Packing for New Zealand with Rebecca Taylor

When New Zealand-born Rebecca Taylor moved to NYC in the ‘90s to work in fashion—first at Cynthia Rowley and later building her own eponymous womenswear brand known for its feminine, vintage-inspired styles—she imagined she’d never go home again. But after selling her company (and her name) in 2019 and returning from a sabbatical in Paris only to find herself trapped in Brooklyn during Covid, she decided to uproot her family—the artist Wayne Pate and their three teenagers—back to her hometown of Wellington. With unprecedented freedom to reflect and spend time with her mother, a skilled seamstress who’d taught her to sew as a child, she found herself pulling out her Singer and going back to basics. “I started to create clothing for how I live now,” she says. Those designs became the basis for A’Court (a family name): effortless, mostly cotton pieces—blouses, dresses, pants—that are functional, seasonless (a deliberate rejection of the industry’s cycles of waste), and inspired by the raw beauty of the New Zealand landscape and rugged heroines of her favorite Victorian novels. The clothes are all incredibly practical for travel, too—meant to be washed and air dried, not pressed.

Though Rebecca and her family returned to Brooklyn in 2025, she makes regular trips back to NZ, and has mastered the art of the 17-hour long-haul flight. Below, she shares her travel uniform, in-flight routines, and a few favorite discoveries in Wellington. —Alex Postman

What’s your go-to luggage for this kind of trip and why? 

Flying to New Zealand is a long trip, so when I go, I’m staying at least a couple of weeks. I have a Muji roller bag in greige that I check in—I’ve had it for years and it’s almost indestructible. It’s very generic looking, so I always tie a ribbon on the handle to distinguish it on the carousel. I carry a small Jill Sander crossbody that fits passports/boarding passes etc and I also always have a few Baggu totes with me to carry my long-haul flight essentials—my favorites being my silver metallic bag and my leopard printed one, which can double as an evening bag on my journey. 

Are you a roller or a folder?

Roller all the way.

How do you approach the basics? 

I only wear A’court shirts – always our Hope blouse in Thistle (a dusty pink) and I often have a Poppy blouse in rotation—it’s like an artist’s smock. They are prewashed, and I love the way they look when I cold wash and hang them to dry. I prefer to wear them like this rather than perfectly ironed; it also makes them ideal for traveling, as access to irons is sometimes tricky. It’s a pet peeve of mine that people dress too casually for travel nowadays, so I avoid anything that might suggest athleisure and stick to either voluminous skirts like La Jupe or the new Ellis pant, which I’m pretty sure will become my fave go-to. I’ll also bring a well-worn pair of Italian army surplus pants, men’s Stan Ray fatigue pants in white, or my custom Duncan McLean jeans, a Wellington brand made from Japanese denim.

Also always in my suitcase are a couple of extremely well-loved St James striped tops—I love how soft and thin they have become. It’s rare to need a heavy coat in New Zealand, so I tend to leave that in NYC and dash from taxi to terminal if needed, but sometimes I’ll bring my Mac Pac puffer, which is made in New Zealand. And my men’s pajamas from Muji.

Any other hero items or packing tricks/hacks?  

I favor lightweight cashmere sweaters that pack well and always look polished—men’s Uniqlo cashmere are the perfect weight and I pick them up at the end of the season for a bargain. I tend to wear similar clothes for all occasions and dress them up with a bit of lip stain—the Ilia Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm in neutral cranberry, which doubles as a blush, maybe a spritz of a travel-sized perfume I always have with me. Le Labo has a small size that you can bring on board with you, and I love their Neroli one. 

What’s your shoe strategy?

I bring one pair of workhorse sneakers for hiking and long walks on the beach—my workhorse sneakers are my black ASICS. I also usually have a pair of white Bensimons in rotation—I love the low-fi look and comfort. Recently, I’ve also packed the Sperry moccasin for Artizia, the Bode Opera Pump in black (they have a small heel, are soft and packable reality flat), as well as velvet Venetian slippers for onboard to avoid surprises with late-night trips to the loo on board. 

