From the farm to Fifth Avenue

Rodd & Gunn’s iconic English Pointer logo is a familiar sight to New Zealanders. It was first stitched on a boutique range of men’s shirts back in 1946 and was reignited in the brand’s current form in 1987.

Debuting as a standalone store on Auckland’s Queen Street, the adored Kiwi brand’s little dog has found admirers now in 11 countries from Australia, across Asia, North America, Europe and the UK. The brand shows no signs of stopping, with 10 store openings in the works set to bring its standalone retail offering to 74 – not to mention concessions within retail royalty hubs including Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Macy’s.

Despite its enviable success in the tough American retail market and beyond, Rodd & Gunn remains committed to its roots in Aotearoa. This year, it partnered with The New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) for a 100% New Zealand-grown ZQRX Merino Wool collection.

“Clothes have the power to connect when you can create a garment that is literally made from the land on which the brand was born. I think it carries a huge amount of impact that goes both upstream and downstream. Through Rodd & Gunn, the consumer has a direct connection to New Zealand’s community and growers should be proud of what their efforts have created,” explains Rodd & Gunn creative director John Prikryl.

Origin is one thing, but Rodd & Gunn won its following by producing quality, timeless pieces. The brand stands by its garments offering a two-year guarantee on all products and John explains that this sort of promise can only be delivered if you start with the best fibre available.

“It comes down to two very simple factors – performance and quality. No matter what the marketing brochures may say, there is no man-made filament or pseudo-fibre that can match the multi-faceted performance of great-quality wool garments. There is an inherent quality to the touch of natural products that you can’t go past either and it’s something that our customers value immensely,” says John.

NZM’s ZQRX programme is the company’s answer to escalating demand worldwide for regeneratively farmed products. Launched in 2021, it is designed to recognise and reward the great work growers do onfarm, over and above the requirements of standards and certifications.

Rather than prescribing practices, growers must implement (or avoid), ZQRX works by measuring outcomes for 15 key indicators across animals, the environment and people. NZM’s chief customer officer Dave Maslen explains why this is crucial for growers – as well as brands like Rodd & Gunn.

“Standards are simple to understand – if the product has a tick, consumers know it’s ethical and they feel good about buying it. But you can’t standardise regeneration when every farm, every grower, faces unique challenges.

“Many of our growers were already doing what international groups are calling for. Striving to have a positive impact and leave the land better than they found it. ZQRX is our way of measuring their efforts, connecting them to expert help when needed and crucially, communicating positive outcomes to appeal to brands and consumers,” says Dave.

NZM has seen great success with the introduction of ZQRX. The programme represents 508 growers and has been adopted by more than 30 global brands, with Rodd & Gunn’s collection being the latest in a line of successful range launches. Dave puts its success down to its focus on progress, over perfection.

“The brands who have embraced ZQRX are the ones who are committed to making a positive difference. They want to collaborate with our growers to do good for the planet and they understand that while no one has all the answers right now, there is value in moving in the right direction,” says Dave.

“No matter what the marketing brochures may say, there is no man-made filament or pseudo-fibre that can match the multi-faceted performance of great-quality wool garments. There is an inherent quality to the touch of natural products that you can’t go past and it’s something that our customers value immensely.” – John Prikryl,  Rodd & Gunn, Creative Director

So exactly what was it about the work of ZQRX that caught the attention of Rodd & Gunn over other New Zealand-grown fibre?

“The respect for the land, animals and community is one of the first things that stands out. The quality of the fibre is obviously incredibly important, and we can’t take that for granted, but when you combine it with the RX elements (regenerative index) of the program it really shows the innovation and forethought that is being put into the industry.

“New Zealand is such an immensely special place for so many reasons, and to see the land and communities being taken care of by the growers is quite inspirational and not an easy task,”
says John.

With its success around the globe, the Rodd & Gunn team is well-placed to ascertain consumer sentiment, both now and in years to come. When asked about the future of sustainability and regeneration for the business, John had plenty to say.

“For Rodd & Gunn, quality natural fibres have always been the foundation of our designs and to source them to the highest quality possible. It is intrinsic to our design process and our decision-making. As we’ve been able to refine the provenance of our raw materials it has become a natural part of our brand philosophy – so I would say the role it plays is extremely important – both to our brand and our customers.

“We strive in every aspect to do better and I’m not sure when or if that journey ever ends, but continual steps forward is our ethos and ZQRX is a perfect example of our commitment in this area,” says John.

So what’s next for Rodd & Gunn, and its Kiwi growers?

“We all have to work with what we’ve got and do it in a sustainable way into the future as exemplified by ZQRX. I can’t see any way around that. As customer awareness of the provenance of our product increases and the incredible work that the farmers and growers at all levels put into it, it becomes essential,” says John.