Feature_Esther

BusinessSeptember 20, 2020

Esther Ng is 24, wildly successful and couldn’t care less about NZ fashion

Contributing writer
Feature_Esther

Esther Ng is the most successful New Zealand designer you’ve never heard of. Her label, Prix, has been seen on celebrities like Ariana Grande and Kylie Jenner, she has over 150,000 Instagram followers and she’s currently working from her bedroom.

On any regular weekday you’d likely find Esther Ng playing games on her PC. Streaming live on Twitch to thousands of fans, the 24-year-old comes across as approachable when she’s not dissing brands you’ll probably never be able to afford.

“Who the fuck wears Kenzo?”, she asks in a recent stream, a chatty four-hour video that begins with her unboxing a “life-sized” Pokémon, before browsing a sale on Canadian high-street retailer Ssense. She exists between stereotypical male gaming culture and the often elitist world of fashion, and is aware of the clashes between her passions.

In a world where the lines of fashion and gaming have barely met, Ng openly embraces both, and her brand Prix is a culmination of years of gaming and a passion for creating only things she would want to wear. 

“It’s very ingrained in everything I do, from my marketing to the models that I cast to design and colourways. It’s one of our design pillars, or one of our main inspirations,” she explains. Even the names of her clothes are pulled from gaming. “It’s like an Easter egg – if you know, you know.”

While the hyper-sexualised images of women in video games have come under fire, that’s the inspiration for the Prix fit. “The way that women are portrayed in video games is how I want women to be portrayed when they wear Prix. Really independent and strong and hot. Perfect, basically.” 

From what she’s heard, that vision is working. “I’ve had girls come up to me and say, ‘When I go out in Prix I don’t have to pay for anything’, or ‘When I go out in Prix I get so much dick’.”

The brand isn’t just successful in helping its wearers score. Ng says in its first year, Prix made $1m in turnover, and has grown in the two years since. At just 24 years old, her knack for business has been sharpened to a point, her degree in commerce proving useful in Prix’s precipitous rise. 

That entrepreneurial drive isn’t new for Ng, though – it’s something she’s utilised since she was a kid growing up in Auckland. At just 13 Ng says she was making sometimes hundreds of dollars a week turning secondhand jeans into shorts with rips, studs and patches, a signature of Gen-Z adolescent fashion. 

“I would bus to the Salvation Army after school and buy a whole bunch of jeans and cut them and then spend my whole week distressing them and shit, with the studs from Smoove. I was selling clothes for ages and flipping them for fun.”

‘I’m not the CEO boss bitch type’

Despite the focus on comfort, the young designer seems to have struck a chord with a certain brand of “it-girl” celebrity, boasting an outrageous list of customers including the Kardashians, Ariana Grande, Hailey Beiber and Sophia Richie. She denies that she fits in the same box.

“I’m like ‘anti-it-girl’. My hair’s not nice, I’m not skinny, I’m not, like, the CEO boss bitch type,” she says. But with 159,000 Instagram followers and a list of celebrities wearing her label on their clothing, she may be more of an “it-girl” than she’ll acknowledge.

Just a few days ago her 24th birthday was celebrated, like many have been this year, via an Internet stream party. Joined by a handful of friends from all over the world, Ng hosted a chatty karaoke livestream for her Twitch supporters. Rapper Lil Yachty posted an Instagram story wishing her a happy birthday and megastar DJ and producer Diplo dropped into her comments on the photo she posted that same day. 

But the world of celebrity doesn’t faze her. After living in Los Angeles for a few years and moving in the same circles as these well-known stars, her perspective on fame dramatically changed. 

“They’re literally just people. Tom [Diplo] is super normal. In New Zealand it’s weird because we’re so disconnected but as soon as you’re in the States, you see people at cafes or meet famous people and it’s not a thing.

“Hilary Barry. I’d be starstruck if I met her… or Mike Hosking,” she jokes.

As much as she may not want the attention, Ng has that combination of charisma, confidence and recognisable look that tends to be associated with celebrity. While everyone else out for dinner at Britomart’s Ortolana restaurant looks dressed up for the occasion, Ng sits comfortably at a corner table in a pair of black sweatpants and a merino top. 

