From Ōamaru to the World of Wearable Art stage, fashion brand Moke and its creators are proud to be keeping cast and crew of the show nice and toasty.

Moke Apparel Ltd was created 10 years ago by Sarah Jennings and her father Keith Stevens. The business is based upstairs in Harbour St where the clothing is designed and all orders - both national and international - are dispatched from.

“At the heart of the WOW Show is a story that started with a small but passionate team from small town New Zealand, with a vision to create something special,” Keith said. 

“The Moke story is very similar, and we couldn’t be prouder to partner with such an iconic New Zealand event.”

Over the years the business has gone from strength to strength, and as the company has grown, so too has the team. Joining the father and daughter has been another four family members, a further seven full and part-timers; as well as friends who help on a casual basis when needed.

Initially Moke targeted the tourist market with Kiwiana-themed clothing, but Covid created the opportunity for a change of tack, and the company further expanded into women’s outerwear.

There was a growing need for outerwear that was still fashionable and not so “outdoorsy” in appearance. The focus fully moved to designing garments to suit a more fashion-conscious customer. 

The decision was also made for the brand to be as size-inclusive as possible, and Moke now caters for sizes XS to 4XL.

Moke has supplied bespoke puffer vests and jackets for almost 200 cast and crew in the lead up to and across the 19-performance season in Wellington.

The “exceptional quality” of Moke’s products, the small-town success story parallel, and the company’s desire to be size-inclusive is what drew the attention of the World of WearableArt partnerships and brand manager Andrea Breton when seeking to partner with a Kiwi apparel brand.

“Moke’s enthusiasm to work with WOW to create a functional and bespoke piece of outerwear to help extend our brand visibility has been fantastic,” she said.

“They’re also hugely practical as our very busy team run around preparing for this year’s epic event WOW: BEYOND. Our team are excited and proud to wear Moke’s vests and jackets.”

The 2023 WOW Show season runs from 20 Sep – 8 Oct at TSB Arena, Wellington, and Herbert artist Tracey Vickers is in the show as one of the finalists.