Emerging talent: Cathy Hansby
By Sarah Heeringa,
Cathy Hansby built her fashion brand the personal way—onTrade Me
Idealog January/February 2007, page 17. Cathy Hansby wears the Shanghai dress from her ‘Eastern fling’ collection. Photograph by Toaki Okano/Croydon Studios
It’s the kind of blow that can sink young designers on consignment: just two years after Cathy Hansby graduated with a fashion degree from AUT, both the stockists she was supplying closed down, leaving her with a great pile of unsold stock and nowhere to sell
She turned to Trade Me, that great market of dreams and dreamers, and in the process gained something even more valuable than mere sales. “I started out with a brightly-coloured range of classic, flattering cuts such as the A-line in comfortable-to-wear fabrics. It all sold well. Even better, unlike selling through a regular store, I received lots of great one-on-one feedback, direct from my customers,” says Hansby. Selling via Trade Me enabled her to build her client base, including a number of repeat customers.
In 2004, Hansby caught the attention of fashionistas when her design was among five selected from more than 200 entries in Max Fashion’s competition for the official Fashion Week t-shirt. A Hansby creation had previously come second in the 1999 Wearable Art Awards, pieces from her graduation collection were used in an Overland shoe catalogue and in-store posters, and a silk evening kimono with a modern twist won the 2000 Atrium on Elliot Innovation in Design award.
But after producing a number of sell-out ranges for Trade Me and gaining something of a following, Hansby realised a fundamental limitation of the virtual store; because customers can’t try clothes on before buying, there’s a natural limit to how much they’re prepared to spend. So in 2004 Hansby launched her locally-made Catherine range into several conventional retail outlets. She currently supplies six stores in the North Island, and plans to expand nationwide over the coming year. Next stop Australia and Asia, then the world. “It’s a great time to be a young New Zealand designer,” says Hansby. “The big designers have made the first steps to introduce New Zealand fashion internationally, and the local market is developing a unique identity.”
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