What I learnt from 10 years as a fashion editor
+ being trans in NZ comedy, packing a go-bag
We’ve got some brilliant reads this week, so we’ll keep this brief so you can get straight to them: an honest, uplifting piece on career pivots, finding purpose in your work and one of NZ’s last fashion cupboards from Dan Ahwa, a sharply funny op-ed about being trans in NZ comedy by Liv Ward and a practical but realistic guide to refreshing your emergency go-to bag from Janhavi Gosavi. Plus, our round-up of fashion, beauty and wine drops including three cool collabs of note.
We’re looking forward to hosting our first Ensemble Supper Club, an intimate dinner party at San Ray in Ponsonby with special guest Morgana O’Reilly (and treats from Grava wines, Emma Lewisham and Juliette Hogan). We’d love to see you there! Click here for all the details, and to secure your seat.
What I learnt from 10 years as a fashion editor
Last month, Dan Ahwa left his job after a decade in one of the top spots in local lifestyle media. “If I stayed any longer, I feared I’d become too institutionalised, that my passion for promoting a genuinely diverse and progressive space would slowly dull into complacency and indifference,” he writes.
As the media reinvents itself (again), Ensemble’s contributing editor looks back on 10 years in the thick of it — and shares some of the key lessons he learnt along the way.
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‘Where da trannies at?’ Trans comedian Liv Ward wants to know
“This piece is to say that in a world of daily horrors perpetrated against trans, intersex, gender non-conforming, takatāpui, and MVPFAFF+ people, we remain graceful, and crack up. That’s why you should support trans comedy at the NZ International Comedy Festival this May.”
The Te Whanganui-a-Tara-based comedian, who will perform their show EPIC WAY! I’m Gay? Oui oui faguette™ I LOVE KIM HILL (1999 version) later this month, writes honestly (and funnily!) about being trans in the Aotearoa comedy industry, and why stand-up is not a safe space for trans people.
Updating my emergency bag with things I actually like
“A 4.3 magnitude earthquake shook me into consciousness at 7:26am. My body froze up and I waited to see if the sudden jolt would extend into a more dangerous shake. Stuck in limbo, all I could think was, ‘fuck, I still haven’t packed my grab-and-go bag’.”
From practical tidbits to joy-sparking trinkets, Janhavi Gosavi packs her personal go-bag — a reminder to update your emergency supplies with things that your adult self would feel grateful for.
Fashion, beauty and wine drops worth knowing about
Hand-picked, sometimes gifted, always honestly reviewed: the products that have crossed our desks, inboxes and feeds lately.
The Ensemble Edit
What we’ve seen, saved and shared: a (mostly) weekly column for our paid subscribers.
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