(PR.co.nz) Auckland teen Ezekiel Crawford has been working on and refining his innovative fashion concept for over two years, and will finally see the fruits of his labour realised with SLAEVE’s launch at NZ Fashion Week.
Despite his youth, 18-year-old Ezekiel has already had a lifetime of experiences. As a result of being born into a tough domestic environment, he was put into foster care at an early age, and was lucky to be raised by a loving new family. His foster parents encouraged him to pursue his dreams and gave unconditional support for his ambitions. “I create because I love it. For me, creating provides meaning and purpose that I otherwise wouldn’t have’, he says.
Getting to this stage involved years of hard work. Ezekiel says “I sacrificed a lot to get here, juggling my university studies and often working until the early hours of the morning while my friends were out partying, but it’s totally worth it to see the launch of my business.”
Ezekiel has invented what he calls ‘pale-street’, a style concept that draws heavily from the new ‘pale’ aesthetic. Characterised by a sense of minimalism and clean lines, pale-street also incorporates aspects of Internet sub-culture, and speaks to the new generation. During research and development, Ezekiel noticed that many of the famous brands he liked often fell short of his expectations. So he made uncompromising quality a key element of the label. “We only use the best materials, and a luxurious texture is very important to us. As soon as you try on one of our garments, you can feel the difference in quality straight away”.
The clothing range also takes inspiration from Auckland City itself, which is reflected in the fact that all SLAEVE’s garments are manufactured in the City of Sails, ensuring better quality control and easier distribution.
SLAEVE’s first show will be on Tuesday 25th August at 2.30pm in The Runway, but Fashion Week organisers were so impressed with Ezekiel’s designs, that they added another SLAEVE show to be incorporated alongside more established brands on Sunday 30th August at 12.30pm in The Tent.
SLAEVE clothing is available to purchase through slaeve.net from 25th August.
Media release 26 August 2015.