Our favourite romantic range of handmade intimates and the great story behind its launch to market.
"I started the concept of Nette Rose during my first year of university – making dresses and coats. It was in my second year that I wanted to start an intimate brand with a lifestyle ethos of girls dressing for themselves – I have always been very self-confident and I owe a lot of it to being able to dress for myself, so to relay this message into my brand and inspire others was very important. Hence our brands mantra – “ She is a wild one. With a gentle soul. Who sways to her own rhythm and dresses for herself.”
To start my first line I needed “seed” money – this I didn’t have but I did have a wardrobe full of my beloved clothing that I bought for next to nothing at charity shops and decided to partake in all the vintage markets in Cape Town and bring about my seed money that way – it worked but I still remember every dress I parted with (albeit worth it now)
Our name, comes from my two beautiful grandmothers Nette and Rose
Nette bought me my first pair of fabric scissors and pins after being horrified to see me using our kitchen scissors and Rose started the conversation of me attending a fashion academy instead of obtaining the conventional university degree – they both still continue to influence the story of our brand from their adventure-filled lifestyle to cheeky humor and classic style; they are Nette Rose babes through and through.
"I either make my clothing or buy it in charity shops – I love wearing unique dresses, my personal style I could probably link very closely to the 1950s and 1920s I usually only wear dresses and love to play with colour combinations and various unconventional textures. I am now very experimental with sheer dresses full of texture that depending on the event I either pair with a slip dress underneath or simply lingerie or swimwear."
"I must say I am a strong believer in the quote by Yves Saint Laurent, “fashion fades but style is eternal”
I would always rather be stylish than be following the latest trend.
I also believe that it is not a sustainable fashion lifestyle to follow, rather have your timeless pieces that you love to wear and are of great quality that you can add a few trendy key pieces to instead of purchasing a new wardrobe each season.
For my graduation collection, I took the on-trend colour of burnt orange and played with combining textures of different shades: I used, velvet, beading, sheer fabrics, tassels and fringing into one dress. As an aspiring designer I think it's all about how you choose to interpret these trends that define your personal aesthetic and style."
"Life is too short to wear ugly, worn-out knickers darling – my mother always used to say. Always wear nice underwear because you never know when you might get knocked off your bike for the world to see”
"Dressing for yourself, including the things no one else sees, is an important part of practicing selflove.
Within our brand our biggest ‘no no’ is Photoshopping, it’s special to photograph girls who are so confident, comfortable and love their bodies that we would never dream of changing a thing on them – by changing them we are leading them to think that they shouldn’t have “so-called flaws” and that is absolutely ridiculous."
It would have to be Belly up floating off the many beautiful Cape Town beaches, I am also lucky to have my boyfriend who is an avid birder and ecologist that any time together is downtime as our career interests are so different but passions are so similar. Another great routine is at 6pm my wifi is turned off all of my devices (most nights) and that is always a holiday in itself.
"It’s not going to be perfect right away, so start now- where you are with what you have. I am a big believer in baby steps and perfecting things as you go along. A lot of hard work – belief in yourself and- you have got this beautiful, boo."
"Simple is always best – it really depends on your dress, our 'Phoebe knickers' which are high waisted but also sport a high leg are conservative, classic and sexy. I would say your big day is not the time to be too experimental with lingerie you have never worn before – keep to what you love and know the styles that support you and make you feel great."
Nette Rose was born during Megan Miller's first year of Fashion Studies and materialised during her second year in the launch of the first romantic range of Nette Rose intimates. Handmade and proudly local, this is a brand with a great story behind its launch and we're proud to feature the founder as one of our top 'Leading Ladies'
