New Zealand’s top fashion designer, Dame Trelise Cooper, has put her multi-million-dollar Auckland apartment on the market for sale – only weeks after she first moved in.
Dame Trelise and her husband Jack bought the three-bedroom apartment at 301/20 Devore Street, in the Sonata development, St Heliers, off-the-plan in late 2022.
But a lot has changed since then and the couple have decided the apartment is now surplus to requirement. Dame Trelise told OneRoof they already spend five months a year in their house in France and that they plan to buy a place in San Diego, in the United States, to be close to family.
“We’ve come to this new chapter, where we have decided family is very important to us,” Dame Trelise said.
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“My husband is 78, and you get to a point where we’ve only got a certain [amount of] runway [left]. We want to be in San Diego with our family, and we’re travelling more and more.
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“We’re looking at this chapter of our lives and going, you know what, you’ve kind of got to do it now because you don’t know. We’re both in great health so we want to capture that time.”
She added: “We just want to redistribute how we live.”
Her plans may have changed but Dame Trelise was enthusiastic about life in the Sonata. She said the apartment was “amazing”, saying it had a more minimal aesthetic than some of the more opulent homes she has lived in.
“We live a different kind of life now and I like it. We’ve edited a lot from our life, and we live much more minimally. I think when you travel and you’re not around you just want to edit things out,” she said.
Dame Trelise said she had found unexpected delights since moving in at the start of the year, but the view of the Waitematā was a constant source of fascination. “I find it breathtaking every time I step in.”
Dame Trelise Cooper, shown here in 2019 at her bi-annual fashion show at Soul Bar on Auckland’s waterfront, plans to spend more time in her French home and to buy a new place in San Diego. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
The third-floor apartment at 20 Devore Street, St Heliers, has breathtaking views of the harbour and Rangitoto. Photo / Supplied
She said the expansiveness of the floorplan, now that all her furniture was installed, was better than expected, citing details like the Poliform kitchen and closets, a butler’s pantry with second dishwasher, lighting by ECC, luxurious marble in the bathrooms (“you feel like you’re walking into a spa”), and extra storage and garaging.
“It’s an iconic building, I really do love the fluid lines and the way it kind of echoes the waterfront," she said.
“That’s what really attracted us, that it was unique and had had a lot of thought put into it. That’s what I love about it.”
The five-apartment Sonata, which was completed last year by Reside Projects, was designed by Architect Buchan, one of the consortiums of architects behind the sculptured design for the proposed Te Tōangaroa stadium precinct, in downtown Auckland.
Dame Trelise’s designer eye appreciated the workmanship such as the negative detailing and skirtings on the joinery, the individual glazing for the curved windows which create the Sonata’s distinctive profile, the extra-high ceilings.
“There’s nothing developer about it, it’s not bulk standard, it’s absolutely beautiful,” she said.
The living room opens to the covered terrace and views across St Heliers to the water. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen, which also has a second butler’s pantry, is by Italian brand Poliform. Photo / Supplied
The shift overseas is certainly not a sign that Dame Trelise is retiring. The designer, who has dressed international celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta Jones, Liv Tyler and Miley Cyrus since she opened her first boutique in 1985, said: “I work every day. I still do the design; I go in every day and tweak and look at things; I travel from France for the fabric fair in Shanghai.”
Barfoot & Thompson agent Aaron Foss, who is bringing the apartment to auction on May 8, would not comment on the likely sale price but said “we have realistic vendors who will meet the market”.
“I personally love the iconic architecture. It is a statement – the bold fluid form of the building echoes the curve of the Bay below,” he said, adding
He noted that the 275sqm apartment, which has a CV of $10.5 million, was the size of a large family home and the biggest in the Sonata. “The views that captivate you when you walk into the apartment and the sheer volume and the high stud – it’s iconic. The quiet luxury of this apartment will appeal to people who put a premium on privacy,” he said.
- 301/20 Devore Street, St Heliers, Auckland, goes to auction on May 8
