Past Sense Studio is a Christchurch-based slow fashion label rooted in sustainability, textile circularity and skill-sharing. 

Founded by Trish who launched her fashion career making bespoke bridal and couture gowns from her parents’ lounge to running a luxury bridal boutique on Victoria Street before pivoting to Sustainable fashion label.

Past Sense Studio was created out of desire for creative freedom and accountability. Every piece is constructed in our Christchurch studio using pre-existing textiles, helping to reduce New Zealand’s textile wastes.

THE FOUNDER

Trish’s path as a Fashion Designer was anything but traditional. She was a graduating Political Science student in the Philippines when she realised her love for fashion design. She left the university to formally study Fashion Design.

In 2016, amidst her studies, Trish and her family migrated to New Zealand. Arriving in a new country, she struggled to find an opportunity in the fashion industry. Rather than waiting for an opportunity, she created her own.

In 2019, she turned her parents’ living room into her own sewing studio, designing and making custom wedding gowns. Her client list grew and in 2023, she opened her bridal showroom in Victoria Street where she spent three years honing her craft and mastering garment construction. After three years of running the bridal boutique on her own, she decided to close down to gain more creative freedom. From there, she discovered her love for sustainability, vintage, upcycling and teaching the younger generation how to sew.

Today, Trish’s vision has evolved from designing luxury bridal pieces to making sustainable garments and teaching the next generation of makers which led her to create Past Sense Studio.

CONSCIOUSLY MADE

Every piece that we make is thoughtfully designed, cut, and constructed right here in our small Christchurch studio. By keeping our full production in one roof locally, we maintain complete transparency over how our clothing comes to life. 

All our garments are made from 100% post-consumer discarded textiles. No fresh productions. No virgin fabrics. No added waste. Just a creative reconstruction from textiles that would otherwise be thrown away. 

SEWING AND PATTERN-MAKING WORKSHOPS

Hosting pattern-making and sewing workshops for the younger generation is one of the most powerful sustainability initiatives we can do. By teaching people how to draft a pattern, cut fabrics and sew a garment, they will realise that a single fast-fashion garment has a real cost. Sharing skills creates awareness. The more you learn how to make clothes, the less appealing fast fashion becomes.

ZERO WASTE

In the standard garment construction alone, about 15-20% of fabrics are being discarded as useless offcuts. In our studio, all fabric remnants and offcuts are being saved to use for smaller projects such as patchworks and accessories to further reduce our environmental impact as a fashion brand.

SUSTAINABILITY

Every year, roughly 100 billion garments are being made,  flooding landfills with short-lived trends. Less than 1% of that is actually being recycled back to make new garments. Our goal is not just to be another brand — it is to be part of less than 1%.