PARAISO Meets the Co-Founder of Hunza G, Georgiana Huddart
We talked about quarantine time, what changed and what is coming for
Hunza G
When Georgiana Huddart and the original founder of Hunza G, Peter Meadows relaunched the womenswear label in 2015, they were starting from zero. Originally established in the ‘80s, Hunza G became famous for a cutout mini dress Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman, but they had stopped making swimsuits for nearly 25 years.
Georgiana knew that nostalgia is a powerful incentive in general, not just fashion, and decided to use the same fabric that was a collection signature. Fast forward and they have grown to become a strong brand, establishing a swimwear aesthetic of elegant silhouettes, made out of sculpting seersucker fabric. Hunza G’s list of tier one stockists, from Net-A-Porter online to Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and Selfridges, distinctly presents its commercial success.
P: First of all, how are you? Have you had a moment to take everything in?
GH: Yes! It’s been intense, but I think it’s intense whatever your situation. Lack of variation is very healthy for anyone.
We have also been crazily busy - people seem to desperately want swimming costumes in lockdown, which is great…. slightly surprising… but great.
P: Have you experienced a new kind of creativity following the lockdown?
GH: If I am honest, I have bene working like mad with a 9-month-old baby that’s trying to eat plug sockets etc. with no help. So, I haven’t had time to really be creative.
We are about to launch our Rainbow Collection and I am really excited about that; we have come up with new ways to shoot it, within the guidelines and promote the collection, which has been interesting.
Creativity wise - I suppose we have had to get creative in the way we are working in the pandemic. We have sent sewing machines to everyone’s homes, we are splitting the team between ages and alternating days, I have my mum packing at home with my brothers and sisters as we isolated together.
P: What is your approach to adapting to the new normal? Do you have an interesting project you are working on?
GH: Yes, we are launching the rainbow but within the capacity of guidelines and having to rely on super clear communication over email etc.
P: Is Hunza G Resort Collection ready? Will you implement certain changes moving forward?
GH: It’s not ready! We are trying to just keep up with our current orders and make sure we have the correct fabric, hardware for this summer. I am planning to do a resort collection- but at the moment it’s on hold until we know what’s happening with stores & budgets etc.
I have never been hugely into the concept of fast fashion & lots of collections that rotate and turnover rapidly, which is why we never stop selling old collections. The idea that something that’s less than 6 months old becomes ‘Old season’ is kind of crazy to me. 6 months isn’t long enough for people to fully take it in and enjoy it.
P: How are you connecting with your community and customers at the moment?
GH: We have always been very personal as a brand - we are really old school. everything is made by hand, in the UK, packed by humans, you can easily speak to someone on the phone or via instagram. People turn up at the studio unannounced regularly as its in central London, so I hope we are pretty good at being there for the customer.
P: Do you think that we are going to walk away from this with some changed behaviors?
GH: We need to make more space in the studio, and some people can work from home on rotating days. Like I said we are very old school anyway, so the pandemic didn’t affect our supply chain etc.
P: What are the main challenges you’ve encountered so far and what tips would you give people in the swimwear industry?
GH: Work hard, think about the body and functionality of what you need to be able to swim in a garment- don’t just design something pretty!
P: What are five pieces you cannot wait to wear post-quarantine?
GH: Smart over the top clothes- for thing like weddings! Gul Hurgel dress, Dress from Vincent Ganesha, and Tailor made suit.
P: What is that one Hunza G piece you wear around the house as much as you wear it on the beach?
GH: Xandra or Gigi bikini top with jeans… wearing the Xandra as we speak.
