Commercial Bay will not only be home to some of the city's hottest new bars and eateries, there's also a tonne of top-notch retailers joining the ranks. Mixing up brands new and old, from here and abroad, one thing's for sure—you're going to want to bring along a whole lot of self control with that wallet.
Here are the shops we're most looking forward to checking out.
Kate Spade
If you're a fan of high fashion, this one will come as exciting news. Kate Spade started in New York almost 30 years ago with a line of just six handbags—today that brand has grown to include clothing, footwear, jewellery, eyewear, fragrance, gifts and homewares, and is sold in countries all over the globe. With a focus on playful designs, it's easy to see why this label has such universal appeal and personally, we can't get enough. In fact, you may have to fight us for one of their (highly-coveted) elephant handbags. Just saying.
Superette
Edmund Hillary
Kiwi legend, Sir Edmund Hillary is the inspiration behind this premium new clothing brand and the best bit is, you don't have to climb Mt Everest to enjoy it. Drawing inspiration from his famous 1953 expedition, the Edmund Hillary range includes jackets, hats and more for both men and women, all made from long-lasting, natural materials in fashionable colours for the ultimate 'cool'.
ECOYA
Oh, how we love ourselves an ECOYA candle. So you can imagine our excitement at the prospect of having an entire store of these soy-based beauties to investigate, along with a range of equally lovely diffusers and bodycare products. Designed with the help of leading perfumers and fragrance experts in a range of dreamy scents (French Pear, Vanilla Bean and Sweet Pea & Jasmine to name a few), ECOYA's candles really are the only candles we need in our lives.
SOLECT
They say shoes maketh the outfit, so dress your feet up in something sharp from SOLECT. These guys sell a great selection of kicks from all of your fave global footwear brands, including Converse, Vans, Adidas, Dr Martins and Lacoste. Our advice? If the shoe fits, buy it.
Cos
Hot on the heels of its flagship store opening at Westfield Newmarket in March is Cos' second New Zealand location. This much-loved fashion brand comes to us via London and marries art and design with classic, timeless pieces that won't be amiss in any Urban Lister's wardrobe.
Maje
Yu Mei
You'll already know that the UL team are huge supporters of sustainability—throw some fashion into the mix, and we're even more sold. That's where local brand Yu Mei comes in. Commercial Bay will be home to their very first store, where you'll find beautifully-crafted, super stylish leather bags made from premium deer nappa that would otherwise go to landfill. Furthermore, they offer a 'buy back' initiative whereby gently cared-for bags can be returned and resold, giving them a second life. Winning.
Image credit: Commercial Bay, Kate Spade, Edmund Hillary, Solect, Maje