She has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for her services to the fashion industry.
“It took me a minute to figure out what I was reading,” Sylvester said, “and then I was like, oh my goodness, I’m getting an award, then I was just thrilled and very, very honoured. It was totally unexpected.
“I feel like the award is an acknowledgement of the really important work that Mindful Fashion New Zealand are doing on behalf of our industry.”
The not-for-profit organisation, established in 2019 with Emily Miller-Sharma, is focused on championing the industry and growing with a focus on sustainability.
“This year, we commissioned and released Threads of Tomorrow, which is the first report on our industry. It’s the first one that’s been, you know, commissioned for decades.
“And so the release of that report was incredibly important and did sort of really prove how valuable we are to New Zealand, both economically and culturally, and it has brought us to the attention of government.”
The textile and fashion industry is under a lot of pressure, but the biggest challenge is “fighting the monstrous global tsunami that is superfast fashion”, she said.
“That’s a huge part of what we do at Mindful, is focusing on educating consumers to try and think before you buy, support local rather than basically throw your money away on products just going to end up clogging up landfill.
“On the flip side, I think there’s a lot of New Zealanders [who] really value and appreciate what the New Zealand fashion industry does.
“That just like the arts, like sports, we’re about really about building and shaping the culture of our country, how we identify ourselves as New Zealanders, and I think that’s been an amazing evolution over these 30 years.”
Sylvester enjoyed international success with her brand, which was stocked across Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and the United States, and expanded into eyewear, accessories and lingerie.
She opened her first standalone store in 1993 in Auckland, growing it to seven retail stores throughout New Zealand and Australia.
In 2019, she used New Zealand painter Frances Hodgkins’ textile designs to bring her 2019 Winter Collection to life.
Being in the fashion industry hasn’t been easy though, “that’s why I need a little rest”, Sylvester said.
“I’ve had an amazingly rewarding career. It’s an incredibly exciting creative industry to be part of.
“I just think that if you want to be part of the fashion industry, you just have to be incredibly passionate about it and then it’s incredibly rewarding.”
