Nocturnalists are spirited members of Auckland’s nighttime scene, and in this series they take us on a tour of their favourite spots in the city after 5pm. Today: Wynn Crawshaw.
Photos by Sophie Miya-Smith, shot on location at Mo’s Bar and Queens Rooftop.
Wynn Crawshaw grew up in Te Puke and studied in Dunedin, but now calls Tāmaki Makaurau home. It’s also where he established and has run for the past decade his namesake fashion label, Wynn Hamlyn, from a studio on Anzac Avenue. Commuting regularly from his home in Freeman’s Bay and the brand’s flagship store in Commercial Bay, Wynn has seen a lot of the central city – and with the brand recently announcing a hiatus and wind-down of its operations, he’ll soon have more time to enjoy Auckland with his young family. Wynn sat down with Emma Gleason in his workroom to talk about his favourite places in Auckland.
Wynn, hello! This is handy, your studio’s around the corner from my place. I love that you’re still in this building. How long has it been?
It’s coming up to about 10 years. We flatted here too when we first got it. It was a huge space for us, so we thought “we’ll have to live here” and got two flatmates… we had so many parties.
How long have you had the Wynn Hamlyn store in Commercial Bay?
Five or so years.
When you announced your decision to pause the brand, you said that the wholesale market had proved increasingly challenging – unlike your own retail channels, like the store. Have you enjoyed being a CBD retailer?
I’ve loved it. In a lot of ways, I wish that we had focused on that as a priority earlier. It allowed us to build something that’s more real. The customers that you’re getting to know and build relationships with are actually going to be long term. That was something that was quite meaningful for the brand and is a real shame to lose.
That precinct has really taken off. I think people get it now.
Finishing off [Te Komititanga] really did fix the whole area… It’s changed almost everything.
It’s so nice having a cluster of local brands in Commercial Bay: Wynn Hamlyn, Juliette Hogan, Zambesi. Something else that I think works well – and hopefully people realise – is that the shops there are open quite late, 6pm from Monday to Wednesday and 7pm from Thursday to Saturday, so you can actually go shopping after work.
That was probably Precinct Property’s commitment to not being stuck in the vortex of being Kiwi and instead saying, “Nah, we’re going to stay open.”
Speaking of staying open, will shoppers be able to get the final Wynn Hamlyn collection in-store?
Yeah. We’re committed to selling through our season; we delivered it pretty much right as we also delivered that news. So we’ll see that through. [Precinct Property] is happy for us to be there as long as we need.
What else was behind the decision to pause Wynn Hamlyn?
We were considering what the next five years of the brand might look like. And our kids will be well into school, and we thought, “Is that our future?”
It’s demanding to be a parent and a business owner. How do you structure your days now that you have two kids, do you do much work at night?
I used to be a night-working person. I still am, to some extent, but the sleep situation these days is much more tricky.
Your call time for our shoot was quite late too.
Yeah, but I didn’t go home straight after. We went back to Mo’s Bar. Which is a really good spot.
It’s quite a genuine space eh? And it’s such an institution. How did you find out about it?
Hospo people. All my friends are chefs. And for them, that authenticity [at Mo’s] is very real, because they work in the business of curating hospitality venues.
There’s no artifice or pretension with that place. What’s your drink order?
I drink beer. Honestly any beer, absolutely everything.
And Mo’s is a two minute walk from Commercial Bay. Speaking of which, do you go to any of the eateries there? There are so many!
I’ve been a few times to that Ben Bayly one, Ahi. There’s a flounder there that’s really good – a whole flounder. Ahi is just this solid kind of thing that I think will be there for years. And the lawyers and stuff have figured out it’s really good. They all go there for their big wine and dining.
OK, back to your store and the brand. What’s been the greatest hits over the past 10 years?
All the knitwear.
Do you think your customers are remembering the fun of getting dressed up and going out at night?
Yeah, I do think so. And they’re remembering the fun of shopping in person. The shop has really taken a huge part of our revenue base back [from online shopping].
Where would you go if you had to buy an emergency outfit for a dinner or a party later that same day?
I would probably go to Edit. Or Shakes.
And they’re both on Vulcan Lane, which is handy. What would a dream night out in Auckland City be for you?
Certainly Mo’s would be part of it. Probably at the end. First I’d probably eat somewhere very Auckland-esque. Then there’s a bar I’ve been to a couple of times on Queen Street called The Nightcar. That’s good.
What do you order at Nightcar?
I usually go for some crazy drink, like the passionfruit thing [made with vodka, frangelico, lemon and coconut].
Oh yeah, and they have live jazz every Tuesday! J.Y Lee, one of our other Nocturnalists, told me about that. What are some of the most memorable Auckland gigs or shows you’ve been to in your time?
The last two times I went to Powerstation, one was for Mos Def – who’s called Yasiin Bey now – and the other was Home Brew… In my high school years I used to sneak out and drive to Auckland from Tauranga on a school night… I went to G-Unit and Xzibit, they both were at Backstage on Galatos Street… And I went to see Kanye at Vector Arena [now Spark].
I was there for that, it was 2008. OK, back to the present and Anzac Ave, where we are now. Do you have any go-to takeaway spots around here?
Xi’an [Food Bar] has been here a long time, before we were even here.
What’s your order?
I get the number 37 – hand-pulled noodles with Xi’an style braised pork. It’s best to eat it with all the vinegar and chilli oils. If you have to take it away, take the top off and juice it up before you leave. I also like the seaweed salad.
There are also tonnes of food options at Commercial Bay, another area you’re in quite a bit. There’s the Wynn Hamlyn store, and the dining floor, but above all that is somewhere to watch the sun go down, Queens Rooftop, an actual rooftop bar. What’s your vibe on that spot?
I think Auckland needs something like that.
It’s interesting that Queens and a few other rooftop bars all popped up in the space of a year or two. It feels very cosmopolitan. You can go have a cocktail on a rooftop and look at the incredible, glittering cityscape lit up at night. And the harbour. It’s impressive.
Yeah, I’ve hosted many visitors from overseas [in that area].
Where did you take them?
I would usually take them to the restaurant in Hotel Britomart, Kingi. And they were always like “wow”. They just couldn’t fathom the size of the crayfish.
What’s your go-to order at Kingi?
There’s a pasta that’s got cockle shells all through it. That’s really beautiful…Definitely the crudo. I like to get a full seafood spread there… and everyone’s blown away by the freshness of it all.
Yeah, they really nail it.
And sometimes I’d take people to Grand Harbour. That’s another spot. I’ve spent a lot of time there.
Where do you go to wind down after work?
Occasionally, when me and some other people with kids are like “hey, we can leave work at four, but we have to be home at five” we’ll go to St Kevins Arcade and get a beer somewhere.
St Kevins is such a great spot for a drink and some people watching, there’s a lot of energy in there. Now that you’re getting ready to wind down the label, is there anything you’re excited to be able to do, or see more of in the city?
Yeah, I’m excited to be able to partake in more things generally with weekends and evenings back.
OK, last question. You’ve been to a lot of international cities. You’ve shown in Sydney, you’ve sold in Paris. How does Auckland compare?
Our food is second to none. Our international food, especially Asian food, is unbelievable. Even our Italian food. You can’t just go and get that kind of food anywhere. That’s what separates us.
