We extend our warmest congratulations to former Westlake student, Kate Sylvester, one of New Zealand’s best known fashion designers, on being recognised as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the fashion industry. She received the insignia at an investiture ceremony last month, at Government House in Auckland.
Kate was a student at Westlake in the ‘80s, followed by studies in fashion and design at Wellington Polytechnic.
She opened her first standalone fashion store in 1993 in Auckland, co-founding the label, ‘Kate Sylvester’. Her first fashion show was in Sydney in 1999, which launched her international career in fashion, and by 2011 her brands, were stocked across Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and the United States.
In 2018, she co-founded Mindful Fashion, a not-for-profit collective of New Zealand designers, fabric suppliers and manufacturers to unite the industry to create a sustainable, circular and thriving future.
There was special recognition for her at the NZ Fashion Show in 2023, which marked 30 years in business as a designer. The show featured a collection reflecting numerous iconic moments in her fashion career.
Last year, Kate announced that her fashion label would be wound down and would close in mid-2025. Her three sons, who share their parents’ creative talents, recently decided to relaunch one of her labels, ‘Sylvester’, in a new fashion enterprise.
While now taking a step back, Kate and her life and business partner, Wayne Conway, plan to continue encouraging and supporting a new generation of New Zealand designers and championing the New Zealand fashion industry.
https://fq.co.nz/kate-sylvester-30-years/
(Fashion Quarterly 2025 Issue)
Photo credit = Governor-General’s Facebook page.