close
close

Ourladyoftheassumptionparish

Part – Newstatenabenn

Road to the runway: Designer Caitlin Snell reflects on a turning point ahead of ‘The Maiden’ show
patheur

Road to the runway: Designer Caitlin Snell reflects on a turning point ahead of ‘The Maiden’ show

Caitlin Snell is known for her fun, sustainably-minded buns. With her debut show ‘The Maiden’, the emerging designer will signal the next steps towards an engaged local fashion scene.

Sometimes an accessory from a local designer cements itself as part of the fashion zeitgeist in Aotearoa.

Caitlin Snell’s precise bows are another.

The designer’s structurally playful hair accessories have struck a chord with New Zealand’s fashion crowds.

Caitlin Snell Hair Bows.
Caitlin Snell Hair Bows.

The topper has been clipped into hairstyles everywhere, from the stage at Spark Arena, where American singer-songwriter Wallice donned two cream satin bows with braids, to the crowd at Kahuria: New Zealand Fashion Week 2023. Stockists from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to Ōtautahi Christchurch have integrated arches into their offerings (perhaps prompted by a corresponding overall increase in popularity).

The fanfare has kept Caitlin Snell busy. It also prepared her to celebrate a moment of change.

“I want to find the joy of the craft again because I have been making hundreds and hundreds of hair bows. Now I feel very excited to take a new direction with clothing.”

The designer's recent launches have seen her expand her offering to include simple yet stylish pieces with a sustainable mindset.
The designer’s recent launches have seen her expand her offering to include simple yet stylish pieces with a sustainable mindset.

This new direction is what the young designer will mark tomorrow, with a celebration for the first time in Auckland. Caitlin Snell will showcase new pieces at Studio One Toi Tū with “The Maiden” runway show and exhibition. Preparing for the moment has been motivating and full of anticipation.

“It’s a pretty anxious process to put yourself out there. All my stamping has been done digitally; I think I want to change that, expose myself more.”

“The Maiden” will mark a major change in the era of their label. Recently, Caitlin announced she would be moving to work at her eponymous label full-time, leaving her role as a UX designer at a tech startup, and moving out of Auckland.

It’s an exciting and somewhat surprising moment for the emerging designer, who explains that her brand started “very accidentally.”

The Caitlin Snell brand launched in 2021, when she designed an anti-fog mask cover, adorned with eye-catching bows. The mask, a combination of function and fashion, sparked people’s interest in Pōneke, where it was located. studying fashion design at Massy University (she says her first exposure to fashion came during the A&P shows in Hawke’s Bay, where she grew up, presenting paint-covered silk dresses as a teenager).

After university, she would work as a machinist for Auckland-based luxury handbag brand Georgia Jay, drawing on her tertiary training in leatherwork.

Her hair bows were a similar story to the brand’s first design: she found inspiration for the accessory within the limits of her personal style and began producing more as interest grew. Taking deadstock fabric, the end of bolts of fabric and scraps, she began producing distinct hair bows using low-waste patterns.

Caitlin Snell's signature red velvet bow.
Caitlin Snell’s signature red velvet bow.

The fanfare grew with several collaborations, as she worked with other emerging designers such as Grace Ko of Baobei, Chyna-Lily Tjauw Rawlinson of Chills (which will also present accessories at the show) and more established brands such as Twenty-seven Names. Caitlin attributes the accessory’s popularity to the optimistic feeling it gives to the wearer.

“They are fun, sexy, cute and quite feminine.”

She says this heavy focus on “divine femininity” will be expanded upon in her debut show. However, she’s also excited to show off Caitlin Snell’s next step in “The Maiden.”

“I have played with draping, there are elements like bows but in a new direction. “I’m trying to make it less fun and more sexy and wearable for a wide variety of people.”

After his move, which will take place four days after the show, he will apply lessons to change his business model and welcome those loyal bow users to see unique pieces that cannot be replicated.

“I think I want to focus on one-of-a-kind pieces rather than making them to order.”

Caitlin Snell’s debut show, “The Maiden,” will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 10 at Studio One Toi Tū. Attendance is free, standing.

More about local fashion

From New Zealand designers to local manufacturing.