Introducing Wellington-based designer JPalm to The Shelter Family.

Founder and Creative Director Julia Palm describes JPalm as a process-led art practice, rather than a fashion brand. With an uncompromising vision, Julia produces contemporary slow fashion through a project-based model. Julia works across all aspects, from pattern making to sewing garments herself, slow fashion is deeply rooted in JPalm’s ethos.

It wasn’t until Julia was living in NYC that the dream for JPalm felt real. Julia held positions at Eckhaus Latta and luxury men’s tailoring brands where she dove into pattern making, sampling, fabric and production. Refining her skills, she returned home to New Zealand to immerse herself into the world of JPalm.

JPALM is created with longevity in mind. Often only producing quality one-off garments or a range in low quantities. Within her designer/maker framework, Palm is able to ensure quality through the customization of her own work. In contrast to this finer tailoring approach, the JPALM brand borrows heavily from its origins within punk culture.

This week we’re excited to launch ‘INERTIA’ at The Shelter, as Auckland’s exclusive stockist. We sat down with Julia to chat about her inspiration, her favourite pieces in the collection, and what we can expect to see from JPalm at The Shelter.

How and when did JPalm come about?

JPalm was formally launched in 2018, and before that, it had been more of a hobby rather than a business. I graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) from Otago Polytechnic at the end of 2015. After showing at Shanghai Fashion Week 2015, and as a top graduate at New Zealand fashion week in 2016, I decided to jump in the deep end and move to New York with the J1 Visa Programme.

It was there that I gained incomparable experience as an intern for Eckhaus Latta - in the workroom and their New York Fashion Week 2017 show. I sewed samples, corrected patterns, sourced fabrics and trim, assisted with model fittings, and constructed window installations - one at Opening Ceremony and the other at the Camper Lab store. It was at this internship that I saw what was really achievable with a community-minded team, quality unique fabrics and skilled pattern making. I also worked full-time for a luxury men's tailoring company, which even though it wasn't my style, I learnt so many skills.

On return to Aotearoa in the middle of 2018 I was contemplating the next steps in my career, and with not many fashion opportunities available, I decided to create my own. I started making the classic utilitarian denim styles I am still known for. As I don't come from a wealthy background and didn't have investors, it was literally just me sewing everything for about 2.5 years. I would sew one jacket, and that pays for the next garment and so on.

Where do you draw inspiration from? Was there something in particular that inspired this collection?

I often get inspired by textiles and this really guides my design process. The INERTIA collection is really a reflection of my personal life I guess - a refinement that I feel comes with emerging fashion as it develops and finds a distinct voice in the fashion landscape in Aotearoa.

During the last year I have moved house, and then my workroom. This spurred me to minimise my life and possessions. It’s really amazing how many things you can accumulate in creative spaces! Through this restructure of my space - both personal and creative - I found the refined and simple INERTIA collection. I was missing garments in my personal wardrobe, so I designed things I was really excited to wear. I wanted to be able to reach into my wardrobe and find almost a JPalm uniform that would meld with the project before it. I developed some new styles, and a few older styles got a facelift. It truly is fun to develop a quintessential JPalm look - with key tabs, pickets and other utilitarian aspects alongside really luxe and specialty fabrics that no one else is using.

What’s your creative process? Do you have any rituals to get the ball rolling?

The design process totally starts with a note on my iPhone - jotting down things I want to learn, or some kind of challenge that would be an interesting learning experience. Often thinking of a colour palette, textures, a type of collar or sleeve I have been fantasising about. Then I start drawing and then draw more and you guessed it, more drawing haha. Then I will progress into refining the individual styles as a collection. I calculate what I call “garment maths” - how many tops vs pants vs outerwear vs dress styles will make it a cohesive collection. I also do research on what worked well in the projects before or what customers have been asking me to remake - and give them a tiny update.

I used to sew every single garment until about a year and a half ago, which was really hard on my body, I even developed RSI. It is great to still have a hand in the making process even if I’m not sewing every single garment, I still do all of my own pattern-making and sample sewing. The sample sewing often takes longer than I think it is going to, and sometimes leads to minor design or fit changes. I often miss a step during pattern-making or think it will work out but when it comes together it is a different story! So having a hand in the sampling process means I can fix these as I go.

The patterns then get passed on to a wonderful team at Inform Apparel to get graded. My main sizes are 8-18/XS-2XL which are standard 5cm grade, then I offer a size 1-4 which gets graded at 7-8cm for a more oversized fit. When designing I often like to think of the fit, and what styles could work on many body types.

