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fashion: overview
 Talking Man to Man: Hugo Boss in Wellington
Wellington’s Man to Man is one of the best destinations
for Hugo Boss
photographed by Emma Käthe Anderson
Expanded from issue
25 of Lucire
From top: The new Man to Man store on
Victoria Street. The upstairs menswear counter. Menswear department,
upstairs.
IF YOU’RE
after Hugo Boss in Wellington—or are after the most comprehensive
men’s and women’s range from the European brand—then Man to Man
is the only destination.
Moving to 89 Victoria Street (telephone 64 4 473-6945, www.mantoman.co.nz)
last November, Man to Man has fresher, brighter premises. Fashionistas
might remember the location as the former location of Robyn Mathieson,
but you’d hardly recognize the shop.
A pillar that used to block the ground floor
has disappeared, and the women’s department has a whole new feeling
with its tiles and light. Upstairs, the men’s department is carpeted,
with the nice touch of a bottle of cologne in the changing rooms.
Dave Clareburt first joined Man to Man in 1984
before taking over in 1991. And he loves the new location compared
with Man to Man’s old Willis Street premises. Not only does the
company own the building, Clareburt sees it as at an ideal place:
‘It’s a destination shop. We have World, Kate Sylvester and Karen
Walker in the area.
‘We wanted to go to somewhere not on the main
drag. The character [of the building] is what got us—it’s perfect.
It’s a friendly part of town.’ Clareburt points out that all Hugo
Boss ranges are present: Orange and Black Labels, for men and women.
Orange, by his description, has a ‘handcrafted, edgy, fashion-forward
look,’ thanks to an Italian design team. ‘It’s the more leading-edge
in the range.’ Black is ‘contemporary, still fitting and German.’
The labels are not separated by age, he stresses, but by ‘occasion.’
Craig Broadhead, who manages the store, finds
the new space far better for the Hugo Boss brand. ‘We [now] do full
collections, more comprehensively than in the past,’ he says. ‘It’s
the only place with Hugo Boss women’s outside Auckland.’
Broadhead joined five years ago after having
worked as a chef and trained in commerce and tourism.
Downstairs, Lisa Ralph, who joined at the same
time, oversees the women’s department. Both were there when Man
to Man took top honours in the Top Shop Awards in 2004.
Man to Man aims to grow with the Hugo Boss brand.
‘The first collection was suits, shirts and ties, now there are
overcoats and knitwear,’ says Clareburt. ‘We got stronger as the
brand got stronger. We were one of the first to do the brand as
a whole collection. ‘Womenswear brings in another customer—double
the customers. Fragrances complement the brand,’ he says.
In the future, Clareburt and Broadhead expect
a greater growth in accessories—‘wallets, bags, briefcases and satchels.’
Says Broadhead, ‘We quadrupled the walletwear in this one season.’
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Womenswear department, downstairs.
Up the stairs to another world—menswear.
Men’s changing rooms have a bottle of cologne for customers
to sample.
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