Description:

“Is Kiwibank's new corporate wardrobe the most inclusive ever seen in Aotearoa?” - stuff.co.nz

The launch of the Kiwibank Wardrobe in March 2023 has challenged the deeply engrained status quo of a corporate uniform. The incredible impact this is having on Aotearoa is evident in just the few short months since launch:
• Defined a new and more inclusive model for designing corporate workwear – one that moves from a uniform to a wardrobe, enabling choice for all
• Our “village of designers” concept has provided a new pathway for how fashion designers, artists and established “mainstream” brands can co-create
• We have achieved better societal outcomes for all Kiwi by putting diversity, equity and inclusion at the core of our design:
o One example of this can be seen, by New Zealand’s largest bank ANZ following Kiwibank’s lead, introducing a lavalava into their staff wardrobe range, 3-months following our wardrobe launch
• Started a national conversation around the relevancy of uniform in corporate New Zealand, with the launch generating:
o 16 pieces of earned media coverage
o Reach of over 3,150,000 people
o Lift in employee advocacy on LinkedIn from 6.92% to 9.14%
o Over 11,000 completed views of the launch video
o A 122% uplift in optimism towards Kiwibank across Facebook and online news, as well as 92.4% positive sentiment across Kiwibank and partner social media channels
• Contributed to our annual brand dimension measures of “professional” and “authentic”

Workplace dress codes were first created to enforce discipline, conformity, and status. What’s deemed appropriate has changed over the past few decades and Kiwibank wanted to lead the charge into a new age of workwear, creating a modern, progressive and inclusive wardrobe that accurately reflects the diversity of Aotearoa today, putting an end to the narrow and impersonal uniform.

In 2022, we surveyed our retail teams to get feedback on their current uniform:
• 59% felt neutral, or thought the offering needed improvement and,
• 46% felt “tired” when putting on their current uniform

Moving away from industry norms, we worked with six leading multidisciplinary New Zealand based partners to design the wardrobe. We believe that to achieve diversity in the outcome, you need diversity in the input, so we blended established mainstream brands with bespoke fashion designers and out of category artists: Barkers, Jen Sievers, Kiri Nathan, Little Yellow Bird, Standard Issue and Booker Spalding.

Launched as an initial 46-piece collection, the capsule considers all body types, choice, accessibility, gender neutrality, and cultural and religious preferences to encourage team members to express their individuality. Staff can pick and choose from the collection to build their own wardrobe as opposed to following strict guidelines. The wardrobe has been designed to evolve over time, so that we can add in new designs that reflect cultural demands, fashion trends and evolutions in technology.

The final wardrobe has been a collaborative effort between our design partners and 20 of our own retail team members who wear-tested the garments and provided invaluable feedback to ensure each item was fit for purpose.