SabotageMFG is the Auckland fashion project fostering a new generation of emerging designers
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GALA RICHARDS FOR SABOTAGEMFG
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“SabotageMFG was able to create a peer-to-peer support network for in-house brands to understand the market and respond to it in their own way.”
At 23, Auckland designer Gala Richards is the CEO of SabotageMFG, an all-encompassing studio/showroom/digital platform helping local emerging designers flourish. As a fashion design graduate herself, Gala is providing the kind of opportunity she was looking for but could never find. So after pulling together a team of talented collaborators and challenging her “Capricorn energy”, SabotageMFG opened on a Friday night in July.
Keep up to date with emerging New Zealand labels over at our Fashion section.
‘The Sabotage girl always has a lighter for you,’ the store’s homepage reads. ‘She’s the grain on your camera from the abject selfie you took last night, she’s fashionably late, she’s the smudge of your eye makeup and the last one at the party.’ SabotageMFG is messy in the best way, spearheading a wonderfully weird new era of fashion with designers like Catherine Boddy, Emma Jing and Molly Perkinsons in tow. Below, Gala reflects on the Sabotage journey so far.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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I’ve always been interested in clothing and textiles from a young age. In 2018, I decided to study textile design at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). This helped build technical skills and opened the door to the possibilities of knitwear. While I was studying, I also worked in retail. This helped me to understand the industry and helped to identify where I wanted to be situated within it.
How did the store get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
I graduated with a collection of knitwear singlets. This was unusual for the rest of the cohort graduating because the expectation was to create an avant-garde collection. I decided to go down the ready-to-wear path, as I wanted my work to be attainable and to see people in the street wearing my clothes.
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Shortly after, I needed to find a way to promote and sell the graduate collection. The collection needed a lookbook, a website and a graphic identity. This was my first opportunity to exercise entrepreneurship. In October of 2020, I staged my first photoshoot with photographer Andrei Blidarean, created my brand identity and launched an ad hoc website under the Royal Gala brand.
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This process led me to identify that there was nowhere in Auckland to sell clothing for new or emerging designers. At the time, I was surrounded by so many talented people making clothing and accessories. I wanted to be able to give them a platform and for their works to be accessible. These conditions led to the opening of SabotageMFG, a showroom on Karangahape Road, Auckland, New Zealand. The Sabotage baby was born! Opening up a showroom was very challenging in its earlier stages, as I had just an idea and no funds to back it.
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I was so lucky to have so many people around me who wanted to help make SabotageMFG happen. We opened up a clothing-makers studio where people would hot desk and share the facilities. The showroom was adjacent to this space and was a way for the studio artists to display their work.
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The physical store was exciting and new and it had a really good response. Once we hit lockdown, SabotageMFG had to pivot to the digital space. I decided to build a website. This, of course, came with help from a friend. Eleanor Woodhouse was studying computer coding and offered to make a website. This really lifted SabotageMFG to a whole new level and legitimised everything. It made everyone’s creations really accessible which was the goal!
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
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SabotageMFG was experimental in the sense that it welcomed anyone who could see themselves aligned with the aesthetics of the space. SabotageMFG broke the conventions of the fashion industry, as it helped facilitate makers from an early point in their careers and supported them through photoshoots, stock management and online promotion. SabotageMFG was able to create a peer-to-peer support network for in-house brands to understand the market and respond to it in their own way.
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Some of the earlier designers represented by SabotageMFG have gone on to do their own projects, while some are still in their formative stages and are happy to be represented under the SabotageMFG brand umbrella. SabotageMFG is really a testing ground for people to initiate their own projects. The process of putting your work out there is daunting and I guess I’m trying to make it less so!
Where did the name come from?
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My normcore friend Tyson Campbell threw a stunting Halloween party called ‘Vaccine’. He wanted to throw another party called ‘Sabotage’. That party didn’t end up happening, and the name was gifted to me. The MFG stands for manufacturing because we out here manufacturing superstars.
How would you describe your store to someone who’s never seen it before?
A small newspaper (gossip rag) named The Angels Rhapsody sums up the brand quite well: “Gatekeeper brands may have some established clout but no one can compete with the cultural capital of the youth. Might fuck around and spend my bond money on some gloves”
What are you most proud of in your work in your store?
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I think I’m proud of how ambitious I was! It’s quite crazy being a business owner at 23. I’m also really proud of how I followed through with everything I wanted to do and challenged my Capricorn energy.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
The amount of time and money that goes into SabotageMFG is relentless! My word of advice is to go at your own pace, otherwise, you burn out. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t take anything back, because it was all worth it.
Who do you think is most exciting in Australian/NZ fashion right now?
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When I started Sabotage there wasn’t really anything else out there similar to it in Auckland. It’s so exciting seeing so many stores and platforms (where are these stores?) encouraging emerging designers and their work. they really are spoilt for choice which is so nice to see!
Go-to dinner party playlist?
My Spotify playlist Smoking Naked is on point – featuring everything from Sinead O’Connor to Young Thug.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
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Isabel Marant is my random new obsession. I work in a consignment store part-time and have accrued some gorgeous pieces. She uses the most amazing fabrics.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
I’ve taken time out with making my own stuff for now. Once I get around to it, it will (of course) be on the SabotageMFG site.
Browse the SabotageMFG collection here.
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