She looks like someone who’s trying to not be noticed, with a “celeb in disguise” quality that makes it hard not to look. She orders for the table the roast potatoes – “they’re amazing” – and gives off none of the awkward young millennial cues when asking the waiter about the greens. Ng seems too confident for her age, knowing what she likes to a degree most seem not to realise until well after their 20s.

The contrast of wearing sweatpants in an upmarket restaurant doesn’t bother Ng. In her eyes, the lines between high fashion and streetwear are blurring and she doesn’t think people care any more about that distinction. When she designs for Prix, she’s not trying to fit neatly into either of those boxes.

“Luxury doesn’t excite people as much any more, and neither does streetwear. I’m interested to see where it goes because I don’t really think I belong to either of them. People say [Prix] is a streetwear brand, but there are dresses you could wear out to dinner – it’s not necessarily casual, but it’s not necessarily dressy.”

Zoe Walker Ahwa, founder of fashion website Ensemble, says Prix is a really interesting example of a new age for the fashion industry, where designers aren’t so focused on the local market – because they don’t have to be. She says it’s interesting to see young designers like Ng go international from the start, and use social media as a tool for that growth.

“She looked overseas before she looked to New Zealand. A lot of the brands who are more established now, like Trelise [Cooper], they started out when PR was way more focused on traditional media and New Zealand. She made a conscious effort to focus on the US and to use Instagram as a platform to PR herself. She’s part of this next generation of designers who are focused on international stores. They are a lot more outward-thinking.”

‘Clothes are fine and accessories are fine, but I don’t see that being my whole life’

While Prix doesn’t compete price-wise with international fast-fashion brands, one of Ng’s long-term goals is to help drive the fast-fashion industry out of business. She’s adamant that selling a T-shirt for any less than $40 means someone’s getting screwed, and says far too few people are aware of the real cost of their clothing. 

“Greenwashing is so huge in the fashion industry and it’s a scam. These initiatives don’t come out of a place where people actually care about the Earth, it’s just to get more buying power. If you really care about sustainability, you need to look into what your manufacturers are doing.”

She wants consumers to be cautious about brands greenwashing – expressing ethical or environmental concerns for appearance without taking any of the necessary steps to reduce their footprint and treat their workers fairly. “If they really wanted to be more sustainable, they would halve their production size. It’s so dumb. As soon as you stop ordering environmentally harmful fabric, they’re going to stop making it, but that’s just not happening, realistically.”

Before Covid hit, Ng would travel to China regularly to check in at her factory and conduct quality checks. As a kid she learnt a lot about clothing and factory work from her parents, who manufactured socks and would take her on trips to their factory in China. She says a big reason why she chose the factory where Prix garments are made was that they allowed unscheduled visits. 

“I go every three months and I don’t tell them when I’m coming in so there’s no shit. I walk in and check on my stuff and they let me just walk in, so I know that they’re ethical. Because if they weren’t they would make you schedule a time.”

For the last few months, Ng has been working from home in Auckland, after cancelling plans to move to Milan due to the pandemic. She’s got her sights set on expanding her brand, with a dream to start creating more gaming peripherals – keyboards and mice. 

“I think that’s where my interests really collide. I feel like clothes are fine and accessories are fine, but I don’t see that being my whole life. I want Prix to be a lifestyle brand and then under that umbrella just make whatever I want.”

Her intelligence and confidence are noted by Ng’s friends as drivers behind the young designer’s success, but close friend and Prix employee Ch’lita Collins says it’s Ng’s sense of humour and generosity that draw people to her. 

“She has this real ‘if I’m eating, you’re eating too’ mindset, she’s super generous and she’s only ever wanted the best for everyone around her. In New Zealand the whole tall poppy syndrome means nobody really wants you to do well and if they do, they don’t want you to do better than them. Esther goes out of her way to help her friends – she gives a lot of her time.”

If being liked is a currency in the social-media-driven world, Ng is rich. While her bikini photos and mirror selfies may not appeal to the generations who didn’t grow up with an iPhone, it’s the Gen-Z fans she’s trying to interest. For them, she embodies the “Insta baddie” aesthetic that’s taking over from the thigh gaps and kale smoothies that were cool 10 years ago.

