Bea Lorimer: Heke Design Founder

On Waiheke Island, sustainability is more than a trend – it’s part of the culture. But few designers embody that ethos quite as naturally as upcycling and sustainability expert Bea Lorimer, founder of Heke Designs.

Before building her Waiheke-based label, Bea spent years travelling internationally with major music artists including k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, The Tragically Hip and Diana Krall and Lady Gaga as a costume designer. Since then she has worked behind the scenes in theatre wardrobes, studied fashion design, raised a child and built a creative business transforming discarded garments into contemporary fashion.

Yet when she reflects on it, the thread connecting everything has always been there: a love of making things, a respect for materials and a deep reluctance to waste.

Early lessons in making do

Bea was born in Australia but grew up mainly in Vancouver, Canada, where her childhood was shaped by her mother’s practical approach to clothing and household life.

Her mother had grown up in England during the years of wartime rationing, when fabric and clothing were precious commodities. That experience left a lasting imprint on how she viewed consumption.

“She was very conscious about not wasting things,” Bea says. “Repairing clothes and using things well was just normal.”

Her mother also sewed much of the family’s clothing. In the days before fast fashion, making garments at home was often the more affordable option and sewing was a practical household skill. Watching her mother sew planted an early familiarity with textiles and construction, even if Bea didn’t initially imagine it becoming a career.

Discovering thrift store fashion

As a teenager, Bea developed a fascination with second-hand clothing long before vintage fashion became mainstream.

While many of her friends bought their clothes new, she gravitated toward thrift stores, army surplus shops and unexpected finds. The appeal wasn’t just about saving money – it was about originality.

“I loved the idea that you could find something nobody else had,” she says. “You could put pieces together in your own way.”

Not everyone shared her enthusiasm. One friend even told her the idea of wearing second-hand clothing was strange – “like wearing dead people’s clothing.”

But Bea saw potential rather than stigma. Those early experiences searching through racks of forgotten garments would later become central to the philosophy behind Heke Designs.

Fashion school and creative exploration

Although Bea had always been creative, it wasn’t until later that she formally studied fashion. However for the most part, she was a self-taught or “mom sewer”.

At the same time, she was exploring a wide range of artistic and cultural environments. Music, performance and visual arts were all part of her world, helping shape a broader understanding of style and expression. Those experiences would later influence the distinctive aesthetic of her designs.

Life on the road

One of the most unusual chapters in Bea’s working life came through the music industry. For a time she travelled internationally with major touring artists including k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, The Tragically Hip and Diana Krall, working in wardrobe roles that required both creativity and practical problem-solving.

Touring life moves quickly and costumes need to survive constant use, travel and quick repairs. Working in that environment sharpened Bea’s ability to adapt, improvise and keep garments functioning under pressure.

“It was an incredible experience,” she recalls. “You’re travelling, meeting people from all over the world, and working in this fast-moving creative environment.”

While the world of rock tours may seem far removed from sustainable fashion, the experience deepened her understanding of clothing as both craft and performance.

Theatre, costumes and storytelling

After her time touring, Bea continued working in wardrobe roles, including dance and theatre productions.

Theatre costumes are often about storytelling as much as aesthetics. Designers must think about character, movement, durability and how garments interact with stage lighting and performance.

Working in this environment further developed Bea’s technical skills while reinforcing the creative possibilities of clothing. It also strengthened her appreciation for garments as objects that carry narrative and personality.

A shift toward sustainability

Over time, Bea became increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

Fast fashion had transformed clothing production worldwide, making garments cheaper but also more disposable. Mountains of textile waste were becoming a growing problem.

For someone who had grown up with a strong ethic of reuse and repair, the scale of waste felt deeply troubling.

“I’ve always found it hard to throw things away,” Bea says. “There’s so much fabric and clothing that still has life in it.”

Gradually, she began exploring ways to incorporate reclaimed materials into her work.

The beginnings of Heke Design

The idea that would become Heke Design developed from a defining moment when Bea saw how much clothing op shops were throwing out. “I knew I had to do something about it.”

Bea began experimenting with transforming second-hand garments into new pieces. Shirts, dresses and other items could be dismantled, re-cut and combined into entirely new forms.

Each garment offered a puzzle: how to work with the existing fabric while creating something contemporary and wearable.

“That’s what I love about it,” Bea says. “You’re constantly solving creative problems with the materials you have.”

That approach eventually evolved into a clear creative direction, and Heke Design was born.

The name reflects both place and philosophy, connecting Bea’s work to the creative culture of Waiheke while acknowledging the layered history of the materials she uses.

Designing with what already exists

One of the defining characteristics of Heke Design is that many pieces begin with garments that have already lived a previous life.

Rather than starting with rolls of new fabric, Bea often begins with second-hand clothing sourced from op shops or textile waste streams.

Working this way requires a different design mindset. Instead of imposing a concept on new fabric, the design process often begins with the materials themselves.

“I look at the fabric and think about what it wants to become,” she explains.

That process can lead to unexpected combinations and unique outcomes, meaning no two pieces are exactly the same.

Craft, patience and reinvention

Upcycling clothing is often more labour-intensive than creating garments from new fabric.

Existing seams must be unpicked, fabrics assessed for strength and patterns adapted to fit irregular pieces. Existing clothing is carefully examined for its most usable sections and interesting details before new patterns are created around those elements.

Each garment carries traces of its past life while being transformed into something new.

“There’s something really satisfying about taking something that might have been discarded and giving it another life,” Bea says.

The result is clothing that feels both contemporary and deeply personal.

Creativity rooted in place

Living and working on Waiheke Island also shapes Bea’s design approach. The island has a strong creative community and its slower rhythm encourages thoughtful making rather than rapid production.

For Bea, that environment aligns perfectly with the philosophy behind Heke Design.

Instead of producing large seasonal collections, she focuses on smaller runs and individually crafted pieces. This allows her to remain flexible and responsive to the materials she finds. It also means customers are often buying garments that feel genuinely unique.

A growing appreciation for slow fashion

 

In recent years, interest in sustainable and slow fashion has grown significantly.

Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and ethical implications of the clothing they buy. As a result, designers who prioritise reuse and responsible production are gaining greater visibility.

For Bea, this shift is encouraging but also somewhat ironic.

“I’ve been doing this kind of thing for a long time,” she says with a laugh. “Now suddenly people are calling it sustainable fashion.”

Regardless of labels, her motivation remains simple: to create beautiful clothing while wasting as little as possible.

Looking ahead

As Heke Design continues to evolve, Bea remains focused on creativity rather than scale. Her goal isn’t mass production but thoughtful design – garments that people will wear, appreciate and keep.

In many ways, that approach returns to the values she learned in childhood: respect for materials, careful making and a belief that clothing should last.

Those principles may once have been considered old-fashioned. Today, they feel increasingly relevant.

And through Heke Designs, Bea is proving that fashion’s future may lie not in producing more, but in reimagining what already exists.

Read more about Bea in the media here

To speak to Bea, contact us here.