About Catalyst
The Catalyst woman does not go unnoticed. She likes to stand out in a crowd, and to be playful with her wardrobe. She is the woman who raises eyebrows when she steps into a lift full of grey suits. She represents the ‘sparkling ingredient’ we’d all love to have in our lives.
Each season our Catalyst designers interpret the themes and trends of the day into a collection that represents a fusion of opposites. Masculine meets feminine, sporty meets luxury, flirty meets serious. Colour, texture and style is expressed in unconventional ways to ensure the Catalyst woman truly sparkles.
Great importance is placed on sourcing quality fabrics and interesting trims – a signature feature of the Catalyst range. Above all else, exclusive prints are the cornerstone of the Catalyst collection, providing a very unique handwriting that has a dedicated following.
Catalyst is one of four brands from High Society, a New Zealand based fashion company with a 40 year history. Others includeObi, Chocolat and Mosaic.
DESIGNER
Jane Laird-Pick has been the Catalyst designer since 2006, a role that follows several years experience in the Fashion Industry. Starting her career in fashion retail, she later went on to graduate top of her class, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fashion Design and Technology from AUT. Since then Jane’s career path has taken her through several different areas of the industry - Sales & Marketing, Textiles, Production and Design, giving her a broad base of experience and knowledge to draw on.
With inspiration coming in many shapes and forms, Jane’s creativity is also fuelled by her lifelong passion for fashion. Her design aesthetic plays on the juxtaposition of opposing elements, providing endless opportunities to explore the idiosyncrasies that occur when mixing feminine and masculine references, and contemporary and traditional influences, with modern styling. Known for her use of gorgeous exclusive prints, Jane often splices these back with stripes, checks and plains, and uses further hints of sporty, sexy and sweet elements to continue the fusion of opposites that influences each collections’ development. The result is label that has a unique handwriting, and a point of difference in today’s market place; clothing that allows the wearer to express her personality and have some fun with her wardrobe.
Bringing a sense of her own personal style to the Catalyst collection and with a sharp eye for detail, Jane continues to re-invent the label’s much loved signature look season after season, to the delight of many loyal Catalyst lovers throughout New Zealand and across Australia.
