5 New Zealand Brands I Heard About Through Word of Mouth

Imagine your closet as it is right now. Now imagine it being, like, 10 times cooler. Enter New Zealand's new crop of up-and-coming fashion brands. The labels emerging from the country right now are so good that we can't help but get giddy just talking about them.

There's an added layer of excitement when you learn about a new brand the "old fashioned" way—not because it popped up in your Instagram Discover page, but because someone told you about it in real life. Couple that with designers backed by celebs like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and you've got yourself a potent mix of newness.

See the New Zealand fashion brands I'm high-key obsessed with, and then shop my favorite pieces from each one.

Georgia Alice

Georgia Alice is designing a brand-new perspective on power dressing, one where a checkered suit reasonably coexists with more daring vinyl pieces. And let's face it—if Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a fan, then so are we.

Maggie Marilyn

At just the age of 23, Maggie Hewitt launched her line of sustainable ready-to-wear only to have it consistently sell out on top luxury sites like Net-a-Porter and Farfetch. The collection's laid-back tailoring has a fresh point of view that makes it a fashion-girl favorite and a strong candidate for gaining cult-brand status.

Paris Georgia

There's a reason everyone's quietly buzzing about this brand. Though Paris Georgia touts itself as a line of "timeless classics that can easily transition into any season," the line feels absolutely fresh. Elevated with clean lines, the brand is already counting both French and American women as fans.

Lonely Label

You might have heard of Lonely because its pretty lace lingerie is one of our favorites. But its lesser-known swim and ready-to-wear lines are equally as dreamy. Case in point: its buttercup yellow Greta Swimsuit.

Penny Sage

If Penny Sage's saturated color palette and vintage sensibility don't immediately put you in a feel-good mood, just knowing that everything in the line is produced by family-run businesses within 30km of its design studio might do the trick.

Now see the up-and-coming Aussie brands fashion girls are wearing now.