metropol Angela Bennett spends
five minutes with
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One of the biggest challenges for most people is having the tough conversations, and I find that those are the conversations that can be so liberating, in that they move people forward from often stale situations.
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nnah Stretton, with an Order of Merit for services to fashion, business and the community needs no introduction to most. Her eponymous newly refurbished Christchurch store in The Colombo is a regular haunt for fashionistas and her latest collection of winter fashion is truly inspiring. But Annah is not only a very successful designer and business woman with over 25 retail stores; she is also a very successful author with three books under her belt, and a business mentor and philanthropist who supports a wide range of charitable groups and organisations across New Zealand. Her newest initiative RAW assists disadvantaged women and those suffering domestic violence. I caught up with Annah to find out a little more about how she has achieved so much in a relatively short time frame…
What has influenced your design style the most? There have been so many influences; the collections each season are all based around a back story that may come from history, my varied environments, a movie, or a past or present high profile person or celebrity. We are also very focused on colour and femininity. I only wear our clothing but like to dress relatively simply. It's about great pieces that don't date, have strong colour and work well with a stable of basics... and then of course there is our famously versatile Flipit dress - our Rockstar!
What type of women do you like to design for? Real women; women who love colour, love feminine styles. Women who are comfortable in their own skin, don't bow to fashion trends, simply like to wear clothes that make them look fantastic and don't spend their wholes lives trying to lose 2kg before they make their next frock purchase.
What type of fabrics do you favour? Fabrics with lots of texture... colour, metals, florals, plaids... I don't follow trend, I just follow my heart and the prints and fabrics I love. I'm fortunate that I have a head designer Ali McIntosh that pretty much aligns with me and has been with me for over ten years. We have so much fun putting together the collections and I'm always so amazed at her fresh take on all of our elected back stories.
What fashion tips would you like to give Cantabrians? Our flagship store and best performing sales team are in the Colombo Mall. I know that Cantabrians love an event because they truly recognise that life needs to be celebrated, and now! Why wait to buy a great frock when you may not be around to enjoy it tomorrow? It’s advice they could, and should, give the rest of the country! Whether it be the wonderful racing festivities or the myriad of weddings and other occasions, Cantabrians know how to celebrate and I will be forever grateful for that! They have embraced Angela and Izy, our mother/daughter team that run the Colombo store, as their personal stylists and ensure 4 June, 26 2014 Metropol
moments as they arrive in your life, never letting them define you, dealing with the tough stuff and thriving, being okay about having a voice and making a very real contribution to the world you live in while always remaining true to yourself.
You are frequently in the media and on stage speaking about entrepreneurism and living fearlessly, what do you believe is one of the main aspects in life that holds women back? Doubt, lack of self-confidence, low selfesteem, not sitting comfortably in their own skin, being afraid of risk, low ranking on their own priority scale, putting everyone else first, being the last cab off the rank, having an ‘I don't deserve this’ mentality… Please stop me now!
What is one piece of advice you would like to give women who are not reaching their potential?
When did you first realise you had an interest in fashion? It was more about having an interest in art, painting, drawing and sculpture. I have completed part of an arts degree at Otago School of Fine Arts in Dunedin. Fashion appeared on the horizon when a series of life's opportunities eventually saw me working for a fashion company in the Waikato.
Annah Stretton
Annah’s boxers: The ‘avalanche of love’. they get liberal doses of their advice.
Last year you released your third book ‘Rock the Boat’ what inspired you to write it and what do you hope readers learn from it? One of the biggest challenges for most people is having the tough conversations, and I find that those are the conversations that can be so liberating, in that they move people forward from often stale situations. RTB was all about sharing strategies around difficult
JUST DO IT! You CAN have a great life, live your dream and be a great mother and partner; you do not have to compromise, you just have to prioritise and find your balance. It is achievable. Remember there are no medals handed out for being the family's sacrificial lamb - you get one go at life - go on and live it!
Your most recent initiative RAW (Reclaim Another Woman) is to assist disadvantaged women endeavouring to exit and grow from violent situations. Please briefly explain how RAW works: For years I have been involved in all sorts of charities, simply wanting to further the agenda of others, and put the heart into my company's operations. It was a meeting late last year with the services manager of the Waikato Refuge, Roni Albert, that got me thinking about RAW, in that the success of refuge was about rescue
and stabilising, yet most of the women returned, after their refuge stay, to the environments they knew, no matter how violent. Given the huge difficulties that they would face, to put in place what would extensively be unsupported life changes, I questioned if they would be strong enough to make them. RAW is a very simple concept, a matching of a significant other (someone who has all their ducks in a row and has lived a very different life) who is prepared to walk an educational journey, starting with a year, to get the mentee woman back into a contributing society. The pilot in the Waikato now has over 80 matches with all the women in education, walking towards a very different end goal, all at this stage have been successful. Everyone needs someone, as well as a focus and a purpose, some tough love and a ‘can do’ attitude. We have simply seen the demographic that for too long has been invisible to so many of us.
Has it been difficult to connect with a group that live such a different lifestyle to your own? Absolutely, we have more mentors (significant others) that are waiting to be matched, than RAW women. But as we saw in the Waikato it simply takes time to get the women into the organisation and trusting the process; remember these are women who have been let down all their lives.
How has RAW been received by women who mentor and the mentees to date? Incredibly! I had no idea that we would get so many successful matches and advance so many women so quickly. We have police officers supporting women that have strong criminal backgrounds, a patent attorney supporting a woman from the dental profession wanting to advance a patent idea. A chef supporting a budding cook, a school principal supporting a woman to get into nursing and many, many more.
How can women get involved with RAW in Christchurch? They can log on to www.raw.org.nz and email us through the ‘be supported’ or ‘give support’ or ‘become a friend of RAW’ tabs. Or email rebecca@raw.org.nz. RAW also has a Facebook page: Reclaim another woman.
What is your proudest achievement? My two children Sam and Edward who have now both completed commerce degrees at Otago and are now travelling the world. They are my inspiration, have my absolute love and are my biggest critics and levellers. Closely followed by my initiation of RAW, and my mentor relationship with Krystal.
If you could go back and tell your teenage self something what would it be? Start earlier, you can be anything you want. Educate well and remain focused on the business type subjects, they are the advancers in life.
What were you doing the last time the thought went through your head “I shouldn’t be doing this”? Buying a second white boxer pup, I now have two girl white boxer pups that have just turned a year old. They need so much love and attention and if we let them they both sleep on the bed, my man calls this the 'avalanche of love'.
What are you like at parties? Variable. Great with close friends; first to exit in large crowds.
What is next on your wish list? To have a glass of wine with Richard Branson (I know he'd love RAW ). I guess I need to start getting more proactive on social media... dare to dream and all that!