After coming out of early retirement in 2005, Ian Ormond, former director of Ormond Taylor, acquired the Suzanne Gregory brand with a vision to modernise the business. Now known as Gregory, Ormond changed the traditional wholesale business into retail focussed brand before purchasing Ricochet in 2009. It was around this time Ormond’s daughter Lauren returned from Europe to take helm of both labels, developing them into what they are now.
Lauren’s background in banking and working with luxury brands equipped her to evolved the brand, bringing on new designers and catapulting both Gregory and Ricochet forward.
The iconic film Kramer vs. Kramer, from the colour palette to the silhouettes harnessing the mood and tone of the era inspires this season.
“The story is important, we are very conscious of designing and offering a cohesive signature range, and in doing this, a story naturally occurs,” said Justine Hunter, director, Gregory & Ricochet.
Japanese wools, virgin wools, and recycled wools from Italy all feature in the AW16 collection, alongside poplin cottons and silks.
“It is typical of Gregory; the designs are defined by couture and architecture, this can be seen in the clean silhouettes and strong emphasis on finer detailing and tailoring,” said Hunter.
Small details include smashed buttons and bamboo clasps, both in bright gold, which feature heavily throughout the range, adding to the depth.
“Our garments are proudly designed and made in New Zealand. We release both Summer and Winter indent ranges and then in-season capsules for both high summer and trans-seasonal winter. Four in total,” said Hunter.
The Gregory design process is thorough, with its winter collections beginning in June, selling wholesale in August before releasing the winter indent weekly beginning mid January until the end of April, then delivering the trans-seasonal capsule in May/June.
“From initial design concept to our customers purchasing is approximately six months,” said Hunter.
Letting the fabric influence design, Hunter and the team source fabrics from Japan and all over Europe, while developing an exclusive print to feature in each season.
For Hunter, the collection comes to life when the campaign is shot. The collection transitions from a range of garments into a cohesive selection of outfits, a moment that is shared by the whole team.
Currently both Gregory and Ricochet are available through its four flagship locations in Newmarket, Ponsonby, Remuera and Wellington, with two new stores planned for mid 2016, along with an extensive list of wholesale clients both locally and in Australia.
