Ensemble, for the last time 👋
Your final dose of intelligence and whimsy
This is it: the last time we’ll be in your inbox. We have been overwhelmed by messages since announcing Ensemble is ending, and we’re feeling appreciated and loved. Thank you! It means the world that so many connected with what we created, and we are proud to have been able to uplift so many creatives over these five years.
But as you will see from Rebecca’s raw and honest piece - in this most Ensemblecore of newsletters (fashion, whimsy, people, poo) - we have absolutely made the right decision to wrap this up in a purple bow, and focus on ourselves.
We did, however, want to say goodbye with the same energy with which we began - so please take your time and enjoy these final stories, including your favourite column, and a very sweet DIY fashion shoot spotlighting just some of the many people who have helped shape Ensemble’s story.
Kua hua te marama 💜
Farewell Ensemble: An ode to whimsy
Fashion! Flowers! Fun! For this farewell shoot, friends of Ensemble help us toast five magical years by sharing their take on whimsy.
My year of bad poo
“This story has been on the content calendar all year. In there it was titled ‘How to Poo Good’ and I planned to take you, dear readers, on a journey with me as I sorted my ‘gut health’ and sifted through the plethora of products marketed to a menopausal woman promising to alleviate my bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea, researching along the way to see what worked (for me) and what was snake oil.”
Rebecca’s journey towards obtaining the perfect #4 Bristol stool, and the shock bowel cancer diagnosis she received along the way.
The Last Time, for the last time, with Rebecca and Zoe
Who better to answer the last The Last Time questionnaire than ourselves?
Rebecca started this series in 2023 as a way to ask well-known and interesting people about the specifics of their daily lives (aka, be a little bit nosey), and since then has featured everyone from Morgana O’Reilly to Ch’Lita, Shit You Should Care About to Alok Vaid-Menon.
Now, it’s our turn to spill.
Nice Things we spent our own money on in October
Blame the looming end of an era, but this month we reverted to type with our purchases, from a new release from a beloved beauty brand to a few fun things adorned with bows. We are who we are!
As always, this is a #gifted free zone – everything was purchased with our own hard-earned money. We’re also making this final edition of Nice Things free for all – and have enlisted the shopping expertise of treasured members of the Ensemble ensemble, former staff writers Tyson Beckett and Georgie Wright.
Reference Points: Twenty-seven Names’ art of intelligent whimsy
If there is a brand that embodies the smart, playful spirit of Ensemble, it would have to be Twenty-seven Names.
We knew that co-founders and friends Anj and Rach would have Reference Points that truly balanced our tagline of intelligence and whimsy, and girl, did they deliver with sentimental nostalgia, art history, humour, and complicated feelings about consumerism and the fashion industry that we have spent our entire careers in.
Best of Ensemble
Fashion, beauty, wellbeing, culture, people and lots of opinions: we’ve covered a lot over five years. We’ve pulled together a few highlights from our extensive archive, for you to peruse and enjoy.
Talk about going out on a banger of an issue. You guys are the best, thank you for all the intelligence and all the whimsy. Sending both of you the biggest love ❤️
💖💖💖💖 THANK YOU