How do you think about accessories?

Minimally. I don’t travel with anything really precious, because I don’t want to feel sad if I lose it. I love 45 RPM bandanas and have a really pretty pink one that is great for a little colour. I travel with a pair of small gold hoops with tiny diamonds, my evil eye (a lovely friend of mine gave it to me and it looks after me when she’s not there), my floating heart diamond necklace that my sister Victoria made for me, and a gold Florentine coin I brought early one morning in Florence when I was out taking in the scene before the heat set in for the day. 

Do you have a travel uniform?  

The airport can be really hot, and running to make connections makes you even hotter…. My Bensimons, which are great for security and look good with a full long skirt, or the Ellis pant. Always a crisp blouse, though white can be tricky, so I tend to go for one of my striped options like the Poppy in chambray stripe. Sometimes with a really thin cashmere turtleneck underneath—the one I have from Joseph is on its last legs, but the perfect weight. My Uniqlo men’s cashmere sweater in navy or black, which I also use as a scarf/wrap, so I have as little bulk as possible on board. And I always wear my favorite cashmere socks. 

How about a great travel hat?

We were taught from a young age to always wear a hat in New Zealand, as the sun is notoriously strong. I have an old Nantucket baseball cap of my dad’s that I wear, and I also love this straw hat from our friends at Atelier Vime in the South of France.

What’s always in your toiletry bag/pharmacy kit? 

I swear by my Liberty toiletry bag. My onboard kit always includes Dr Hauschka Rose Day Cream, which I can’t live without, Revlon Emery Boards compact and dual sides (my mum always carried them), and 4711 travel towelettes. These have long been my go-to for instant freshness on the go: I first smelled 4711 in the ‘70s on my first overnight flight from New Zealand to England on Singapore Airlines—they handed them out after the meal service—and the smell always takes me right back in an olfactory time machine and the excitement of moving with my family to another country. I’ll also pack Neutrogena Fresh Face Wipes, a toothbrush, and mini Marvis toothpaste in licorice flavour. 

My favorite oil cleanser is Margaret Hema Facial Cleansing Oil, and I always have a daily sunscreen (Supergoop), for the aforementioned New Zealand sun. I also always travel with Hourglass tinted moisturizer and a tinted lip balm—my favorite is Ilia, and I have every colour imaginable. Plus my Goe oil that’s good for hair, skin, and body and smells amazing. My pharmacy kit includes Advil PM (for flying and jet lag—it’s not available in New Zealand) and Systan Gel eye drops. 

On a plane, what essentials does your carry-on bag always contain?

Lightweight slippers for walking around the darkened cabin, a flat refillable water bottle (it looks like I’m drinking gin, but I love it because it slips down into my bag), a small Mason Pearson hair brush, and a book. I usually use a Kindle as I love to read samples, but I always have a novella with me in case it loses power. (Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea or Quartet) and a laptop in case the plane is delayed or diverted, I can still get online and work. A bag of plain Mn’Ms  is also a must when you need a pick-me-up as you stumble into the New Zealand Immigration queue at 6 am.

Also indispensable: My Manta SOUND Sleep Mask with bluetooth has changed sleep on flights and off. I just download white noise and sleep through any crying babies. And a neck pillow—the Turtl is weird, but works!

Any wisdom on travelling with electronics?  

I always have a USB cord that can work on the plane—vital to have a full battery on your phone upon landing, and a power pack that is approved to take on board.

Any tips for surviving a 17-hour flight?!

