Half a century, five decades or 50 years, they all sound long no matter how you say it. It's been one hell of a journey for us all, tastes changed, palettes evolved, styles came and went, and being at the forefront of Men’s Fashion, we witnessed New Zealand men becoming more confident, defining their own style and continuously evolving with each passing decade.
As we gear up to celebrate the stint so far – it’s only natural that we’d be feeling a little nostalgic. Digging out the archives, looking back fondly, but also recognising how far we’ve come. Celebrating the icons, both people and product, that paved the way.
It all started on the corner of High St and Victoria St in 1972. Then called Raymond’s, the store was as much a social space as it was a retail store. While their girlfriends shopped next door, guys would come in just to hang out and listen to music. It was obvious that, the then 24-year-old, Ray Barker had tapped into something special, right from the moment the doors first opened.
Being the 70s, the spotlight was set on (you guessed it) button-up shirts, more specifically button-up shirts with big collars and loud prints. At the time there was no cooler outfit than an extravagant collar paired with bell-bottom trousers – a truly iconic silhouette if ever there was one. In that regard, Ray and the team had effectively cornered the market, with staff photos from the 70s encapsulating a sense of unrivalled style, all before New Zealand really even had a menswear scene to speak of.
Going from strength to strength, the 80s saw a move into slimmer fits, smaller collars, and more vibrant colours. With the stores growing in popularity – there were days when the hardest part of the job was simply trying to keep enough product on the floor. Ray recalls closing one Christmas Eve with 27 pairs of jeans left in the store, which might not have been an issue if it hadn’t been that the store’s name was Barkers Male Boutique & Jeanery. Jeans were what they sold. And with the local factories closed for the summer, they had no way to get their hands on more stock - much to the disappointment of the January holidaymakers who came through looking for a pair.
The 90s saw the introduction of a true classic – one that would quickly go on to become a kiwi phenomenon: the iconic Barkers trackies. The magic was in the marketing. Campaigns from that era were almost always shot somewhere sunny, with a group of guys and girls all drowning in oversized hoodies, printed crews, and baggy tees tucked into matching trackpants. High school mufti days were awash with pigment-dyed cotton sweats and the BMC branding took centre stage. Coveted by men and women since their release, there’s no denying that the Barkers printed trackies played an iconic part in the makeup of our DNA.
Fast forward a few years, and the golden age of Barkers appeared to have been a thing of the past. In 2008, Jamie Whiting – now CEO of Barkers, was offered the opportunity to run the business after having done a few months of consulting. But he was in for a challenge, as he recalls that what he found was anything but pretty. The colour, the style, the quality – it all felt tired and below where it should have been. This brand was iconic, with a history as rich and renowned as any in the New Zealand menswear scene, yet since Ray Barker sold the company in the early 2000s it had clearly lost its way.
The company had forgotten its past, even seemed embarrassed by it. So, after agreeing to jump on board and with a vision of what was possible, one of the first things Jamie did was seek out Ray Barker to spend time with him and learn about how the brand was born. About the first shop on High Street in downtown Auckland. About the time staff partied with the Doobie Brothers when they were on tour here. About the nights he and the team would shut the store doors after the mania that was Friday night trading - sticking around to eat, drink, swap stories and unwind.
For the next few years, old silos were broken down and a new team was built from people who shared in the same vision, all with a collective sense of purpose to revive everything that Barkers once was – the best in the game as far as menswear was concerned. They began rolling out products that had better fabrics, sharper fits, and brighter colours - seeking out new suppliers that could offer the level of quality that the Barkers men of yesteryear had known and trusted, and that which Jamie knew the Barkers customer of today deserved.
The first decade with Jamie at the helm was all about bringing life back to a classic kiwi brand. The second was about making that brand as sustainable, ethical and environmentally low impact as possible. Today, our focus is on continuing the legacy that started all those years ago on the corner High St and Victoria St in 1972.
Half a century, five decades or 50 years. It's been one hell of a journey.