Editor’s Note

I was a late-comer to the marriage party. I didn’t sign up for my matrimonial loyalty card till I was 45. Strictly speaking, I had a brief dalliance with it in my mid twenties but I don’t really count that one. It was more of a green card situation with my boyfriend of […]

American-French actor Timothée Chalamet’s dismissive claim that no one cares about opera and ballet anymore couldn’t be further from the truth. Aotearoa’s return of Bizet’s early masterpiece The Pearl Fishers after a 24-year hiatus suggests quite the opposite: opera is more grand and glamorous than ever. The staging from 14 to 18 October […]

When Christchurch’s striking architectural and historic settings form the backdrop for every local conference and event, our city’s people become the beating heart. Shaped by a playful phrase I heard in conversation – “escaping corporate beige” – this issue welcomes a world where events can look however you want them to and be […]

It was late March this year while walking around a park in Rolleston that I realised I wanted to do a fashion shoot raising awareness for the greyhound rehoming programme. The discourse around the greyhound racing ban and subsequent rehoming had ramped up, and I’d just finished reading Vogue’s April issue where a […]

On the last Tuesday in June, a cohort of Christchurch’s (and the country’s) finest chefs and hospitality operators gathered at New Zealand’s first Michelin ceremony in anxious excitement. Had they done enough – been consistent enough – to impress the anonymous Michelin inspectors eating their way through Aotearoa? Had they cooked food delicious […]

How lucky are we in Aotearoa, to have a holiday that is so uniquely ours? Matariki, and the Māori New Year, is celebrated from 8 to 14 July, and is a special opportunity to reflect and rejoice with our beautiful country and its communities. I’ll be cherishing the public holiday surrounded by my […]

Richie McCaw reflects Canterbury’s tenacity with every move he makes. His strength has become signature and I’m so glad nothing has changed since my days spent watching him on the footy field. Bruised, bloodied, but never giving up. Now, he’s encouraging the average Joe and Jill to find their inner Richie and take […]

When everybody else is busy watching one another – on the street, on social media, on television – Ōtautahi-based artist Jessie Rawcliffe asks, who’s watching the watchers? If her work on our cover, or any of the pieces on page 13 make you feel uncomfortable and a little unsettled, they’re meant to. Embrace […]

I was never going to start my first editor’s letter after the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2 without a reference to the return of this iconic film. This movie has been the blueprint of my working life for years, and, happily, still is; it honoured the beauty of human creativity and […]

You can feel it in the air, can’t you? I don’t know about you but the arguably unseasonal snowfall we had recently had me digging electric blankets and merino wool jumpers out from the loft a little earlier than usual. It excited the skiers and snowboarders, though, and Hanmer Springs Ski Area wasted […]