In 2007, the year Emilia Wickstead turned 24, her boyfriend loaned her $6,500 to start a clothing brand. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to create a small collection, which she presented in her London living room to sell to family and friends. Her graceful, understated elegance resonated, and her work was soon featured in U.K. Vogue and Tatler.

Wickstead isn’t English by birth—she grew up in Auckland before moving to Milan with her mother as a teenager. After living many thousands of miles away from the fashion world’s epicenter, she’d landed in one of its capitals. A few years later, in 2004, she moved to London to study fashion design at Central Saint Martins.

Since its first collection, Wickstead’s brand has made waves. She debuted her line at London Fashion Week in 2012 and won the Elle Style Award for Red Carpet Designer of the Year in 2014. She’s dressed everyone from Gigi Hadid to Kate, the Princess of Wales, and in November 2023, she designed a crew uniform for Air New Zealand.

Here, the designer shares her favorite sights, restaurants, cafes, and hotels in her native city.

  • BIANCA
    Bianca is a fantastic restaurant and pasta shop in Ellerslie which holds a special place in my heart. It’s the neighborhood where I spent most of my youth, where my mother first bought a home, and where my grandparents lived. (instagram.com)
Inside Bon Pinard, a wine bar in Auckland.
  • BON PINARD
    A neighborhood wine bar. (bonpinard.co)
  • LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY
    New Zealand’s finest. Their butter is brilliantly packaged, and they also make milk and ice cream. I wish we had this in London! (lewisroadcreamery.com)
The exterior of Ringawera Bakery, in Matakana.
  • RINGAWERA BAKERY
    A bakery in Matakana, a village just an hour’s drive from Auckland. Queue up for freshly baked bread and sandwiches, and then drive to the beach. (ringawerabaker.co)
  • GOW LANGSFORD
    A gallery representing the best artists in New Zealand. It’s always beautifully curated. (gowlangsfordgallery.co)
A screening room in the Hollywood Avondale.
  • THE HOLLYWOOD IN AVONDALE
    Auckland’s oldest cinema. A very cool spot with beautiful architecture. (hollywoodavondale.nz)
A view of the Boatshed Hotel, on Waiheke Island.
  • THE OWNERS COTTAGE AT THE BOATSHED
    My home away from home on Waiheke Island, about two hours from Auckland. You can only arrive by ferry. I couldn’t love this incredibly cozy hotel more—it has a pool, a piano, and two bedrooms. It’s also opposite the little Oneroa Beach, where I like to have ice cream. (boatshed.co.nz)
  • RĀKAI JADE
    Rākai Jade sells handcrafted pieces made from pounamu, or New Zealand jade, reflecting the traditional Māori practice of working with the stone. (rakaijade.co)
  • SENTINEL BEACH RESERVE
    A small, charming, and hidden suburban beach surrounded by nature. I like walking down from the restaurant FishSmith Herne Bay, where you can pick up the best fish and chips in Auckland and eat them on the beach.
  • SIMON JAMES
    Simon Jones sells contemporary designs from home goods to furniture to fashion. Emilia Wickstead is sold there, and so is jewelry by Jessica McCormack, my favorite New Zealander living in London. (simonjames.co)
  • VIXEN VINTAGE
    This vintage store has been around for 25 years. They have a very impressive collection of clothing. (vixenvintagekrd.com)
Photos: Edd Horder; Alex Mcvinnie/@instagram/bonpinard; @facebook/ringawerabaker; @facebook/HollywoodAvondale; Courtesy of the Boatshed