The next step in the creative process is sourcing everything to make the dream garments come to life! This is an important and often hard step. Sometimes I have to compromise the vision because of availability, or the price per metre of fabric. After this, I spend many hours doing fierce administrative work to plan a timeline that is realistic. The fabric and trims get ordered, either from within Aotearoa or liaising with the fabric mills in China, then everything gets sent to my cutter Greg Redman in Tāmaki Makaurau. From there my wonderful manufacturing person Iona from Umsiko will take over and divvy it up to her wonderful sewers in Pōneke.

What’s something not many people will know about JPalm?

I think most people won’t know that I was a crusty little punk when I was in my youth. Funnily enough, this is where I started my love of textiles. Through customisation, bleaching, sewing, repairing and hand-stitching. Now that I am a full-time designer/maker I still see small reflections of that origin story.

What are you most proud of?

I’m so proud of how far JPalm has come in the last four years with the guidance of so many wonderful people in my life. I am now engaging with so many more parts of the fashion industry in Aotearoa. From cutters, sewers, pressers, button dyers, binding makers, wholesale suppliers, importing custom fabrics, and of course so many supportive and wonderful JPalm stockists nationwide who have believed in me every step of the way. There really are so many skilled and amazing professionals that I am so proud to be working with now and to have a helping hand in keeping this small industry alive in Aotearoa. I am so proud of how far I have come with perseverance to work in my dream job and keep doing what I love.

Why did you make the decision to release smaller projects, rather than collections?

I was trying really hard to keep up with other bigger brands, who also have bigger resources, and I felt really deflated and limited in so many ways. So instead of moulding to a system that is already broken anyway, I decided to carve my own path. Being non-seasonal means I am able to work through my project at a pace that feels manageable and engaging.

I also want to see one project through to the end, before starting the process again. This gives me time to celebrate the collection, and see it through in its entirety and honour all of the steps I took to create it. Also as a one-person small business, I don’t have the time to actually pull off more than this! This means there is more time for resolution, a hands-on process, purposeful ideas and fabrications and this process works well with my hyper-focused personality.

If we were to visit your neighbourhood, where are we eating, drinking and exploring?

I live in Pōneke and there are so many gems in the city that I frequently visit. Pōneke is well known for its coffee culture - my favourite being Peoples Coffee, Customs Cafe, Squirrel Cafe, Romeos and Myrtle Bakery which is just around the corner from my workroom - this never disappoints!

The best spot for a drink and nibbles would be The Puffin and Ascot - they are actually across the road from each other which is handy! There is also a new restaurant, Kisa, which I can’t wait to try soon.

Exploring Pōneke I would suggest the amazing galleries: Play_Station Artist Run Space, Jhana Millers Gallery and The Dowse - of course, City Gallery Wellington too.

What’s your favourite piece from the collection, and how would you style it?

I think the star of the show (if I had to pick one) is the MALIN BOMBER. A fabulous layering piece that is light enough to be trans-seasonal, but has a textural difference if you are someone who wears a lot of black like I do haha. I would style this with the white OLGA SHIRT worn open over the PIA DRESS. I think the Yume Yume Love Heel would pair so well with this look, and of course, played up with my favourite Eliott Metal Liam Howlett Hoops in different sizes.

We’re excited to have JPalm at The Shelter. What drew you to the space?

To be honest - there are no other stores in Tāmaki Makaurau that I could imagine JPalm in. The Shelter has always been a main stop for me whilst visiting, and it is a dream come true to have my brand stocked there. As an emerging brand in Aotearoa, I really wanted to be a well-oiled machine with smooth systems in place before approaching more stockists, as I didn’t want to let people down or bite off more than I could chew. I finally felt up to speed, and it has worked out really well to launch my new collection INERTIA at The Shelter. Vicki and the team have all been so helpful at every step of the process, and I am so excited to be part of The Shelter family.

What can we expect to see from JPalm’s next project?

I am already brewing ideas in my iPhone notes haha. I want to try producing a knitwear style for the first time, potentially a vest or a jumper. I want to design a fabric print too - something I think will be challenging but fun! There are a few more things up my sleeve, that I won’t mention in case I fudge it up haha. Each project, I grow my skill set, interact with more fashion industry professionals and learn from my mistakes. All of this makes my works stronger and stronger, and I can’t wait to share the next project with you in 2023!