Happy Birthday Hailwood

What have been the biggest moments for you personally, and for the brand?
Starting my T-shirt brand at the very start, stocking Kirsty Gregg's stores; working in Sweden for Absolute label was a great project working with other peers from around the world including Bora Aksu and Henrik Vibskov. Gorgeous Ella [Lorde] wearing my sequin gown on the cover of Billboard was such a thrill — she really is a superstar with brains and all round gorgeousness. There are many, but the best was a young woman coming up to me saying that she had chosen to wear a dress of mine for her 21st and how special it was as her mother had chosen it with her; she lost her mum six months after her birthday. That has always stayed with me.

How has the brand changed — and what has stayed the same?
Well we really were just a T-shirt brand for the first year — it was all about the prints, then I moved on to denim skirts with big animal prints. I think I made 800 flamingo white denim skirts — hideous, ha ha! We still do a lot of placement print on tees and knitwear but have diversified into full ranges of ready to wear, evening, denim and shoe lines. I still love the illustration side of print and still do all the print designs for all the ranges, like in the beginning.

How have you seen the industry change over those 15 years?
The business of fashion has always been the same ... you get back what you put in and yes it's tough but hard work pays off. I've had some lucky breaks and support over my career; it's what you make out of it; nothing gets handed to you. I feel the business of fashion is a changed beast from when I first started: markets have shifted with price pointing, manufacturing, competition is stiff. You have to juggle these components all together. It's more the business of fashion than designing pretty frocks, where it was the opposite when I started. You have to evolve.

What are your memories of your first time showing at NZFW?
Pure excitement — it was a group show at the Auckland Town Hall. It was the show with the green swallow print wrap dress; people still remember that piece. Writer Stacy Gregg still has hers; it's been around the world 10 times. I hope she'll wear it to one of her Pony Club Secrets movie premieres one day!

You've been known for your show-stopping gowns at NZFW. What is it about them that continues to inspire you?
I like doing eveningwear, not going to lie. I enjoy making garments that aren't just about the business side, which, don't get me wrong, that's the most important thing — it has to make money and be a viable business — but I feel shows need a little bit extra. Half the garments you see on a lot of the runways overseas are never put into production. It's a fine balance; you don't want to do too much as it detracts, you just need a few wow pieces to make it a little less ordinary.

That Nicky Watson blue gown was a Fashion Week moment. What happened to the dress?
That dress was originally made several years before, for my second individual show at Fashion Week. It was made by a very clever Chilean lady, Elizabeth Ramos Ghirelli, all by hand crochet. The dress is in the archive.

What can you tell us about the collection you'll show at NZFW tonight?
It's an homage to my manufacturing base, Hong Kong, so lots of lucky Lion and dragon motifs and the chrysanthemum, China's national flower, featuring in embroidery print and sequin patterns. I have added a few more evening pieces to the end part of the show, and looked at Chinese sculpture which is featured in silk Shantung trousers and dresses. The range is called Lion Heart.