House of Trobe
Come and take a peek inside the house of Trobe.
Here, a giant frolics between city buildings and landmarks with their arms outstretched and floating through the air. Beneath them, a green-skinned cat lover is making conversation with a hairy creature smoking a blunt. A juggling, unicycling trickster whizzes past them sporting chequered pants and an orange jester hat. They nearly knock over two long-nosed friends playing a game of chess on bikes.
This world full of fantastical, humorous self-expression makes up a clothing brand named Trobe.
Massey University Design student, Georgia Andersen is the creator of Trobe. The brand sells hoodies, shirts, beanies and prints all with unique illustrations. Georgia began the business at her home in Napier during her first year of high school. At age 14, she was struggling to understand who she was and how to express that through clothing.
“I thought I may as well try and make my own clothes. At the time I didn’t have any experience with drawing or anything. But I thought I would just freely draw and see what happens without expecting anything to come from it.”
The first illustration Georgia brought to life on paper was a little man with a surfboard on his head, and then a fish smoking a cigarette. After embroidering these characters on a shirt, Georgia found the experience had awakened something within herself.
“I felt really connected and felt a lot more like myself. It awakened something in me and I wanted to share that experience with other people.”
The word Trobe came to Georgia after misreading a quote due to her dyslexia. “I thought the end of it said ‘Trobe’ and I thought that sounded pretty cool. Turns out it actually said ‘To be’”. Despite this reading error, Trobe really resonated to Georgia, saying the name spoke to her and her vision.
Like the name of the brand, the characters Georgia creates for her clothing and prints are “a little bit different and a little bit goofy”. Trobe’s characters aren’t perfect or pretty, but that’s what makes them interesting. Their raw and rough appearances force people to think and use their imaginations. For Georgia, this is a way to explore the comfort of being different and acknowledging imperfections.
“Imperfections have more story and character”.
In 2022, Georgia reached out to the music festival Soundsplash asking if they had any spaces available where she could sell Trobe’s clothing and prints. This opportunity made everything feel very real for Georgia.
“Meeting different people and clothing companies at the festival was pretty insane, that felt like it was more serious as well.” Trobe now has a stall at the festival every year.
For Georgia, Trobe is her visual journal. It gives a preview into her world and imagination. When she first showed her world for everyone to see way back in 2018, she found the experience daunting because of how personal and exposing it was. But now, she welcomes the idea of allowing people to follow her journey of finding herself. In return, she hopes that others will be able to find and connect with themselves as well.
Trobe is a breath of fresh air in fashion, where people can celebrate being completely themselves. Whether this be a hairy creature smoking a blunt, a green-skinned cat lover, or a unicycling jester, Trobe won’t judge.
Website: https://www.trobeclothing.shop
Instagram: @trobe.clothing