About Us

Wear New Zealand designs from natural resources including a variety of leathers and fibres sourced from this wonderful country and beyond. All manufacturing is carried out in Auckland, New Zealand.

We sell direct to the end user so there are no middleman charges.

OCTOBER 2023

All about Ms Possum: Designer for Wear New Zealand

Video produced by Loft Creative

About The Company

We make everything here in New Zealand and as manufacturers of our own products, we sell direct to clients from all over the world.

And that is what sets Wear New Zealand apart. We hand craft our items and our designs are original and copyrighted.  

It’s a small, niche, New Zealand business, doing specialised things out of New Zealand’s finest natural materials and other specialty leathers.

Wear New Zealand ( formerly Possum New Zealand)  is now in its 23rd year of operation.

To make an item of beauty and object of desire out of an ecological pest is an amazing exercise. Yes, we call our possum products "eco fur" as we believe that combining environmentalism with commercialism is the most successful way of controlling an imported pest that is damaging our forest and fauna, as well as our native birdlife.

Add to the mix other indigenous New Zealand leathers such as spotty Friesian cow skin, bobbly baby lambskin in addition to Kiwiana cottons and much more - and you have the Wear New Zealand mix and match combos that epitomise these ranges.

From fashion to décor, we are proud to bring you integrated ranges of the highest quality products all made in New Zealand, by Wear New Zealand.

 

In The News

WEAR NEW ZEALAND

  • The Wall Street Journal Online

    The problem with eco-fur? It's still fur
    Report by Christina Binkley

    The fur comes from the brushtail possum, a marsupial native to Australia that has become a forest-destroying invasive species in New Zealand. Fur marketers argue that buying furs made from the possums they kill actually benefits the environment.

    Click here to read the full article
  • The Independent Newspaper

    Alien Invasion: How the Possum became public enemy no 1
    Report by Kathy Marks

    They are protected in their native Australia. But despite their cute looks, these marsupial invaders have become such a menace to the environment in New Zealand that designers who use their fur are seen as national heroes, even by conservationists.

    Click here to read the full article
  • The Times Online

    Is it acceptable to buy Possum fur?
    By Anna Shepherd

    Considered a pest, there are 18 times as many possums as people in New Zealand. They threaten its native trees and wildlife by munching through vegetation. So much so that anything made from possum is dubbed eco-fur. “Buy a possum and save a forest” is the slogan of one [brand], Possum New Zealand.

    Click here to read the full article

Ms Possum's encounter with an unwanted guest

Ms Possum - Designer/Director of Wear New Zealand - is a complex character. In fact, she wasn’t always known by this pseudonym.

So, how did it come about?

Many years ago, in suburban Auckland, Ms Possum’s beauty sleep was interrupted, by one of our furry friends, launching itself through an open window. The subsequent hissing and thrashing was matched only by Ms Possum’s hysteria – but it was during this pandemonium that an idea was born…

In the ensuing years, Ms Possum happily moved on to other areas of the fashion industry (haute couture, bridal and leatherwear) without giving much thought to the little marsupials.

However, that was all about to change.

A series of unfortunate roadside incidents led Ms Possum to believe that she was being persecuted, and that she would need a more proactive approach to handling the 70 million or so Possums in New Zealand. Thus the metamorphosis to Ms Possum began.

Over time it became obvious that the satisfaction derived from stretching and preparing the hides, was incredibly therapeutic. Her ‘Possum revenge syndrome’ has begun to abate – although sadly there is no known cure for this psychological condition.

We’d love to hear your Possum stories. If you write to Ms Possum, she’ll publish them online, and send you a possy pressie!

Viva magazine

Anmari Botha

Anmari Botha looking gorgeous in Viva magazine wearing Mongolian Lambskin supplied by Wear New Zealand! This is a new material we're playing with, so keep an eye out for more. Or even better,contact us if you can't wait.

New Idea magazine (Feb 2014)

Hayley Holt

Think Russia, think Sochi Olympics! New Zealand TV Presenter Hayley Holt appeared in New Idea magazine (Feb 2014) wearing our ever-popular Possum Fur Cossack Hat as part of a preview for the Winter Olympics.

💗 Exciting News 💗

New website features

Our new website has some amazing features:

  • Multi language - shop in English, French, Spanish and Italian.
  • Multi currency - shop and pay in the currency of your choice.
  • Easy view graphics.
  • Mobile friendly.

Check out our funky new introductory video

new website video
Koryn Dunstan Interviews Teresa

Pacific Beat Street

Wear New Zealand (at the time called Possum New Zealand) featured in this episode of Pacific Beat Street. Koryn Dunstan interviews Teresa about traditional furriers and learns how Possum fur is prepared to be made into garments, scarves and throws. The episode aired on TV3 in New Zealand.

Interview with Possum New Zealand

French TV

French TV flew to New Zealand to make this informative documentary about the New Zealand possum. They interviewed Possum New Zealand (now Wear New Zealand) about how they convert a pest into fashion. NB: This program aired in France and its colonies. It is in French only.

Ms Possum

Jungle Party

Ms Possum put on a “Jungle Party”. Can you spot how many party goers are wearing possum fur hides as part of their costume?

Why Possum New Zealand Has Changed Its Name

To coincide with the launch of this new website, Possum New Zealand is now named Wear New Zealand. Why the change?

The company started out a whole 13 years ago by designing and making possum fur fashion and décor items along with possum merino knitwear.

We now manufacture so much more!!  We have branched out and currently design and make also in New Zealand Babylamb or Sheepskin, New Zealand Cow skin and imported leathers. These quality skins represent good value and can also be combined with possum fur to produce amazingly beautiful items that are unique to our country.  It's nice to know there is an artisan manufacturer left in New Zealand specialising in all that is natural. 

We've also just introduced an 100% cotton Kiwiana range - and more natural fabrics are in the pipeline.  

The brand of Possum New Zealand will still appear on all our possum products and is now just one of the many labels under the umbrella of Wear New Zealand.

Buy Direct From Wear New Zealand

We make & design our own ranges inhouse & occasionally use other local crafts people to bring you the finest New Zealand products.

This is now our 14th year of operation.

Buy from the manufacturers for factory-direct pricing and superlative quality

Made In New Zealand

We make our website products ourselves! Yes, we have a massive workroom in CBD Auckland where we design, cut, and sew most of our goodies. 

So, when you place an order, we specifically build you a unique and sustainable product direct from New Zealand and direct from our workroom.

In a world of mass production, how refreshing to wear unique, hand crafted items made with care and attention.

We source from the very best of natural raw materials to produce a truly organic heirloom piece.

So deal direct with the actual manufacturers and receive premium quality at manufacturer-direct pricing.