The Deane Story

Our heritage

Deane Apparel’s life began in the 1930s in New Zealand. It was a time of hard labour in a hard world, but for our founder, Edward Deane, it was a decade of revolution.

Edward Deane was never content with standing still. From initially supplying school uniforms and industrial garments, Deane soon set his sights on breaking boundaries and moving into exciting new industries. By the 1940s, we weren’t just the go-to for trousers and overalls, we were the manufacturers of the New Zealand Armed Forces’ uniform during the Second World War.

As a company, we recognised our strengths, but instead of sticking to what we were already doing, we wanted to explore, to expand and to discover what we could do.

As the 1950s rolled around, our jeans had become iconic and we had reinvented ourselves as a company that the world’s biggest clothing brands entrusted with their designs. Not only were our factories making Deane jeans, we were also making Levi’s.

Fast-forward to the late 1980s and we re-focused our vision back to uniforms and workwear. We returned to our roots.

After expanding our operations into Australia in the 1990s, we found renewed motivation to dress the working population of Australasia with confidence and quality. As such, we doubled down our focus on the invaluable knowledge of market, design and quality. We also sought to expand our standing as the region’s preeminent maker of clothes treated by industrial laundries, creating garments that were functional, durable and fit for purpose.

We became the brand that successful brands wear.

Our today

The Deane of today is the product of 90 years’ worth of skill and knowledge, which has seen us become leaders in the uniform and workwear industry.

We are a combination of the individuals who walk through our office and factory doors each day, as well as our customers, whose experience is seamless from start to finish.

What’s more, we now bring to the table the considerable financial backing of Alsco, a global brand whose support ensures we always have holding stock, our technologies are always cutting edge, and our customers are always satisfied.

In the true spirit of partnership, we also provide Alsco with a seamless customer experience, by creating and supplying the workwear for thousands of people across Australia and New Zealand employed in their rental programmes.

The Deane of now creates garments across a range of materials and sizes. We know the importance of functionality but don’t believe it should compromise style, so we pride ourselves on creating high-quality uniforms and workwear, fit for purpose, which empower employees in their day-to-day lives.

We are equipped to create clothes for all sizes and body shapes, because we know the key to performance is confidence. Being an Australasian company, we deliver unparalleled service, long standing global mills and factories for large scale production, with bespoke garments created in our short-run factories.

We are proud to stand behind the uniforms and workwear of Australasia’s biggest brands, but more importantly, we are proud to stand behind the people who wear them.

Deane has stood the test of time, and our clothes do too.

Our vision

Deane has set the benchmark for nine decades driven by our commitment to providing high quality products coupled with a seamless service. The world is changing and we are excited to embrace this change and move with it.

With the simple resolution that the sky’s the limit, we are growing Deane Apparel across Australasia, as we continue to bring innovation, passion and skill to each item of clothing produced by our team.

The Earth’s future is in more sustainable materials, reducing waste, and creating a greener planet. We are proud to be supporting sustainability efforts across New Zealand and Australia.

Our research and development team are putting considerable time and effort into creating a greener Deane. We believe in making changes inside and out, which is why our carbon footprint in-house is constantly being reduced. Our new recycling initiatives encourage all employees to commit to an eco-friendlier way of living.

Our service

At Deane Apparel, we are committed to providing our customers with a smooth, enjoyable experience, from start to finish.

We are proud to create and own all of our own patterns and garment specifications, meaning we are completely in control of the garment-making process. With a unique mix of large scale and small run factories, we can create garments to fit the needs of anyone and everyone. We know one size doesn’t fit all and we believe everybody deserves to feel empowered and confident in their uniform, which is why we produce uniforms for all shapes and sizes.

We understand uniforms are a needs must for many of our customers, which is why we strive to ensure the design process, ordering and account management is as simple as possible.

We focus on our customers, so that you can focus on yours.