New Zealand-Chinese clothing and accessories label Baobei is a Y2K dream come true
Photography by Matt Hurley
Hair and Makeup by Lara Daly
Modelled by Sophie Song
Styled by Tom So
Words by Kate Streader
“Fashion can be deeply unserious and serious at the same time.”
The COVID-19 lockdowns and mandatory quarantine periods were a creativity-suck for many of us, but not for New Zealand-Chinese designer Grace Ko. She attributes the boredom of being stuck at home as the catalyst for her label, Baobei, which was born after she began designing her own jewellery with deadstock beads from her parents’ store to kill time.
Grace describes Baobei as an extension of herself; it incorporates elements of her Chinese heritage, the Mandarin term of endearment her parents use for her, her own personal style and myriad other parts of what makes her who she is.
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The label specialises in playful, expressive touches ranging from heart-shaped hairclips inscribed with phrases like “really hot” and statement tees reminiscent of the early 2000s to bow-adorned stockings and faux fur head wraps. It’s fun and flirty while rooted in tradition and authenticity.
We caught up with Grace to find out more about how Baobei came to be what it is today and what she wants to say through her label.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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I’m Grace Hsin-Yuan Ko! I spend my money irresponsibly but I’m really good at making it. I’m intentionally carefree but an earnestly self-aware type A. I really like cats with no hair, asymmetric skirts, good tailoring and thick belts.
Perhaps watching too much Sex and the City at 14 sparked an interest in fashion for me. It taught me that fashion can be deeply unserious and serious at the same time. I studied fashion in high school and transitioned into a fashion writer for a print publication in my uni years. After that, I became a robotics analyst and now I’m back in fashion.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
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The news about COVID had just travelled into mainstream media and at the time I was on a family trip to China. We rushed back to NZ to quarantine, and for the first time in 23 years, I found myself bored.
My parents have been running a massive shop for 20 years and one of the many items they sell is beads, and there were heaps of deadstock beads. We had a staff member who beaded these beautiful necklaces for the Pacifica community, the creations were layered and colourful and so I took a few beads to help make some necklaces for the store. Creativity flows when you’re in flow, so I decided to make a few personal designs in between the ones for the shop. I then decided to sell them to close friends.
I had always been embarrassed about my parent’s shop from a young age – they experience a lot of racism there and I didn’t have any friends’ parents who did anything similar. As I grew older, I grew to love my culture and had a newfound appreciation for the shop. Baobei began as a way for me to honour my heritage and redefine what the shop meant.
It’s now grown into something much more; a way for me to connect to my community, bring baobeis together, help others discover their authentic selves, a way to hyper-express myself and a means to play.
Where did the name come from?
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It’s the first thing my parents say when they pick up the phone from me. It means ‘baby’ or ‘something precious’ in Mandarin. I wanted a name that reflected my culture and my other language that I speak because so much of my identity is tied to it.
It’s the best name I could’ve chosen. Sometimes being a business owner can be lonely and scary and having my label called Baobei feels like home.
How would you describe Baobei to someone who’s never seen it before?
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It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s unapologetic, it feels like dress-ups but it’s accessible, it’s in the know.
What are you most proud of in your work on your brand?
It has become a lot more than products, it’s an ethos you can adopt. I’ve taken my community along a journey from seeing my parents’ shop, to talking about the racism we faced, to running events for Asian women in business with Cathy [Fan], the founder of Fankery, and selling out three events.
I’ve always been passionate about community and when I started Baobei, I didn’t ever plan on creating such a big in-person community because I didn’t have a shopfront. But it’s a fundamental reminder that Baobei is an extension of me, so Baobei’s story is my story and all my passions, whether it’s fashion or community, will be channelled through the brand.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
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Your brand can be a hyper-realised version of yourself, so everything you want to achieve holistically in life, you can do through your brand. It becomes a channel for you to fulfil your dreams.
Know your brand story, have an authentic voice and what it means to be wearing your designs. Choose one hero product to begin with, and learn how to convince others to embody your designs with you.
Who do you think is most exciting in the Australian fashion scene right now?
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There is a fun marriage between fashion and the thought leaders of our generation. It’s exciting to see people like Karen Leong interview for Fashion Week in a very introspective and poetic way. Platforms like Astrophe Magazine showcase the industry in an upbeat and self-aware way which is so digestible and in the know.
Dream Australian collaborators?
Flex Mami, Mimi from Mimi Casting and Hunter Blue.
Go-to dinner party playlist?
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Duke Ellington to start off feeling like you’re in a scene from SATC or Ratatouille in the kitchen, then migrate into SZA/Summer Walker straight after the mains, then dive into Shygirl and Charli XCX for pudding wine.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
Emily Watson, Karlaidlaw, Mukadi, 604Service, Purgatory, Wynn Hamlyn, Baobei (of course) and my bestie’s label, Ash Williams.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
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Visit our website, baobeilabel.com, or our Instagram, always on the other end of the DMs <3
Is there anything else you want people to know about Baobei?
Chinese people wear jewellery with red string to bring them luck and fortune. I’m sentimental with my jewellery, especially the ones my grandparents have given me. They all have red string but I barely fit any of them anymore. I wanted to create something new for myself to wear that had the same sentiment – and the first original Love U Pendant was born, pink heart, red string.
For more from Baobei, head here.
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