New Zealand designer brand Maggie Marilyn has opened its first Australian flagship store in Sydney, fresh from securing B Corp certification.
The store has opened in ‘The Intersection’ precinct of Paddington, which shares luxury boutiques including Aje, Oroton, Tony Bianco and Zimmerman.
It will join Maggie Marilyn’s two New Zealand stores in Newmarket and Britomart.
Founding designer Maggie Hewitt said the move to expand its brick-and-mortar presence in Sydney is a “pivotal” for the company.
“Maggie Marilyn's mission to realise a socially and environmentally responsible fashion industry, won't happen without the support of our global customer,” Hewitt said. “The climate crisis is also a problem that will not be solved by playing small.
“Our ‘bricks and mortar’ homes are pivotal to educating our customers about our brand pillars – it’s about building and nurturing a community that will champion the collective ‘good’ we are seeking.”
Interior designer Alexandra Ponting, of AP Design House, styled the interior layout, envisioning a ‘intimate dining room’ experience.
The space will showcase Italian mid-century furnishings in solid walnut timber, organic stone floors, and a nature-inspired palette of sage and darker green hues. Near the centre, a prominent dining table intentionally anchors the room.
“Maggie and I wanted the exterior and interior palette to speak to the brand’s new leafy surroundings, and to the neighbourhood’s defining heritage Victorian architecture,” Ponting said.
“Given the brand’s planet conscious values and initiatives, it made perfect sense to reference nature’s evergreen palette.”
According to Ponting, vintage décor pieces were sourced as a priority.
“The idea of breathing ‘new life’ into older pieces is very much aligned to my design aesthetic,” continued Ponting.
“I adopted a ‘less is more’ approach for Maggie’s new Home - the directive was underpinned by the romance of investing in hero vintage pieces, to create theatre and intrigue in a mostly minimalist-inspired space.”
Hewitt echoed Ponting’s design style, saying the ‘intimate dining room’ experience is “golden”.
“The right kind of dining table is suggestive of an invitation to share food, laughter, and stories, and create treasured memories,” Hewitt said.
“It’s the also the birthplace for some of our most honest and important conversations - a holding space for hard questions and uncomfortable truths.
“As we continue to propel the climate crisis conversation, we will continue to invite our community to take a seat at the table with us.”
The new Sydney flagship will showcase ‘Somewhere’ and ‘Somewhere Man’ – Maggie Marilyn’s range of circular, traceable, evergreen essentials – as well as the limited-edition Forever capsules – seasonless pieces that are designed to last.
“Our purpose is to use fashion to create a better world,” Hewitt said. “Our mission is to help transition the fashion industry to one that is rooted in transparency, circularity, regeneration, and inclusion.
“And we believe we can achieve these things by building a community of people who will help us address fashion’s role in the climate crisis.”