WHAT & WEAR //

Joining Barkers two years ago as Head of Merchandise, Paul Biddle was determined to focus on formalwear. His reasoning was simple: a suit is often the most expensive item of clothing a man ever purchases, worn to the most important occasions in their life and for many, every day to work.

With that in mind, he set himself a lofty goal: to make Barkers suits the best off-the-rack range on the market. Launching the latest collection this week, Biddle is confident he has achieved that goal.

“What you want is for a guy to put a suit on in a shop and instantly feel good, and we think we’ve achieved that,” he says. “In a difficult economic climate, a well cut suit can make a big difference in how you’re perceived in the job market – we saw a real opportunity to make a premium suit at an accessible price point.”

Barkers is the Official Formalwear of the All Blacks, the Warriors and a host of other key franchises, which Biddle sees as the chance to showcase the strength and variety of this new range. Given the variety of body shapes represented across the oval ball sports, getting the right fit was incredibly important. Once that new suit ‘block’ (the basic shape of a suit) was in place, it freed the Barkers merchandise team up to focus on the detail.

The three keys to a suit are material, construction and cut, says Biddle – if any one falls away, the suit won’t do its job, and will end up weighing its owner down, rather than elevating them.

“The fabric quality is number one. We’re offering a premium cloth at an accessible price point,” saus Biddle. “Super 120s Merino is a very fine cloth, one much more commonly found at the bespoke end of the suit market.” Biddle is also extremely proud of the construction.

“It’s no good having a nice cloth if you don’t get the construction right. A lot of what makes a suit really work is hidden underneath the fabric. Our suits have full canvas fronts, which allow the jacket to conform to your body over time, and give the jacket a superb shape and roll.”

The new Barkers suits have just arrived in stores in eight fabrics and two fits - a slim and a classic. They retail for $649, but for a limited time can be purchased for $599 including a complimentary shirt and silk tie.

One of the many side effects of working at a clothing company is that you're constantly surrounding by fabric. Swatches, fit samples, production samples - they get worn, wear-tested, get holes cut in them, and much of it gets thrown away when we're done with it.

Fiona Kao, a designer from our production team, got to a point when she couldn't stand seeing all that cotton and wool going to waste any longer. So she started collecting suitable portions and making them into one-off, handmade infant clothes. It's early days for the project, but her first effort was the shirt above, itself constructed from of our shirts.

She sources the patterns from one of our suppliers, and assembles them in her spare time, and the use of men's fabric's lends the garments a more timeless quality than much of the very of-the-moment children's wear you see in stores.

This morning she brought in her latest creations - two pairs of moccasins, made up of various swatches of denim, gingham patterns and more. We hope you'll agree that they're a far better fate than the yarn might otherwise have met.

Last Paradise is a documentary covering the rise of New Zealand's adventure sports culture over the past half century, and the way its unique sensibilities and culture spread around the world.

Featuring an unprecedented array of footage of the early days of big wave surfing, bungee jumping and a host of other hybrid approaches, the documentary functions as both a recollection of the innocence and ingenuity which lead to these industries rising, and a provocative remembrance of the world as it was before being ravaged by certain industries.

Thanks to the good people at Madman Entertainment we have ten copies of the DVD to give away - to enter simply email info@barkersonline.co.nz with 'Last Paradise' in the subject line, and your address in the body of the email. We'll draw winners on January 19.

It started, as good things sometimes can, over drinks in New York City. Barkers MD Jamie Whiting and Merchandise Manager Paul Biddle had flown in a couple of nights earlier to seek inspiration, shop and soak in the atmosphere prior to assembling Barkers winter 2012 collection. They met up with Isaac Hindin Miller to hear about his adventures since moving North, and discuss his feature for 1972 magazine, How to Wear... which was widely judged to be a high point of the second issue.

The night wore on and the conversation roamed, and Isaac related his own backstory, of his beginnings in the fashion industry, working for Murray Crane at various little brother outlets and the powerful imprint that time had left on him even now, more than a half decade removed. 

Over the following days the hangover faded, but the memory of the conversation stayed sharp, and upon their return Paul and Jamie mentioned it to Murray during negotiations for a new little brother contract (signed in the past few weeks). He'd been watching Isaac's rise in New York with some interest, his new gigs with media elites (The New York Times, GQ) and fashion icons (Hugo Boss), and had been thinking along similar lines to us: that we should sound the man out on taking a role with little brother.

Over a whirlwind week of back-and-forths, that's exactly what happened. You can read Isaac's deeply personal and very affecting account here, but here's the key fact:

"Yesterday, on my second to last day in New Zealand, I was appointed Creative Director of Little Brother. It's a job I've wanted for about 12 years – back when I used to live in Christchurch, I'd come to Auckland for holidays and hang around the original Ponsonby Road Little Brother store until there wasn't a piece I hadn't tried on. Then I'd go back the next day in case anything new had come in. I'm a long term fan and I'm incredibly excited to be re-joining the company after a six year hiatus."

We are too. So congratulations to Isaac from all at Barkers - it's a daunting task, building a range for a brand as well-loved as little brother (all the more so given the man who'll be looking over his shoulder), but if anyone deserves this shot it's Isaac. The first range will be in stores this August for Summer 12/13 - but we're certain that he'll chronicle his progress, the agonies and breakthroughs at isaaclikes.com - it should be an exhilarating ride.