INTRODUCING: FRANCES

As part of our designer offering at The Shelter, you’ll find an impressive lineup of emerging local talent. Designers gain the opportunity to work closely with Creative Director Vicki Taylor and get to run their rack like their own store - launching new collections, getting creative with a window installation and hosting in-store events.

We are so excited to share the newest Kiwi designer to join The Shelter Family, Frances.

Dedicated to exploring the relationship between body and cloth, challenging the concept of traditionally gendered clothing and garments designed by Gabby Cresswell.

After studying Fashion Design at Wellington’s Massey University, Gabby returned to the family farm in Martinborough. After a weekend of sweeping and remodelling an old horse stables on the property, the Frances studio was born.

This week we launch collection 003 as Frances joins our lineup of New Zealand brands. We stole a quick 5 minutes with Gabby to talk about her inspiration and give you a little more insight into this exciting emerging brand.

Welcome to The Shelter family! Tell us about you and your background in fashion.

Thank you! I’m so excited for this new journey with The Shelter family — I’ve had such a warm welcome!

Clothing for me has always been my greatest tool for exploring my gender identity. I have always been very intrigued by clothes and how different cuts, fabrics and textures can make you feel. I knew the bare minimum about clothing construction, but I had decided that being a designer was what I wanted to do. So I went and studied Fashion Design at Massey University, where I learnt to sew my first shirt — I became obsessed with shirts, and they’ll always be a staple to every Frances collection.

Tell us a little bit about your brand. Where did the name Frances come from?

Frances brand is all about being free to express gender through timeless and quality garments. Frances is trans-seasonal and believes in making garments that customers can wear, layer, and re-wear for years and years. All Frances pieces are designed and made here in Aotearoa — we promote slow fashion, not fast fashion.

Frances is my middle name, named after my great Grandmother — who was also a fashion designer in the 50s through to the 80s! So it seemed fitting to make it the name of my label.

How did the label begin?

After completing my Fashion Degree, I felt super inspired — I knew how to sew by this point and slowly worked on my first capsule collection (001) in my flat in Pōneke during the first Covid-19 Lockdown that was later released at the end of November 2020.

How would you describe your brand to someone who’s never seen it? Who is the dream Frances wearer?

Frances is a ready-to-wear Aotearoa label that focuses on timelessness, high-quality fabrics and well-made garments. Frances focuses on detail too, I often use remnant fabrics as detailing on the next collections.

The dream Frances wearer is someone who sees clothes as art and expression.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I draw a lot of inspiration from the Japanese concept ‘ma’. This is the space between all things — I’m constantly thinking about the space between body and cloth when designing.

I also draw inspiration from viewing garments as something beyond clothing for the body. This thinking process always takes me to a really interesting and innovative place for design. Last year I completed a Fine Arts Diploma where I looked at clothing in an art context. I made a shirt over a metal framework that can’t be worn on the body and a silk organza sculptural form that looked like a top but was more like a bag.

What do you wish you had known when you first started?

There’s so much to starting a business, and I definitely threw myself into the deep end when starting up Frances. I wanted to take control of all aspects of my brand — but I soon learnt that collaborating with lots of other creatives can teach you a LOT and is also lots of fun.

What is the most exciting thing about being a kiwi designer?

There’s a lot of talent and successful designers that come out of Aotearoa, and because we’re so small, it has allowed me to work alongside some super-talented people across the industry, which is such a privilege. I’m about to do my first shoot with Dave from Marlborough Lights, which is super exciting too.

If we were to visit your neighbourhood, where are we eating, drinking and exploring?

I’m based rurally on a farm just out of Martinborough, which is home to lots of beautiful vineyards, so you’d be drinking lots of wine! I’d also recommend you head to Martinborough Bakery — Jo Crabb makes the best sourdough!

Do you have a favourite piece from the collection and how would you style it?

My current favourite Frances piece is the pinstripe suit pant — I’d pair them with the Rick Owens Abstract Sneak and the Frances white tee that’s coming soon…! (Super excited about this next drop).

What else do you want The Shelter family to know about your brand when they come in-store or online to shop?

Something important to note about the Frances brand is that our collections are released in capsule collections and mini ranges. Depending on the size of the collection depends on when we release it. Frances is a slow fashion brand that doesn’t follow the traditional fashion model. It’s great to see more and more retailers become more flexible around this too. I can’t wait to see Frances in The Shelter and meet all the wonderful clients in-store soon.

Join us in-store this Saturday, 8th July for a glass of bubbles to meet Frances designer Gabby Cresswell and be the first to view the range. Shop Frances online, and in-store now.