It’s those Gen-Z fans who are changing the fashion landscape around the world, and Ng is confident the same will happen in New Zealand, driving a change in the styles we typically see from our top designers. She’s not worried about focusing her energy here for the time being.

At the moment, only 10% of Prix customers are from New Zealand, and Ng thinks most of her international customers aren’t aware the company was born here.

Walker Ahwa isn’t surprised that Ng’s sights aren’t set on the New Zealand market. She says the local industry does need to assess its diversity if it wants designers like Ng to feel more welcome. 

“I think there is a point about the lack of diversity within the industry, behind the scenes, which is definitely true in terms of designers, stylists and writers across the board. I think it’s a valid point that people aren’t having a conversation about yet, but in this younger generation that is changing a lot.”

Despite Aotearoa being her home, and wanting to see more diversity in fashion here, Ng is not particularly concerned about being a part of the local scene. She’s fine with Prix’s current place in the international landscape and if that means New Zealand misses out on claiming her as our own, she couldn’t care less.

“I love New Zealand, it’s my home, but to be honest I don’t care about the scene, I don’t care about anything. 

More Reading

“New Zealand fashion doesn’t interest me and I don’t owe it anything.”

For a 24-year-old who’s created, designed, marketed and sold her brand to celebrities many pay hundreds of thousands for, why should she need to?

Keep going!
(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)

BusinessSeptember 18, 2020

Covid and work stresses hitting you hard? Here’s how not to burn out

Guest writer
(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)

Covid-19 and its economic impacts have wreaked havoc on New Zealanders’ mental health – especially in the workplace. But amid all the chaos and noise, there are small ways to keep yourself present and calm.

It’s been nearly a year since Covid-19 first emerged into our lives, and the devastating mental health effects of living in a pandemic-stricken world are abundantly clear.

A study released by the University of Auckland in June explained that living in this new era has put many people’s “fight or flight” responses on full alert for an extended period of time, elevating the risk for psychological and physical health damage.

“Few of us will escape completely untouched, either directly or indirectly, by Covid-19 and its flow-on effects,” it read.

“We can reasonably anticipate a significant increase in society’s levels of psychological distress that is well beyond the accepted one-year population prevalence rate for mental morbidity of 20%.”

Since the nationwide lockdown began in March, Lifeline has seen a 25% increase in calls and texts from people in distress. On May 4 alone, Lifeline fielded 493 calls – thought to be the highest volume of enquiries in any single day in the helpline’s almost 55-year history.

Youthline has seen a 50% increase in texts from young people reaching out for support at this time.

In a recent survey by Massey University, almost half of respondents reported having trouble sleeping, experiencing depression, or feeling cut off from their social networks.

Called Aotearoa New Zealand Public Responses to Covid-19, the survey investigated how New Zealanders have been impacted by the global pandemic, including everything from job and income losses, depression, their attitudes towards immigration in a post-Covid New Zealand and their response to government actions.

(Graphic: Massey University)

Even before coronavirus, stress was increasing in New Zealand workplaces. The 2019 Workplace Wellness Report by BusinessNZ and Southern Cross Health Society showed a 23.5% rise in stress across businesses in the last two years.

“General workload” was the most stress inducing issue for all businesses. “Change at work” was the second most common cause of stress for businesses with 50+ staff, while “relationships at work” was the second most common for those with fewer than 50 staff.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in burnout in New Zealand, according to a survey of 900 workers by recruitment agency Frog Recruitment. The survey showed that more than 64% of workers now feel more burnt out on the job than they did prior to the March lockdown.

Burnout, officially recognised as an occupational condition by the World Health Organisation, is a syndrome occurring from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.

Psychologist Christina Maslach, a professor at UC Berkeley, said that burnout is marked by exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy.

Exhaustion can hit you emotionally, physically or cognitively and you may not even feel replenished by rest or sleep.

Cynicism is marked by a sour attitude and a short temper. You may feel irritated and detached from your team. Inefficacy is the feeling that you can never keep up with the demands of the workplace, even though you know you have been able to in the past.

