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Peri Drysdale, CEO/Founder
The parent company of Untouched World™, Snowy Peak Limited, was founded over 27 years ago by a nurse named Peri Drysdale who knew nothing about business, a nurse that didn’t know the difference between an invoice and a statement, or a debtor and creditor. In fact, a nurse who didn’t know how to knit either - something that most business people don’t need to know how to do, but a useful skill when starting up a cottage industry producing knitted garments. Despite this, within four years Peri had over 500 home knitters creating garments for her.
By the mid-nineties, Peri couldn’t get it out of her head that the international market would find a well-executed New Zealand lifestyle brand a breath of fresh air. There were so many American casual look-alike brands on the market. Knowing that within the next three years New Zealand would be on the world stage hosting APEC and The Americas Cup, the Sydney Olympics just over the ditch and the celebration of the new Millennium, she believed might just be possible to launch such a brand.
At the same time, as Peri travelled around the world selling her original knitwear brand, Snowy Peak™, she became concerned at the environmental degradation she was witnessing. Whole tracts of ocean were so polluted they no longer supported life, indigenous people were become homeless from the climatic events of relentless forest harvesting and entire wildlife habitats were disappearing. While it would have been easy to say the problem was too big, and leave the challenge for her children and their children to deal with, Peri knew that every person, and every organisation could make a difference.
And so, two years and much research later, combining these two ideas, Untouched World™ was born.
Under Peri’s leadership, the company has received, among others, the Business Excellence Award, an Export Commendation, New Zealand Sustainable Business Award, and the New Zealand Way award. In 1992 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to New Zealand (Manufacturing and Export). She has received the North and South Magazine Award for the Top 100 New Zealanders making the largest contribution to New Zealand, the South Island Business Woman of the Year award, become world famous in New Zealand for her friendship with a certain US president and was North and South Magazine's New Zealander of the Year for 2006. In 2007 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Commerce) by Lincoln University, and in 2008 became the Supreme Award winner of the World Class New Zealanders Awards. Peri, however, is adamant - “I am merely the face in front of an organisation of astonishing people, and these awards are accepted on their behalf, and reflect their high level of passion and commitment.”
Emily Drysdale, Design Director
In 2000, Peri was joined in the company by her daughter Emily, a multiple award winning fashion designer. She has a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) from Wellington, New Zealand, and a Master of Arts in Performance Sportswear Design from Derby University in the United Kingdom. Emily has received a New Zealand Young Designer of the Year award (1995) and the prestigious New Zealand Future Design Supreme Award (1998). Emily’s winning design was purchased by Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand for their permanent collection. Prior to joining Untouched World™, Emily worked in Europe as a freelance sportswear designer for leading international sportswear brands. Emily has collaborated with world leaders in design, including Yohji Yamamoto’s former head designer Yu Homma, and Cameron Silver, listed in ‘Time’ magazine as one of the world's 25 most influential people in fashion.
“Growing up in the business, I had no idea that I would end up one day working alongside Mum. It seems a little silly looking back on it, with all that on the job training from age two! It is incredibly exciting to be part of what we are building at Untouched World™, to have the freedom as a designer to really make a difference in our world through sustainable design. It’s a rare opportunity for a design team to have the backing of a 100% committed business team to make our dreams a reality. It’s a challenging path we have chosen, designing sustainable luxury fashion - it takes lots of research and discovery, but it’s a really exciting journey to be on.”
In addition to her role as Design and Marketing Director for Untouched World™, Emily sits on the board of the Untouched World™ Charitable Trust.  |
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