Location – Westfield Newmarket, Auckland
Site size – 169.2 m2
Swanndri is an iconic New Zealand brand, established in 1913 by William Broome. Once centred around the production of an all-weather woollen overshirt, it is now a player in the fashion industry with over 70 items available to both men and women.
Even today, Swanndri’s most popular item is still their long bush shirt called the Original. Around 3000 Originals alone are sold each year with the most popular colour being olive, followed by blue/black and red/black check.
Swanndri was tasked by Westfield Newmarket to develop a store fit-out which stood out from the crowd. GDM approached Swanndri to take on the role of fixture manufacturing, and worked closely with Woodhams Meikle Zhan Architects and interior designer Bridget Thornton. Together they created a store that would present Swanndri as a contemporary fashion brand, while staying true to its iconic kiwi heritage.
The store layout blended the iconic red/black check pattern on the wall with customised fixtures to highlight Swanndri’s classic product range. Natural timber was combined with elements of raw hotrolled steel, polished concrete and faux brick cladding. When looking up, customers will see a feature timber grid ceiling.
“The fixtures were built to the designers drawing intent, requiring close collaboration with the designer so GDM could develop the engineering build detail,” says GDM design manager George Russell.
“The fixtures are incredibly unique, and they look fantastic in the store!”
The project took six weeks in total, with installers Gulf Projects, spending three weeks on site.
Both Swanndri and the designers valued GDM’s expertise and professionalism throughout the project.
“The GDM team produced a great result. We are all pleased with the outcome and George’s expertise is a big hit with the Swanndri CEO” – Bridget Thornton, interior designer.
The store has been open since October 2019, make sure you check it out, buy yourself an Original while you are there!