James Scott and his team at Stencil in The Colombo stock fine apparel, footwear and classics from the best national and international brands.
For men we’re loving what we’ve seen from Carhartt and Patagonia. We’re just seeing some really good depth in the products these guys have, and the quality. Nudie Jeans have some great denim too. People have really embraced brands they know and are comfortable with.
For women, we love the New Zealand brand Thing Thing. It’s unique, there’s a lot more colour and a range of different garments, really well presented and on point for women’s fashion. And we’ve just brought in some cool Carhartt Women’s stuff as well.
In footwear, things are a bit strange because deliveries around the world are being held up or cancelled. What we have seen though, is some great products coming through form New Balance, Nike and Vans. The sneaker programme is so strong and versatile. You can wear them with everything, and you’ve got the comfort factor.
The primary colours are still incredibly strong. People can match them with a checked shirt or a heavy jacket.
What’s really hot at the moment is socks – we can’t keep up with demand. Socks were that forgotten thing, but I’ve noticed over the years the sock game is really picking up. There’s a lot of colour options, and people are mixing and matching their outfits a lot better. Headwear is always a really strong one for us, too. Caps, and also beanies are popular.
For a few essential wardrobe pieces, I suggest lots of pairs of sneakers. I’ve seen a lot more people with a daily rotation instead of just one or two pairs getting worn to death. They’re an accessory.
For sustainability, Nudie has a sustainable and ethical supply chain, and they do a lot of repair and recycling work on old Nudie jeans brought back to them, but unfortunately that’s not available in New Zealand yet. Patagonia is fair trade and is moving towards using 100% recycled and renewable materials to make clothing. Levi’s is also doing a lot of work around reducing the amount of water used to make denim. We really support the brands and products that care about the environment. There are a lot of companies doing it right, and it’s not adding much cost for the consumer.
At Stencil, what we’ve done is picked products that work together side by side, rather than trying to stock everything under the sun. We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. What we want is for people to have a good experience in the store and get good advice from the staff. We don’t sell rubbish and we’re not pushy – we try to let the products do the talking.