Kate Megaw

Kate Megaw is a New Zealand fashion designer and founder of Penny Sage, an independent clothing label based in Grey Lynn, Auckland, known for its commitment to local production and considered design.

Megaw grew up in Pukeokahu, near Taihape, in the rural central North Island, learning to sew and knit from her mother and grandmother. She studied fashion design at Wanganui Polytechnic before moving to Auckland, where she worked as a cutter and pattern maker at Karen Walker and later completed an internship with Belgian designer Christian Wijnants.

She launched Penny Sage around 2009, initially from a tin shed on a hilltop near Taihape, supported by a New Zealand Trade & Enterprise grant. The label has since grown into a quietly influential presence in New Zealand fashion, with a studio, workroom and retail store on Great North Road in Grey Lynn.

What sets Penny Sage apart is its production model: every piece is made locally in Aotearoa, with the entire production chain operating within 30 kilometres of the Grey Lynn studio, a rare commitment in an industry that has largely moved offshore. Megaw works primarily with natural fibres including silk, cotton, linen and wool, sourcing dead-stock fabrics from local suppliers alongside specialty materials from Japan, Korea and India.

Megaw has shown at New Zealand Fashion Week and was featured in NZ Herald Viva’s “Leading Figures” alongside fellow designers Yasmine Ganley and Greta Van der Star.

Her profile is noteworthy because Penny Sage represents a deliberate, counter-cultural approach to fashion, small, slow and entirely New Zealand-made. In an industry defined by global supply chains and fast cycles, Megaw has chosen a harder path and made it work.

Kate features in our look at the NZ women who redefined success on their own terms.

Sources: NZ Herald · Spacefor · Stuff