Davaar and Sylvester recently came together for a collaboration that exceeded all expectations — a meeting of two New Zealand family businesses grounded in good design, natural fibre and a shared belief in making things well.

It also arrived at a significant moment for the Sylvester brand. In response to the realities of the current retail climate, and with a desire to place more time and attention on family, Ike, Tom and Cosmo, together with Kate and Wayne, made the difficult decision to close Sylvester, ending trading in early 2027.

As an homage to the brand and the remarkable legacy on which it was built, Davaar will continue to share the Davaar x Sylvester collaborative pieces until the final lengths of distinctive Sylvester red strong wool have been knitted.

For Ike Conway, fashion was not necessarily inevitable. Creativity, however, probably was.

It began with drawing comic books, moved into fine art, and eventually found its way into graphic design, brand building and fashion. Growing up as the son of designer Kate Sylvester and creative director Wayne Conway meant the industry was always close at hand, but stepping into the family business was never treated as a foregone conclusion.

Ike and his brothers, Tom and Cosmo, were regularly asked whether they would one day take it over — particularly when all three moved to Wellington to study a mix of fashion, graphic and industrial design. Even then, Ike says, none of them seriously considered the possibility until Kate announced the closure of her namesake label.

“When the opportunity truly presented itself, that was when it came into focus.”

The brothers went on to lead Sylvester together, carrying forward a family business with more than three decades of history while creating something that also spoke to their own generation.

The arrangement worked, Ike says, because the brothers had always been close. There was an ease and trust between them, although that familiarity also left little room for polite restraint.

“We trust each other’s ideas wholeheartedly, but that also means we aren’t afraid to say exactly what we feel. Things can get heated. At the end of the day, though, we all want to make really cool things, and we don’t hold grudges.”

There was a certain weight that came with inheriting one of New Zealand’s most admired fashion legacies. Ike admitted it could feel daunting, but the responsibility was shared, both between the brothers and across generations.

“The ideas we inherited from Mum and Dad are intergenerational, and that is something we try to weave into Sylvester.”

Among the most important lessons passed down by Kate and Wayne was the need to create with balance. Each collection carried forward what had worked before while making room for the pieces the team simply felt compelled to make.

That balance offered confidence when designing months ahead, something Ike considered essential to a sustainable creative practice.

“Nothing sucks more than losing confidence in yourself.”

Sylvester was intended to feel like an evolution rather than a clean break from what came before. Deciding what to preserve, reinterpret or introduce was a combination of instinct, detailed reporting and ongoing conversations about what the team genuinely wanted in its own wardrobes.

“One of the most fun parts is bringing an idea or a gap in the wardrobe to the team and saying, ‘I need this. Let’s make this.’ It feels like everyone on the team has presented an idea for a piece that has eventually been made. Everyone has their piece.”

That same instinct informed the collaboration between Sylvester and Davaar. Both are family-run New Zealand brands with a shared respect for provenance, natural fibre and garments designed to remain useful well beyond a single season.

For Ike and the Sylvester team, the opportunity to make something locally alongside another family business felt immediately right.

“We love good knitwear and adore making it. When Davaar approached us, we were so stoked to be able to create something here together.”

The approach was deliberately restrained. Rather than transforming the original Davaar garments, the team wanted to honour what was already there.

“When Kate at Davaar sent us a selection of pieces to try, we immediately fell in love. Adding a red stripe felt like the perfect little touch of Sylvester. It complemented the knitwear while keeping it timeless and true to Davaar.”

That idea of endurance was central to the way Ike thought about clothes more broadly. He believed his generation was asking more from the garments it bought and the businesses it supported — particularly when it came to quality, transparency and longevity.

“I want clothes that age gracefully and that I can trust will still be wearable for seasons to come. Considered consumption from small brands is where it’s at.”

His own wardrobe was similarly uncomplicated. Ike preferred clothing that reflected his laid-back character, without too much fuss. The Davaar x Sylvester jersey quickly became part of that daily uniform.

“It embodies that perfectly. I wear it almost every day.”

Music was another constant in both Ike’s life and the wider Sylvester story. Kate and Wayne introduced their sons to it from an early age, and it found its way into nearly every collection, whether through a campaign, a reference point or the atmosphere surrounding the design process.

For one of the brand’s final collections, the team created a playlist with a strong French influence. It played repeatedly in the studio, helping to establish the creative mood of the work as a whole.

Away from the day to day demands of the brand, Ike found inspiration through travel, time with friends and going to the gym. These moments offered something equally important: the chance to switch off and be creative without an expected outcome.

“Being able to turn off is a mental necessity if you want to be creatively consistent each week. You have to turn off sometimes, even when it feels unnatural.”

For Ike and his brothers, working within a well-known family legacy, that balance was perhaps one of the most valuable inheritances of all: knowing what to carry forward, what to make your own, and when to step away long enough to return with fresh eyes.

As Sylvester shares its final inspired collections, I want to acknowledge how much I have learned from working alongside this remarkable creative family. I look forward to seeing where Ike, Tom and Cosmo take their talents next. Whatever comes, this family will always be a part of mine.

Kate x