Meet the team

Michelle Maxwell

If anyone was born to design and make clothes it was Michelle. From an early age she took scraps of fabric from her mothers’ workroom and made wonderful creations for her dolls to wear.

On reaching her late teens and at a crossroads in her life, an opportunity presented itself to work at Nathan Fashions along side well known fashion house Peppertree. Starting in the pattern room she received tuition from genuine craftsmen before finishing up working with one of New Zealand’s most respected patternmakers, John Kite. What had started as a hobby had become Michelle’s life.

Having soaked up all the local rag trade had to offer she branched out and began her own business as a contract patternmaker to many of the well known fashion houses including Rags to Riches, Classic Fashions, Patrick Steele and Chowmein. Realising she had much more to offer than producing other peoples patterns, she took the plunge and began designing and making her own garments. Working out of her garage in Greenlane, “Michelle Maxwell” the label was born. Her creations were picked up by Newmarket Retailer, 3 Bears, and Queen Street’s Milnes, and it wasn’t long before she was delivering to fashion outlets nationally. Alas the combination of chasing retailers for outstanding money and starting a family made her realise that she had to change focus.

Over the years she had built up a fiercely loyal group of clients who bought her clothes because they fitted, were well made in quality fabrics, looked great and were easy to wear.  Remodelling her Mission Bay home she had a customised space built over the new garage and “The Studio” was opened.

The Studio was the ideal solution to balancing family life and creating seasonal collections. The small clientele had grown and now keeping up with demand was literally sweeping her off her feet.

Enter Kate Henry, a talented designer and sample machinist in her own right  who came to Michelle as a cutter and within a short time the two designers realised that a marriage of their skills made sound creative and commercial sense. Click here to read about Kate.

Kate Henry

From a very young age Kate has had a fascination with fashion. After leaving school she landed a job with well-known New Zealand label Vamp as an apprentice in sewing and cutting. While at Vamp she also gained her diploma in Fashion Design and Illustration.  In 1992 she became a sample machinist, steadily developing her skills until five years later she felt it was time to move into the fashion scene in London.
In the UK Kate’s experience and excellent portfolio attracted the interest of respected London designer Melanie Baker who offered her a position making one off hand-finished garments including evening wear, ladies tailored suits and bridal wear. Kate learnt a great deal working for Melanie Baker who had a wide range of clients from corporate women through to royalty.
In 2000 she decided to open her own bespoke design business Kathryn Henry Designs specializing in high end women’s evening wear, women’s business suits and wedding gowns. The business was a success with her client base continuing to develop steadily. However after five years Kate realized she missed friends and family and decided to return to New Zealand and its thriving fashion industry.
On her arrival she worked as a sample cutter for Michelle Maxwell who soon offered her a partnership.  In 2007 Maxwell-Henry was formed, both designers sharing a vision of creating women’s clothing in quality fabrics, personally cut and styled to suit the individual with the emphasis on looking good and feeling great.