Stolen Girlfriends Club started with a $4000 credit card loan, no backers and a lot of attitude.
Now SGC is a regular at Fashion Week with its designs available in 13 countries.
Co-founder Dan Gosling talked to Newshub's Simon Shepherd about the journey.
Marc and Luke originally started SGC as an outlet for their creativity. Also wanting to create clothes that at that time you couldn't find in NZ. A step up from your Surf streetwear based brands, something with a bit of attitude and more Rock n Roll. The demand for the brand lead us forward into this world before we even had product to buy.
(Supplied/Stolen Girlfriends Club at NZFW)
It hasn't been plain sailing. The main hurdle is cash flowing each season to the next. Waiting to get paid while you pay you deposits on orders that won't be coming in for three-to-five months .
Its not all about the clothes. It is also the atmosphere we create around the brand and how we talk to our audience though events such as fashion week and parties we hold which showcase the ethos of the brand and its personality. Each show or event has a unique idea or concept that runs through it. Our fashion week shows have constantly evolved and people are never quite sure what we will do next.
We have always worked with great like minded brands. It is an excellent way to connect to a different market that you wouldn't normally communicate with on a day-to-day basis. Some of the ones we work with are Kronenbourg beer/Red Bull/Squealing pig wine/Samsung/Vodafone.
This year we have collaborated with Kronenbourg to design the bar on the first floor of the 1664 Lounge.
(Supplied)
We have designed rugs featured at the venue for new NZFW sponsor the Flooring Foundation. And for Mini this year we have designed a Car Air freshener we developed a scent with one of the last perfumeries in NZ, Flairoma. The scent is a combination of tobacco and perfume.
Don't do it! (Laughs) Most importantly it would be to work on your brand and get your back end [cashflow/production] top notch. You only get one chance sometimes to impress so you need to get it right first time .
Newshub.