As the Auckland University study stated, “The effects on our collective mental wellbeing are just beginning to be truly appreciated. Not only could Covid-19 have a devastating effect on already vulnerable sectors of society, but also we anticipate a second, and potentially large cohort of newly at-risk people as a result of the economic downturn, both globally and nationally, and expected ongoing rise in unemployment.”

It’s easier to prevent burnout than to fix it. If you are feeling burnt out, there are almost certainly factors beyond your control. But you can still take action.

“A strong consensus exists among mental health professionals that the time is right for a paradigm shift away from mental illness towards mental wellbeing. There needs to be a broader focus on preventive actions,” the report said.

So what can be done to achieve this paradigm shift? While so much of it depends on policy and the steps the government takes to foster and encourage mental wellbeing in the community, there are small ways for people to take action right now.

One of the most constructive practices is a daily mindfulness habit – which at the moment only 1% of New Zealanders have adopted.

Mindfulness is like a firmware upgrade for your brain. You can actually increase your brain’s ability to cope. It’s not that hard to understand; we know how our physiology works, and that we can change the way our bodies perform based on what we practise everyday. You want to run a marathon, you train each day and you get more and more fit. Simple.

Brains are the same. They are malleable, which means they grow and change based on where we focus our attention each day. In the last 40 years, neuroscientists have been looking at the way the brain responds to mindfulness meditation – or the practice of paying attention to the present moment. The results – many of which can be measured with brain scans – are extraordinary: from better sleep to improved immunity and lower levels of stress and depression.

As scientific as mindfulness meditation is, there’s an idea that it is a form of spurious, alternative nonsense, beyond the realm of the mainstream. This is a harmful misconception; mindfulness is an accessible and critical tool that, in light of Covid-19, has become even more important for people to stay calm, happy and healthy. And contrary to the cliché, it doesn’t have to involve sitting cross-legged on a white cushion with your eyes closed.

So how does it work? There are many different exercises, but “zap your inbox” is one of my favourites. It feels good in the short-term, connects you to others, and strengthens your brain’s resilience, giving it the ability to better cope with anxiety and stress in the long-term.

Mindfulness meditation can be done any time, anywhere (Photo: Getty Images)

However, one of the biggest barriers to meditation is the mind’s propensity to discourage you from practising it. “I don’t have time,” it will say. “There’s more important things to do. I’m too stressed because I’m overworked.”

Don’t listen to it. Ignore it and do the meditation. A less stressed, more focused brain will pay back any time you spend with interest. It’s a wise investment and you only need 30 seconds for it to have an effect.

So when you next open your emails for work, practise “zap your inbox”.

The idea is to scroll slowly through your messages and try not to get caught up in the subject of the email or any follow-up you need to do. Instead, just focus on the names and the people behind each of these emails. Even corporate newsletters have a human behind them.

You’ll be scrolling past the names of some people you love, some you don’t and some you barely know. That doesn’t matter. You’re going to connect with them all in the same way, by simply sending them some good vibes.

Each of these people – no matter what you think of them or how well you know them – has a life full of worries, hopes, expectations and challenges. So as you scroll past, just focus your full attention on the person’s name and say in your mind, “Be well.”

Do it slowly so you have time to really mean it. Narrow your eyes. Reign in your focus: “Be well.”

And then scroll down to the next person and do the same. Make it into a game. Don’t get sucked into the content. Just make it your mission to zap each human with kindness.

I’m not suggesting that the person on the other side of the email will necessarily feel the kindness you send them. It’s not about that. This is an exercise that works to change the structure of your brain, in a way makes you cope better and enjoy a better quality of life.

Ironically, thinking of others can be a completely selfish pursuit. Compassion is good for us. Brain imaging shows that this kind of meditation regulates the functioning of the limbic system, which processes emotions and empathy. Compassion meditation has also been shown to decrease depression.

In a world where immense shifts are occurring virtually every week, it’s hard to think such a small exercise will have much of an effect. But I assure you, it is one of the greatest yet simplest gifts you can give your mind. Be well.

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