Stolen Girlfriends Club: Beyond the rock n' roll facade

Being in the fashion industry is like trying to stay in control of a car that's about to veer off the road, according to Marc Moore the founder of Kiwi label Stolen Girlfriend's Club. Marc speaks candidly about the brand's rock n' roll edge and experiencing failure and success in a high pressure industry.

"I could not sew to save my life. I've never sewn a garment and thank God for everyone , because otherwise it would be terrible." - Marc Moore, founder of Stolen Girlfriends Club.

Staying on top your game in the fashion industry is an ongoing battle. For Marc Moore who founded Kiwi label Stolen Girlfriends Club - along with friends Dan Gosling and Luke Harwood - being attuned to what's happening on social media is an important part of the job, which helps the brand to remain relevant. But in the past, it has also led them astray.

"We'd done this androgynous thing for years," says Moore.

"I started to get influenced by new trends that were emerging, so we had a go at doing more feminine ranges for a while and they didn't sell very well in retail," he says.

That was around 2013/2014 and he admits that the brand had lost its way creatively as he started to feel pressure for the brand to be noticed in an over-flooded market.

"When new trends come out, new brands come out and hot for two to three years and everyone talks about them. Then all of a sudden they don't talk about you anymore and you're going: 'Why don't we try what they're doing?'

"It's really dangerous. When I look back I'm like, why did we do that?"

Moore says that making mistakes has made him a better business owner and that the experience taught him a valuable lesson about remaining true to the company's DNA.

But staying on track can be easier said than done.

"I feel like we're driving an out of control car sometimes and you're just trying your hardest to keep it on the road. That's what it's like being in the fashion industry."

Find out more in the latest episode of My Heels Are Killing Me when Marc Moore chats candidly to Sonia Sly during a live interview at iD Dunedin Fashion Week about transitioning from semi-pro surfing to the world of fashion, sending models stage-diving off the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week and exploring what lies beneath Stolen Girlfriends Club's rebellious rock n' roll facade.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details