1951: Columbine

August 2, 2025

By AHNZ

One of Gisborne’s oldest family-owned businesses at nearly 75 years is now closing. Columbine (est.1951) is done.

“Managing director Michael Thorpe expressed his deep sadness over the decision…He said 45 roles will be disestablished, with the closure on August 1, and extended his “heartfelt thanks” to all staff members.”

“It was driven by a combination of declining sales and increased operational costs, which made it unsustainable to continue manufacturing in Gisborne.” – NZ Herald (2025)

They had an extremely iconic TV advertisement in this video.

Yet another case of New Zealand increasingly becoming an exporter of raw materials for other economies to add value to. We then import those products back into our country to consume. Still haven’t figured out how a nation can get rich that way? Me either.

A couple of great examples from our fashion history in which Columbine played a decisive role were in the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. These were 2 occasions where the Hemline Index dropped down to very short skirts but New Zealand women were reluctant to join in. New Zealand, being a cultural colony, had to follow the trend. Columbine provided the gateway: “The thought of girls showing their legs horrified them and it wasn’t until Columbine came out with the first pantyhose that minis became easier for us to sell.” Ref.  Bill Hall, Society Fashions, nzfashionmuseum.org.nz

After the 1960s mini skirt trend hemlines shot right down again. Consider Early Seventies ‘Oil Shock’ Hemlines (AHNZ.) It would be extremely interesting to interview a member of the Thorpe family, Columbine’s owners, to see how well they understood this trend. In the early part of the 2020s women have been extremely revealing in their clothing choices and sexual display. But this has happened before and always precedes a period of ‘conservative’ modesty where it again becomes ‘cool’ to cover up again. In the past Columbine have been there to earn the rewards of supplying that need but evidently could not hang in for a bit longer to serve us one more time.

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Image ref. Columbine Hosiery, Facebook (2018)

Note: Question to AHNZ: “I guess they didn’t ‘libertarian’ hard enough, did they?”

AHNZ: Took $700,000 from The State during the COVID scam and tried to turn stockings into face masks. Maybe you think they picked the wrong side and never recovered? I didn’t include that in my post.

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