CREATIVITY

The colourful inspirations behind the clothes that bring out your Inner Peacock!

 

Emma and Mark have always been inspired by vivid colours and interesting prints, and they love encouraging people to dress with fun and boldness. Upon opening Mr Peacock in 2017 they began to create their own unique world of colour, style and fashion to share with the world. Designed in the little seaside town of Akaroa and made in Aotearoa New Zealand, our clothes have global inspiration as much as they do local.

Emma is inspired by art, fashion icons, and movements all over the world.

"I visited an amazing fabric print library in the Victoria and Albert museum in London with prints going back 200 years and I love the graphic design of some of these older prints and their applicability to modern menswear. We have used and been inspired by the Liberty Strawberry Thief pattern in previous collections."

One of Emma's biggest inspirations is Iris Apfel – originally an interior designer, who rose to recent fame for her huge and amazing clothing collection and fabulous personal style. Her fame came later in life in her 70s-80s, and she has become an icon for looking fabulous whatever your age. She did not believe in the beauty aesthetic and admitted she was never beautiful, but she did have style - which lasts longer. Emma loves her colourful clothing combinations and funky accessories. Her mottos include 'more is more', and like us here at Mr Peacock her taste does not shy away from colour and the bold celebration of the joy found in self-expression.

"In a world of beige, navy, tan and charcoal, Iris is such a breath of fresh air, giving women permission to be something not in the beauty aesthetic or the traditional 'style’ norms."

Emma discovered a wonderful photography book, Gentlemen of Bacongo by Daniele Tamagni, documenting a movement in Congo in which men take great pride in dressing beautifully in suits of all colours, elegantly, with rules around what combinations can be worn. She adores the sense of fun these men have with their fashion and recreates that joy in her creative work here at Mr Peacock for menswear.

Emma is inspired by artists and designers with a sense of fun that challenges our aesthetic. Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese contemporary artist, creates amazing infinity rooms and loves playing with our ideas of perspective, and her art is colourful and full of dots. Kusama's vibrant works, along with creations by the bold nature and colour influenced Australian designer Jenny Kee, inspire Emma as she makes her own unique magic in our Akaroa studio.

Everyday Emma is also inspired by her local environment of Aotearoa and she weaves this into her creative process. Emma considers how people will wear our clothes, and the context in which the clothes will be worn. She is inspired by Kiwi style and the outdoors celebrations and hobbies we love so much. This is how you know our practical clothes will keep you fresh and funky while you strut your stuff.

At Mr Peacock we know our customers want to get creative with their wardrobe, and that is what inspires Mark. His background in hospitality and thriving markets, being surrounded by colour and busyness, has made him a great people person. He loves to hear what customers think of incoming patterns and colours and is always keen for a chat (either online, on the phone, or in person) about our fresh new ideas. Mark's passion is providing clothes that motivate creative thinking in others. He loves seeing new ideas take shape and encouraging our customers to push their fashion boundaries and try on that bold look they've always wanted.

Seeing our customers embrace their Inner Peacock inspires Mark as he searches for the beautiful bold prints that make our garments so unique. Motivating someone to explore uncharted territory in their wardrobe is a big driver for us here at Mr Peacock and we always have our present and future customers in mind as
we create.