Fashion label Jimmy D announces major downshift

Jimmy D, a trailblazing New Zealand fashion label with over 20 years of history, is shutting down almost all of its operations.

The brand's founder and designer James Dobson announced the news on Instagram last week. The grungy label, which celebrated androgyny and queerness with mesh tops, camp prints, and iconic graphic t-shirts, will wind down most of its operations by February, while continuing to produce t-shirts, caps, and socks.

“It is really sad, but it is not that I have lost the passion for it, I just feel very beaten down by this year, and I just think it is time for a change,” says Dobson on the Instagram video.

He started the label in 2004 on the floor of his bedroom in an Auckland apartment with a friend who taught him about patterns and cutting fabric. From there, Jimmy D achieved memorable collaborations with artists and notoriety as a subversive fashion label with a cult following.

“I’m super proud that there are entire looks of mine that are in the collection of Te Papa and the Dowse [Art Museum in Upper Hutt] that will be stored away for years to come.”

Te Papa has numerous Jimmy D silk pieces, including an over-sized Helvette t-shirt digitally printed with the designs from artist and musician Andrew McLeod.

"Dobson particularly made his mark on the fashion scene with his collaborations with a wide range of artists," says Claire Regnault, history curator at Te Papa.

She described the brand as having a "punk aesthetic" while remaining "infinitely wearable by a wide range of people of different ages, genders and body types, and will be missed by many."

Despite the label's broad appeal, the tough economic climate in recent years has led to the closure of other labels such as industry stalwart Kate Sylvester, finally came for Jimmy D. Dobson is also grieving the loss of his father, who died this year, he says.

“... I don’t have a lot left in the tank to keep pushing.”

Staying true to the brand’s ethics, producing clothing in New Zealand, and paying machinists a living wage were also challenging, he says.

“Cash flow is really tricky to manage. The margins are kinda non-existent unless you are producing offshore, but I’ve always been very proud of what we have done here locally.”

Others in the industry mourned the loss of Jimmy D in its current form, including Vicki Taylor, the founder and creative director of the Shelter, another New Zealand fashion label.

“From the very beginning, Jimmy D challenged our fashion landscape with oversized, androgynous silhouettes, humour, authenticity, and uncompromising craftsmanship,” Taylor wrote in an Instagram post.

“James is not only a visionary designer, but one of industry’s true treasures - respected, considered, and quietly brilliant."

Taylor lamented that Jimmy D’s downshift is a reminder of a wider reality for the New Zealand industry.

“At a time when international fast fashion floods our market with ease, local designers continue to fight quietly for survival.”

Jimmy D’s current collection and its entire archive can be purchased online. The brand is also hosting an in-store sale this weekend, from Friday, December 12, at 30 Cuba Street in Wellington. Customers can arrange special-made-to-order pieces from the label’s archive until February, says Dobson.

While Jimmy D will live on through the caps, t-shirts, and socks, Dobson is turning his attention to a new project that won’t be in fashion without giving too much detail.

“I am very proud that we lasted as long as we have against all the odds.”