Aileen Chen was born in Waitākere, Auckland, and raised in small town New Plymouth. She attended Whitecliffe, where she completed her BFA in Fashion Design and Sustainability in the summer of 2021. She now resides in Auckland City, where she works in her small design studio, preserves lemons, takes photos, collects old things and models occasionally.

Consider this to be a contemplative, shoppable wardrobe, detached from the usual seasonal collections. Slipping away from mindless immediacy — it's contemporary clothing that has a sense of freedom, instinct and adaptability much like the person who is wearing it. Style is approached almost like jazz, you gauge where to begin but you don't know how it's going to turn out. Or the other way around. It's not what you buy, it’s what you do with it. It’s the stance — your perspective and posture, how you carry your head from room to room. It's about putting a little pep in each step — not the clothes.

Small production practice. Cut and sewn in Auckland City, New Zealand.