Whether your preference is oversized or cinched at the waist and impeccably tailored, the blazer is, to use a fashion cliche, one of those hard working wardrobe classics. It’s also a piece that you will generally always find in a local designer’s collection, no matter the season: a New Zealand fashion perennial. Often they will simply update a well-loved style in a new fabric or colours – a reminder that sometimes, you do not need to reinvent the wheel.

The blazer is also a key part of what’s being described as ‘corporate core’: a ‘new’ embrace of traditional workwear. One of my favourite Substacks, Feed Me, recently wrote about the rise of “corporate fetish” – think Monica Lewinsky in Reformation’s workwear campaign, oversized suits, the romanticising of the traditional office, Miu Miu’s recent show, fashion’s recent love of grey – describing it as the antidote to the recent ‘girlhood’ trend. There’s also the ‘office siren’ or Bayonetta aesthetic that you may have seen on your TikTok feed: Gisele’s cameo in The Devil Wears Prada is the style prototype – glasses, a pencil skirt, some kind of white shirt and a black blazer and pumps – while Bayonetta is the name of the anime character who wears those skinny spectacle frames (if you're exhausted just reading that... me too).

If that appeals – or you just want something nice and smart – there are lots of outerwear options from NZ fashion designers for autumn, whether it’s Kate Sylvester’s loose-fit tailoring in shades of berry, white and olive, Karen Walker’s classic double breasted suiting or Paris Georgia’s belted version in zesty lime. I have my eye on Harris Tapper’s ‘Tilmens’ blazer, a collarless cropped option that blurs the line between blazer and jacket. Below, a few other local options recommended (and worn) by the Ensemble team.

A related aside: retail is struggling. I know it anecdotally, talking to designers and to people who shop but aren’t right now; and I can tell, by the number of sample, archive, 'private' and closing down sales. Also, the numbers don’t lie: recent figures from Stats NZ and reported by RNZ showed that retail spending using electronic cards fell 1.8% in February on the month before, and categories like clothing saw the biggest decline.

With that in mind: if you can, I urge you to shop and support your favourite local. This selection of blazers are all expensive, even without the dark cloud of recession and the cost of living crisis – and I know that you don’t need any of them, as the headline suggests. But if you are able to buy something new at the moment, buy it from a local designer or store, and get something that you’ll keep and wear for a long time.

Kate Sylvester oversized blazer, $729 (made in NZ)

"Blazers are a heavily utilised silhouette in my wardrobe and probably the item I own the most of (apart from boring white-tees.) Like Rebecca, I enjoy the boxy structure they add to my short frame, often they hit about where my skirts end so I often wear them as a proxy for a coat in autumn and spring. I'm also (needlessly) self-conscious about my midsection so I also appreciate their ability to skim over that area when my inner critic gets chatty.

This longline Kate Sylvester version appeals because the deep olive colour is exciting enough to differentiate it from the many navy, black and grey versions already hanging in my wardrobe without being too niche to limit its wear. The curved hem and patch pockets give it an academia tinged feel not dissimilar to this checked one Alexa Chung wore recently and I've saved away for inspiration." - Tyson Beckett, reporter

Karen Walker pinstripe double-breasted blazer, $525

"I love a slightly oversized yet tailored blazer. Sometimes I may question the appropriateness, cleanliness, or fit of an older beloved dress from the back of the wardrobe – but throw on a chic blazer and voila! All those fears dissipate.

But I’d never wear it with heels or other work attire. Here, I’m wearing it with boots from The Row, an ‘old’ (maybe four years?) Juliette Hogan pleated dress, and my current favourite red lipstick." - Rebecca Wadey, co-founder

Marle blazer, $450

"I had a pretty sweet collection of blazers in my rambunctious youth – a white and black striped Beetlejuice one, an oversized navy one with a faint stencil of Old Dirty Bastard spray-painted on the back (lol).

These days if I’m going to wear a blazer I just want to look chic as hell, and I think white is as fresh as it gets. I’m wearing it with some Tony Bianco black boots, a vintage J Crew mini skirt and a pop of red, my new favourite styling trick." - Lara Daly, publishing coordinator

Penny Sage corduroy blazer, $690 (made in NZ; available late April)

"Blazers are not really my thing anymore – certain styles and brands give me ‘throw it over your shoulders like a cape girl boss’ PTSD, plus the Stuff office has quite a casual dress code – but I am partial to an actual vintage or vintage-inspired version, like this from Penny Sage.

Brown corduroy reminds me of Miu Miu, Jarvis Cocker, the 1970 film Love Story, professors and nerds – all big personal style influences. I'm wearing it with my Twenty-seven Names blouse (though when the weather cools down I’d layer it over a classic black polo neck with a long gold pendant) and Le Bon Shoppe denim skirt." - Zoe Walker Ahwa, editor