Agua 26 ~ Made in Aotearoa 08.09.26

All our pieces start their journey here at RUBY HQ, with all designs created by our Creative Director, Deanna Didovich. For our Agua collection, much of the inspiration came from seasons spent by the water, translating into a palette of aqua blues, turquoise and seafoam greens.

Every design is hand-sketched on paper before being passed over to our Pattern Maker, Mel, who transforms the initial idea into something that can be sampled, fitted and worn.

Patterns are first created digitally, then printed, cut and sewn into a sample garment by our team. Each sample is produced in both a size 8 and a size 16, allowing us to see how the design translates across multiple sizes.

From there, samples enter the fit testing stage of development. Every sample is tried on by our fit models to ensure the garment sits and performs as intended on the body. Sometimes it isn't quite right on the first try, so adjustments are made to the pattern where needed. This process may be repeated several times before the garment is finalised and ready to be passed onto production.

Not only is everything designed in house, but much of our sampling process happens right here at RUBY HQ too. We’ve got an incredibly talented team who works behind the scenes to bring everything you see to life ~ with the constant hum of sewing machines + snipping of fabric all taking place downstairs at our Head Office in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Although many of our samples are developed here, some garments require help from further afar. More technically complex styles, or pieces made from specialised fabrications such as knitwear and denim, are sampled by our offshore manufacturing partners. Working with these partners gives us access to specialist machinery that we don’t have in New Zealand.

You can find more about our offshore manufacturing partners here.

Another key part of the process is fabric booking. Fabric for each style is planned months in advance with our offshore mills and Planning Team. There can be multiple rounds of development and testing, including lab dips, where colour samples are assessed and tweaked before we approve the final shade.

For all our clothing, the sourcing and manufacturing process must comply with our Toolbox for Change standards, ensuring ethical manufacturing. Our Sabrina Camisoles are made from 100% recycled polyester, created from post-consumer waste. We classify this material as a recycled material because it gives a second life to resources that would otherwise be discarded. By using these recycled materials, we can help reduce waste destined for landfill and keep the lifecycle of materials circular.

When synthetics are necessary for a garment’s performance or design, we prioritise recycled fibres over virgin synthetics, helping to keep existing materials in use and reduce the need for virgin resources.

You can find out more about the materials we choose to use here.

Once the Sabrina Camisole, or any RUBY or Liam piece being sampled, is perfected and the pattern has been graded across sizes 4-24, it moves into production. For garments made in New Zealand, the pattern and fabric are sent to our local cutters, who cut the styles in bulk.

Once the styles are cut, they are handed over to our local makers, who sew all the pieces together to create the product you see today. After teasing our Sabrina Camisoles online before their much-anticipated launch, we decided to visit our makers in Henderson to get a peek behind the scenes of how they are made.

Throughout the entire process, zero waste from our Sabrina Camisoles is sent to landfill from the cut-and-sew stage. Offcuts and fabric scraps are repurposed into our gift-wrapping ribbon and other uses across the business or sent to ImpacTex for recycling into other products.

Other styles, including our Bowie Top in pink, Casette Pants,+ Firebird styles, are also proudly made in New Zealand.

Once complete, these pieces are returned to our Head Office, where they undergo a final quality check. Each garment is carefully reviewed and tried on by our team to ensure it meets our standards before being sent to stores and loved by you, our Rubettes.

Supporting local industry is incredibly important to us, which is why our goal as a business is to continue increasing the percentage of styles made here in New Zealand. By choosing to manufacture locally, we help support skilled makers and local businesses whilst contributing meaningfully to the New Zealand economy. Supporting local manufacturing is one of the ways we choose to contribute wisely as a business, with Made in Aotearoa remaining a key pillar of our Toolbox for Change.

You can shop Made in Aotearoa here.