Wairarapa Lifestyle Magazine

 Sometimes a change in personal circumstance can trigger a chain of unexpected events. In the case of Masterton’s Lorraine Hall-Morison, a marriage breakdown provided the catalyst in establishing her own clothing label.

After spending the last decade as a stay-at-home mum to sons Tom and Jonty, Lorraine found herself single and needing to support her family. Determined to find an appropriate way forward and inspired by the memory of her late father, who nurtured her artistic side, Lorraine decided to turn her passion for designing clothing into a commercial venture and devised Hall – a contemporary, stylish and casual t-shirt range which can now be found in some of Wellington, Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay’s  premier retail stores.

 

“I wanted to design New Zealand-made clothes for New Zealand women, and I’d always wanted to create my own niche market in the rag trade,” says Lorraine. “The name Hall just felt right – it’s my maiden name, it’s who I am and it’s a tribute to my resourceful and hard-working parents. Coupled with that, I wanted to help women avoid the frustration of walking into a shop and not being able to find quality clothing that fits correctly. So many clothes you buy these days are what I call disposable fashion – they shrink, go out of shape or fall apart after one wash. You end up with a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear.”

 

Despite not having any formal fashion design or pattern-making qualifications, Lorraine has always been creative and sewn from a young age – you could say it’s in her genes. Her maternal great grandfather James Lloyd, one of New Zealand’s first copper plate engravers, designed the iconic “rising sun” logo that still appears on the Edmonds Baking Powder tin; her paternal grandfather Harry Hall helped establish MATS in 1909 and was one of the leading music hall entertainers in Australasia; her mother had her own dressmaking business before the war, and her parents owned Hall’s Fabrics in Masterton where Lorraine used to work. In the 1980s she furthered her experience by working as a Bernina demonstrator by day and hand making Dimity Victorian nightgowns by night. 

 

“I guess you could say design and sewing is in my blood,” she says.

 

“My father bought me my first sewing machine when I was 11 and I started sewing clothes for my nieces and for my own wardrobe. When I was 18 I made my first motorbike jacket and over the years I’ve made handbags, roman blinds, tailored business shirts and re-upholstered sofas…. in fact I’ve pretty much made anything and everything because I just loved it.”

 

For the last eight years Lorraine has also been inspiring a new generation of sewers tutoring night sewing classes at Wairarapa College, and classes at  Wairarapa REAP. 

But it is with Hall that she is hoping to make her biggest impact – and with the guidance and support of other local business women she seems to be succeeding. 

After initially selling her t-shirts through local markets, she was mentored by  Josie Bidwell,  co-owner of  Thrive and the Thunderpants brand. 

 

“Josie gave me the courage I needed to start wholesaling, and confirmed my belief that there was a gap in the market for contemporary, casual clothing for New Zealand women”.

 

Lorraine’s range consists of New Zealand made merino and cotton- mix T shirts in sizes from XS – 4XL with a range of different neck lines and sleeve lengths, and finished with vintage lace, metallic thread, mussel shell and mother- of- pearl. All of her designs have been expertly pattern graded by Wendy Smith of Outline in Masterton. The decorative elements can also be seen on Lorraine’s stylish business cards designed by Sue Turvey of Masterton-based One by One graphic design.

 

“Ultimately I want people to put on the garments and feel comfortable, stylish and happy,” she says. “By adding the unusual finishes on the front it gives them a point of difference and that’s appealing to a lot of people. Being able to cater for all sizes is also important to me”. Hall is now stocked in Zebrano in Wellington, Invest in Greytown and Boutique 2000 in Dannevirke among others.

 

She has already expanded her business by designing and making “non-corporate” uniforms that flatter the feminine form for local businesses – such as merino tees, wraps and cardigans for the staff of Masterton Medical, Holiday Shoppe and a range of comfortable yet stylish wear for Spa @ Brackenridge in Martinborough. “ I think this is where things are really exciting as my label is a nice play on words representing both Fashion Hall for retail outlets and  Uniform Hall for businesses” she enthuses. 

 

As Lorraine looks ahead to the future, she is particularly excited about her summer collection which features a new range of organic cotton; and she has plans to use bamboo, silk, hemp linen, metal and copper. “I really enjoy working with eco-friendly fibres because they breathe with the body; they‘re appropriate to wear in our climate and they’re good for the environment. I use fibres that are pesticide-free and eco-friendly where possible”.

 

While the past year has been a steep learning curve for Lorraine, it has also been incredibly rewarding. “Watching Hall grow and seeing my long-suppressed dream of creating a fashion label come to fruition has actually been a very healing process  – I guess something good can come of something challenging.”