelsea Studio, the pair add to a global portfolio, from romantic English country houses to modern city apartments and homes for the Abu Dhabi royal family. <\/p>\n
Grenney\u2019s work is classically based but always respects the client and their home\u2019s environment. His work often takes him to America, and wherever his clients have holiday homes \u2013 Mustique comes to mind. <\/p>\n
In the past six years, Grenney has published two books. Veere Grenney: On Decorating \u2013 A Point of View is a design bible befitting his meticulous attention to detail. Seeking Beauty opens the door to three of his homes \u2013 Gazebo, his harmonious house and garden in Tangier, Temple, the (now sold) Palladian folly in Surrey, and his colourful, contemporary flat in London. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy work is very layered and probably comfort is the overriding factor,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Grenney has given his eye to a range of fabrics and wallpaper with Schumacher, and a collection of furniture and accessories with The Lacquer Company. He also imparts design advice with a new Create Academy course, and plans to start work on a new book next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been very lucky,\u201d says Grenney. \u201cObviously, one has an interesting lifestyle, but it\u2019s still incredibly hard work.\u201d <\/p>\n
More New Zealanders making it big overseas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Making a name for themselves in fashion, food, design, and culture, these are the creative New Zealanders to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[95,33118,74857,2396,501,156,1438,564,6036,1619,6431,1446,9862,13617,117,111,139,69,1439,67279,223,27051,24359,80,24750],"class_list":["post-587765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-and","tag-creative","tag-creatives","tag-culture","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-fashion","tag-food","tag-know","tag-london","tag-londons","tag-making","tag-meet","tag-name","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-scene","tag-shaping","tag-the","tag-themselves","tag-these","tag-zealand","tag-zealanders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}