Kate Sylvester is a New Zealand fashion designer known for combining sportswear, lingerie and traditional tailoring. Her designs are often influenced by books or art, and the fashion of the 1930s and 1950s. "Books are a big thing. When I read them, I like to dress the characters. And then I realise that there's a collection in that," she told New Zealand journalist Sarah Catherall. Titles for her collections have included '' Catcher in the Rye'', '' Love in a Cold Climate'', '' Brighton Rock'' and '' This Charming Man'', which was inspired by

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

. Her eyewear collections have included spectacles named Sylvia (Plath),

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

(Lee), Janet (Frame) and Eleanor (Catton). Sylvester's collection ''Art Groupie'' referenced the

Surrealists Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, and ''The Kiss'' a painting by

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...

. Sylvester grew up on Auckland's

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

in the 1970s, and attended Westlake Girls High School. Her father, Ron, was a teacher, while her mother, Toni, showed her how to sew. Sylvester studied textile and clothing design at Wellington Polytechnic (the former

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

) from 1985 to 1986. She then went to London, where she worked for

Arabella Pollen Arabella Pollen (born 22 June 1961) is an English fashion designer and, as Bella Pollen, journalist and author of five novels published between 1997 and 2011. Early life Arabella Rosalind Hungerford Pollen, known as Bella Pollen, is the daughter ...

in London, and Corinne Robson in Paris. On her return to New Zealand, she launched her first label, Sister, in 1993. She changed the name of the label to Kate Sylvester in 1997, after her foray into Australian shops met resistance from the Australian label Sista. Kate Sylvester owns the diffusion lines Sylvester, Kate Sylvester eyewear, accessories, lingerie, and homeware produced with the Auckland design studio Douglas + Bec. '' Metro Magazine'' named her one of New Zealand's top five designers, and her biography is included in the book ''New Zealand Fashion Design'' by Angela Lassig.

Personal life

Kate Sylvester has three sons and is married to the designer Wayne Conway. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Awards

* 2008: Inducted into the

College of Creative Arts Hall of Fame in 2008. *2008: The Emerging Small-to-Medium Business award at the 2008 NZI National Sustainable Business Awards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester, Kate New Zealand fashion designers New Zealand women fashion designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Westlake Girls High School