My advice is to break it into 3 chunks. The first chunk you’re going to eat, watch a movie—I recommend a hard-to-put-down TV series so you can dip in and out and binge an entire season. Don’t put your seat back right away, or it won’t feel like you’re reclining later. Stay hydrated. Walk up and down the plane. The second chunk is your sleeping portion, aided by a couple of melatonin or Tylenol PM and a good travel pillow (mentioned above). Get up and do a circuit of the airplane. In the third chunk, before they start breakfast service, I take the time to wash my face and brush my teeth, tidy up the seating area, and drink a cup of coffee… all these rituals that help you feel that time is passing. Finish your binge watch and plan the day ahead. We typically arrive in NZ at 6am and my rule of thumb for jet lag is simply to pretend that it’s your time and don’t think back to what time it feels like. Otherwise you just get sucked under like Freddy Kruger pulling you beneath the bed. 

Is there anything you buy in New Zealand that you leave space for on the way back? 

Our favorite part of living in Wellington was the native birds. A dear friend of mine, Niels Meyer-Westfeld, is an incredible artist and draws these exquisitely detailed birds. I have his book, Land of Birds: An Illustrated Tribute to the Birds of New Zealand, and like to bring back some of his work so I feel at home. 

I always pick up a couple of extra custom-made denim pants from DJM in New Town. The fit is perfect for me and it’s the only jean I’ll wear. 

New Zealand has amazing wines that are hard to find in NY. While anywhere else in the world we love Sauvignon Blancs, I can’t drink “Sauvs,” as they’re affectionately called in NZ (or headache in a bottle). Instead, I go for the amazing reds from Waiheke Island, my favourite being the Man o’ War, and for whites I love the wines from Central Otago.

Now tell us about your home town! Any favorite places to eat/drink, shop, swim, explore, or be inspired in Wellington? 

For breakfast, Goods Manufactory and Cafe have the best pastries I’ve had anywhere in the world. It’s right next to where our PM used to live, so it wasn’t unusual to see Jacinda Ardern and her baby and hubby in tow picking up a cardamom roll.

Picnic Cafe for lunch is an absolute must. Springtime is perfect to sit outside and admire the ducklings amongst the native fern and shrubs. Also, at dusk, the walkway is lined with glow worms, a magical treat.

Astoria Espresso – A great wine bar in a beautiful park. Steve the manager is our guy here. He looks after us and is always friendly and inviting. Happy hour here is always fun and you’re invariably going to bump into someone you know. 

We often have dinner at The Little Sprig in Seatoun, where I grew up. It’s a small gastropub, where everyone knows your name, and your sisters’ and your cousins’…. It’s the smaller offshoot of Sprig and Fern. We like to bring the whole family down to dine at a large shared table and if you’re lucky, you can sit outside on a calm night and enjoy a local wine.

If you’re not eating at The Little Sprig, you can order oysters and chips to collect after your aperitif and take them down to Seatoun Wharf to eat. Frank at Huckle & Co has known my kids since they were tiny and is always so pleased to see them when we come.

The Wellington Cable Car is super nostalgic. It’s been revamped since I was a little girl, and now has an amazing light show. If we didn’t walk into the city, we would take this.

At City Gallery, there are always amazing shows on. For a tiny gallery it packs a lot of punch, and it’s in a beautiful old building, too.

Scenic Saunas are amazing—they travel around to different beaches all year round as we love swimming in the ocean, no matter the weather.

We love to take the ferry over to Days Bay and visit friends, Neils (the bird artist) and Deb, who are artists and ceramists. I love her work (Deb and I studied fashion design together in Wellington and lived together in NYC in the ‘90s) and have brought her ceramic light shades to hang in our kitchen. They live in an incredible house that you get to via a crude cable car—it reminds me of Jurassic Park, as you go through the native bush. It’s a fun thing to bring a bottle of rose on board as you go up, and the views at the top of Days Bay are incredible. 

The Saint James Theatre is absolutely beautiful…I always try to get tickets when I’m in Wellington for the opera, ballet, and orchestra. There are some amazing performances with home-grown talent.

Te Papa Museum – A must see when in town: a brilliant museum highlighting New Zealand histories, mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and Pacific cultures. 

For beaches, we love Oriental Bay in the summer. It’s in the city, with golden sand and clear water—magical on a good day. For winter dips, we head to Worser Bay, where the travelling sauna is the best.