Are you a real career girl? New Zealand brand Paris Georgia thinks so

Paris Georgia, the New Zealand-born fashion label helmed by Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia Cherrie, unveils a new collaboration with British artist Joe Sweeney that imagines the multiplicities of every kind of “Career Girl”.

Who gets to call themselves a “career girl”?

Paris Georgia designers Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia

It’s a label they’re championing through a new line of T-shirts released today, in collaboration with British conceptual artist Joe Sweeney. The designers say the partnership progressed after Joe’s original handprinted “Career Girl” T-shirt caught their eye.

They say Joe’s a dear friend and they’ve always admired his work.

The collaborators have celebrated the Career Girl moniker through a new photo series, captured by photographer Letty Schimiterlow and stylist Flora Huddart in London.

In the photos, interesting people of influence in London don the tees, including Wellington-born London restaurateur Margot Henderson, model of the year nominee Ava Claire, journalist and author Oteghau Wagba, Itchy Scratchy Patchy designer and artist Christabel McGreevy and film-maker and Viva cover star Lili Sumner.

In the shoot, the London-based “Career Girl” muses wear tops stamped with the moniker in bright red and shiny silver letters, styled with jewellery from New Zealand brand Naveya & Slaone and pieces from Paris Georgia’s resort 2025 collection.

The resort pieces are vibrant in both their hues, prints and material, featuring knits, velvets, sequins, faux fur, zebra prints, cherry reds and a highlighter blue colourway. The pairing of the two collections aims to amplify a sense of power, the designers told Viva.

“There are so many bold textures and prints so it feels like an ode to the strong, feminine “Career Girl” we aspire to and design for.”

Joe Sweeney’s work as an artist often explores the pitfalls and promises of communication (and is laced with a dry sense of irony), in forms including sculpture, installations, text and print.

Notable works from his portfolio include a 2019 installation and eventual short film called 28 Days In March … , which saw the British public share voice messages for Europe in the months ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU; an exhibition titled Times Are Hard For Dreamers featuring a series of sculptures and light-based pieces that highlight the difficulty in grounding creative practice in a buzzy, internet-ish world; and a painting series called Hung, Drawn and Quartered, which sees layers of canvas, calico and gesso combined to create a canvas that appears to be folded.

Text-stamped, handprinted T-shirts are common within Joe’s portfolio – iterations include tees that read ‘burger sauce £0.20′ and ‘muy fragil’ (with upwards arrows that point to the wearer).

“Career Girl” expands their approach, exploring what Paris Georgia’s chic and sleek offerings could look like when spun with a sense of humour. The collaboration seems to incorporate Joe’s wry perspective as well as the tongue-in-cheek connotations of the word “girl” (which has been imbued with plenty of irony in a post-girl boss internet environment that has refashioned the word to allude to a mindset and shared sense of humour rather than a specific age or gender).

The base of the collaboration in London also speaks to the global ambitions of the Paris Georgia brand – Georgia is based in London and the duo have been expanding their approach within international fashion markets (earlier this year, Paris Georgia also looked the US in a collaboration with Stephanie Sheperd for their Elemental campaign). The designers highlight London as an “incredibly inspiring” city to work in.

“We can’t wait to build our community here and celebrating these incredible people feels like the beginning of that.”

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