About Us

nzulu is a return home

A culmination of life experiences.

Local and Global.

Shirley White was born in Zimbabwe, back when it was called Rhodesia.

As a young girl, Shirley migrated from Africa to Dunedin, New Zealand.

If anything is going to test your cross-cultural appreciation then perhaps this bold move was a sign of things to come.

Fortunately Shirley fell in love with the South Island.

Snow, sheepdogs, bush-walks, cheese rolls.

Shirley finished her schooling at Otago Girls and then completed her studies at Otago University.

She then found herself managing a retail fashion store, Farry's Fashions, in George Street, Dunedin and this provided an entry-point to the fashion industry and a lifelong passion was established. She spent 15 years in retail fashion in Dunedin including 4 years running her own boutique.

Since then Shirley has worked in Christchurch, Sydney and Melbourne.

In Sydney she managed stores of iconic brands, United Colors of Benetton and Guess Jeans (USA).

While based in Melbourne, Shirley managed high-end retail fashion store, Cose Ipanema, with European brands, Dries Van Noten, Comme Des Garcons and Girbaud.

After nearly 20 years in Australia, Shirley returned home to New Zealand to spend more time with her daughter, Selena, and grand-daughter, Sasha.

Nzulu was founded in 2018.

It represents an alloy of African heritage, love of New Zealand and a sensibility that endorses cross-cultural design aesthetics and ideas.

Shirley has hand-picked select items from designers she has sourced internationally.

Limited editions enable Nzulu to provide clients with unique pieces while remaining fresh and ever-changing as new designs enter the collection.

We hope you enjoy what's here.

And we look forward to what's around the corner....