We're obsessed with this new designer 💙

+ Raaie's Katey Mandy, cool new things

“Allow yourself to make bad art and still celebrate it.” Extremely wise words from Nicola Luey, of emerging label ANTI who we feature this week.

It feels like there’s lots to be positive about as we head into our indigenous New Year. Yeah, you have to dig deep for the good stuff but it’s there, buried under piles of political and recessional bullshit.

From new design talent so inspiring and unexpected it makes us giddy, to another local skincare pioneer hitting the global market, to the new launches that have bought us joy. We’re feeling good! (or maybe we’re just feeling our increased iron levels).

We know many of you missed out on our inaugural (and sold-out) Ensemble Supper Club at San Ray. Al and Karla of Grava were delighted to shared their wine portfolio with guests on the night and have generously offered to extend Ensemble subscribers 15% off all wines purchased via their online store. ¡Salud! Just enter the code 15ENSEMBLE at checkout.

Tickets are selling like hotcakes to our Ensemble Presents: Party Girl dress-up screening on June 26 next week. Our paid subscribers have received complimentary tickets (perks!) but tickets are still available for just $15 via The Hollywood. See you there.

Raaie’s Katey Mandy on her botanical life in beauty

Katey Mandy isn’t one for trends, though she’s seen plenty in her own journey. “These days I prefer rituals to trends,” says the founder of Raaie, who embodies the quintessential female founder look of glowing skin and a fabulous head of hair.

She’s the latest to look back on her beauty journey, for our My Life in Beauty series - sharing her skin intel, beauty regrets and the one product that holds her heart.

LISTEN: Katey on how how her look has evolved over the years:

The launches that caught our eye this month

We’re regularly sent items and news from brands hoping to catch our (and your) attention - so, we’re sharing more of what crosses our desks, inboxes and feeds each month, from fashion to food, homeware to wellbeing, and more. Some of these products or services may have been gifted, but the opinions are all ours - we rated them, and think you will too.

We think you’ll like this label, ANTI

Ensemble fave Crystal wearing ANTI, photographed by another Ensemble fave, Matt Hurley.

We were gutted to miss ANTI designer Nicola Luey’s show at Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa in March, staged among the aisles of a Karangahape Road mini mart, but impressed by what we saw of it on Instagram. So we were happy when Nicola got in touch a few weeks later with some extremely cool images of her designs, and wanted to learn more about this clever talent.

It’s always a pleasure to introduce our readers to new designers, and we hope you enjoy Nicola’s thoughtful answers - and maybe buy one of her playful pieces, too.

The Ensemble Edit

Things we’ve seen, saved and shared, a (mostly) weekly column for our paid subscribers. This week, highlights from Rebecca Wadey including upcoming books about Gwyneth (!!!), queasy-inducing features, local birthday candles and more.