Kate Sylvester

Mother 
Auckland, New Zealand
Kate wears pieces from our launch & Kusama Ballet collections
Interview & photography by Ike Conway

Hey Mum, how are you? 

I’m really good, I’m very happy being a proud Mum. This year, we wound down the Kate Sylvester brand and relaunched Sylvester as a standalone brand. One of my highlight moments was swapping out my email signature. I went from being Founder and Designer of Kate Sylvester to Mother of Sylvester.

What have you been up to these last few months? 

Although we have now wound down Kate Sylvester, I’m still really busy. My time is split between helping build the Sylvester brand and hanging out with my son Tom, he had a pretty devastating accident in January and is learning how to navigate life in a wheelchair. It’s incredibly challenging but equally inspiring. Tom and his beloved partner Isabelle are incredibly strong and refuse to be diminished. I’m in awe of them actually.

What is something you have learnt since closing down Kate Sylvester? 

I think all working mothers are consumed with the guilt and worry that we are neglecting our children. I have finally learnt this year that having a working mother was actually good for my boys. They are strong, resilient, creative, kind humans, and that’s partly because they had to share their childhoods with their parents' business. Seeing them working to build Sylvester, I’ve also realised that by osmosis, they have been absorbing the DNA of both Sylvester and KS all their lives. They have an innate understanding of what Sylvester is, for the boys the business was another member of our family – their sister in fact!

What has it been like mentoring us three boys?

It's an interesting journey! Every day is different. One day I’ll find myself explaining to Moo the finer points of cutting on the bias, the next I’ll be giving Ike feedback on how he’s presenting the product online, and another day I’ll be talking new collection concepts with Tom. Mine is also a unique role, being both mother and mentor. Wayne and I lead at a very high level, currently we are building a new wholesale model for the brand, but because we are parents of a fledgling business, sometimes it’s just all hands on deck to help wrap ecom or pin swing tags into garments.

What are your favourite aspects of this new vision for Sylvester?

There is so much to love! The team’s fresh energy and enthusiasm is so uplifting. It’s very affirming to see them celebrating the brand, embracing classic elements such as the stripes and denim and then bringing in new elements to express their own voices. We have Christine Leung on board, she worked with me in design for 15 years and is now head designer, and her balance is working really well to ensure we retain the best of Sylvester while carving out new territory. I also love seeing how everyone in the team interprets the pieces differently. I will put on, say the Traveller shirt and trousers as a set and it feels very sophisticated KS, Shereen will style the trousers with a hoodie and Ike will wear the Shirt open over a t-shirt. Playing dress-ups is the purest joy of this job, so I’m very happy I still get to do it!

What are you currently reading / listening to / watching?

I’m a very eclectic reader, recently I’ve devoured The Ministry Of Time by Kaliane Bradley and a memoir by Schiaparelli, but my current favourite is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, small and perfectly formed, I read it straight through twice!

There’s no denying that this year has been very challenging. We have wound down one business, launched another but most challenging we’ve had to cope with Tom’s accident. I have Marlon Williams to thank for getting me through whenever I feel too overwhelmed. His incredibly beautiful new album Te Whare Tiwekaweka is a healing balm.

You never stop crafting things. What are you currently making?

I’m teaching myself embroidery, and I like the sampler so much I’m turning it into a cushion cover. That requires concentration, so when I’m watching TV, I knit dishcloths, currently in Sylvester stripes for the boys!

If you could give young creatives starting their own business one piece of advice, what would you say?

The same advice we gave the boys. Don’t do it unless you are prepared to work your arses off! Being the owner of any business is incredibly hard, but it’s also incredibly rewarding, and I hope my boys feel as proud as I do of what they are creating.

Can we come around for dinner this weekend?

You better! We are celebrating Matariki!