MARCH 2013
23
Verve Interviews Marilyn McLaughlan New Zealand fashion doyenne, Marilyn McLaughlan, who designs under the name Marilyn Seyb, met with Verve just hours before departing on her bi-annual buying / styling trip, a journey that will take her round the globe and to many of the world’s main fashion centres in a mere few weeks. Though her life is led at a hectic pace, Marilyn exudes an air of warmth and calm, feathers never ruffled, it seems. AAnd, like any person who has made a great success of a business, this elegant, refined woman works tirelessly on her ranges, passionate in the extreme about her labels and the style and quality they represent to countless Australasian women. Marilyn knows the importance of a good work-life balance, rejoices in spending time with her precious family including a wee granddaughter. When she is not working you will find her at one of her stunning homes, either in Christchurch, Auckland or Bali. Here (amongst other things) she loves to cook, conjuring up fresh and fabulous dishes for friends and relatives, or perhaps out in the garden, bonding with nature. She answered the following questions for Verve readers.
V: How long have you been in the clothing trade, and how and where did you start? M: Over 3 decades! It all started off with a man! I met John in 1977 and by 1979 we were married. By 1979 we were working closely with Kimberleys in Christchurch, which was purely retail at this stage. We were buying product in to sell it in the store. In the 90s, after we had begun manufacturing, we felt we needed a greater network for our product, and so we started to expand, and now have four distributors that sell the collection throughout Australasia
V: Take us through the range generation process. M: Inspiration for styles and fabric come from all over and are usually pulled together in Hong Kong where ideas are tied down to sketches and swatches. We do four ranges each season - Marilyn Seyb, Marilyn Seyb Jeune, Episode, and Marilyn Seyb Glamour. As far as fabric goes, 70% of our ranges is knitwear and the rest is made from silks, cotton and natural fine blends. We are starting an active range soon called Jeune Active with yummy walking / boating clothes.
V: Best selling style ever? M: A cotton cardigan with a Cornelli (lace) design. This style sold so well and gave us the confidence to forge ahead.
V: Always generating new designs can at times be difficult as one can run out of creative juices / inspiration, etc. How do you get your ideas? M: Ideas just come; they float in the air. If you are design-oriented you draw inspiration from everything – conversation, old ideas from long ago, colour and the combination thereof, places I am in, things I see, like a tropical flower or bird – or seeing something someone else has done, like a painting for instance. Like other labels, we shop for samples overseas – from which we also draw inspiration then adapt, restyle, and refabricate for the Australasian market.
V: Your favourite designer/s? M: The Belgian designer Dries van Noten, and Marni (Italian). The way they mix colour palettes and print inspires me always, and if I was not in the industry – these are the collections I would want to buy. They have now diversified into shoes and handbags, which are equally inspiring.
V: What have you loved best about your chosen career path? M: I love it the most and hate it the most because it is forever changing. It is like starting a new business twice a year, which keeps me thinking and keeps me forward, but of course at times can be quite stressful. There are lots of plusses and minuses – however the plusses
V: Briefly outline the Marilyn Seyb / Kimberleys progression. M:1977. First Kimberleys retail store opens 1979. Marry John and continue working closely as a couple until he retired last year. 1990s. Started expanding out of Christchurch, where we had four stores. Opened stores in Dunedin and Wellington. Opened three stores in Auckland. Started manufacturing.
always outweigh the minuses. I love it that I have four really well established ranges. What a gift! V: Advice to youngsters and others just getting into the trade. M: Don’t expect to start at the top. Work your way through. Do a stint in retail to understand the customer, and be prepared to work hard. It is an allencompassing career because you live and breathe it; you are either all-in or allout and because it moves so quickly you have to be totally focused. There is too much competition out there, to sit back and take it easy. V: If you had your career over again, is there anything you would change? M: I would always be involved in design, anything tactile and to do with colour and fabrication. even if it was interior design. I nearly became a dental nurse – imagine that! Everything works out for a reason. V: Outside of work – what are your favourite ways to spend time? M: Having a massage in my Bali home then walking two metres to a deck chair and settling with a good book. I love fishing and cooking the fish that I catch (I love to cook and entertain). I love gardening so long as I can smell the roses and not see the weeds below!