Who better to answer the last The Last Time questionnaire than ourselves?
Rebecca started this series in 2023 as a way to ask well-known and interesting people about the specifics of their daily lives (aka, be a little bit nosey), and since then has featured everyone from Morgana O’Reilly to Ch’Lita, Shit You Should Care About to Alok Vaid-Menon. Now, as Ensemble comes to an end, it’s our turn to spill.
When was the last time you danced? What were you dancing to?
Rebecca Wadey: Oh my I love dancing. My favourite thing to do is go to our bach by myself, take an edible, do my jigsaw puzzle and listen to really girly pop and dance like no one is watching (literally no one is). I remember doing this as a kid when no one was home (minus the edibles). I definitely thought I could try out for Fame dance academy.
[Edit: Since writing this yesterday I just had an extremely fun K Pop Demon Hunters dance party in my kitchen at 6am with a 3.5 year old who had just flown in from LA. What better way to start the day?]
Zoe Walker Ahwa: I dance awkwardly around the house most days, to my own singing or music playing in the background. But a real, proper dance floor moment surrounded by the euphoric energy of others… maybe Charli xcx at Laneway? I need more of that energy.
The last time you cooked a meal from scratch, what did you make?
RW: I cook most of my meals from scratch! My favourite thing is an organised Sunday that sets my family up well for the week. At the moment I am making lots of soaked beans – refried beans or chunky stews the kids can mix with rice for a burrito in their lunchboxes or as a quick reheat lunch with a soft-boiled egg and chilli oil for me.
ZWA: Lol. My husband Dan is the cook in our house :)
When was the last time you cried?
RW: I was diagnosed with bowel cancer recently, which has definitely led to some leaky eyes. No howling tears though, yet. [Edit: An hour after I wrote this I got a spa voucher from two friends with a note that made me bawl]
ZWA: I’m not a crier but the past few weeks have been a tender time. I finally cried last night when I thought too much about Rebecca’s news, and the diagnosis of another friend; and after reading all the nice words after we announced that Ensemble is ending. Have also cried watching some of Isabel Klee’s foster dog videos on TikTok, and this one (I'm not a dog person!).
What’s the last piece of clothing you bought?
RW: A pair of socks with bows on them from Sandy Liang. What every 49-year-old woman needs.
ZWA: A Twenty-seven Names red polka dot dress.
What’s the last beauty product you finished?
RW: Mecca tubing mascara.
ZWA: Raaie's Cocoon Ceramide Cream. Big fan.
When was the last time you had a holiday? Where did you go?
RW: We went to Sweden for a beloved friend's wedding on NYE. It was my first time in Europe since high school and we really dragged the whānau around. I’m now obsessed with Scandinavia - we saw the Northern Lights! It was an active holiday which is really my favourite kind. Well, that or doing absolutely nothing. But that’s what the Coromandel is for. I go there to completely decompress, it’s a very healing and magical place for me.
ZWA: To Kūaotunu in April, for a fun weekend with my nana, mum, aunty, sister and cousin. We went to The Lost Spring, and stayed at this incredible house in the bush with kererū flying around the garden. We drove over the hill to visit Rebecca in Ōpito Bay and there were dolphins! My next holiday is Sydney in December for the Lady Gaga concert.
What was the last thing you bought – and loved?
RW: A yoga class at Kenkō Studios with my fave teacher Eridani Baker.
ZWA: This morning I bought a pink bun from Beabea’s Bakery and enjoyed it a lot.
When was the last time you got really angry and what was it about?
RW: It’s 2025, the world is on fire. When wasn’t I angry is more the question lol. Seriously though the current media landscape is more than enough to get worked up about, particularly the decline in ‘women’s’ lifestyle media – no titles have thought-provoking and opinionated writers on staff meaning it’s up to the unpaid freelancers and Substackers to agitate, question and try and shake up the status quo. It’s exhausting.
ZWA: I got angry looking at some of the Paris/Milan shows this season. There was a lot of beauty and things I loved (like the spontaneous display of joy and emotion at the Chanel finale moment and most of Miu Miu; I know the aprons were controversial in the age of conservatism and housewives but things can have nuance people). But it also felt like some misogyny packaged as ‘edginess’, and a lot of extremely skinny models (I adored the Chloe florals but the sharp shoulder bones made me uncomfortable). This season was hyped as a ‘fashion reset’ but some of it felt like a regression.
NYT style editor Stella Bugbee shared some stories about the season making her feel like the industry she works in hates her, which I, like others, identified with, and Vanessa Friedman wrote this piece which had a great headline but maybe didn’t quite nail how I felt. I also appreciated Susie Bubble’s perspective on it all; I agree that ‘we need more women designers’ isn’t the simple fix we all think it is.
When’s the last time you got drunk?
RW: The last time I got really drunk was at my friend Paul Casserly’s 60th. There were loads of people from film, TV, music and media going back years. I drank a lot of champagne and consumed a lot of piping hot tea which sadly I promptly forgot. I very rarely go on a bender; this was one of the occasions when I looked at my husband in the morning and groaned in agony ‘it was worth it’.
ZWA: I haven’t been drunk in ages as I’m trying to be sober/sober curious as much as I can with some slip-ups. But the last time I felt the effects of a few too many glasses would probably have been the FQ Fashion Awards in July: not enough to eat, champagne flowing, anxiety levels very high.
What was the last really delicious thing you ate?
RW: Oh sad face – I love food so much and am currently working through a complicated sense of emotions around my stomach. The tuna tostado at RagTag, the pickled muscles and marmite ribs at Lilian, the marmite leek pastry at Beabea’s, the coffee at Daily Bread, the Vietnamese Crepe at Little Bird, the burgers at Baby G…
ZWA: The pink bun.
The last book you finished?
RW: Gwyneth by Amy Odell.
ZWA: Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America by Michael M. Grynbaum.
The last book you finished, and recommended to someone else?
RW: I’ve recommended All Fours to everyone I know.
ZWA: Empire of the Elite, to anyone who’d listen but especially those who love gossip and work in media.
The last album you listened to the whole way through?
RW: The Life of a Showgirl, duh. Before that it would’ve been Man’s Best Friend. Growing up in Hamilton my teens were very glam rock and heavy metal heavy, then university was alt-rock and Brit-pop. I am now going through my girlie pop era as I near the end of my 40s.
ZWA: Lily Allen's savage and really good West End Girl. And before that, Brat, because I have it on CD in my car.
The last song you listened to?
RW: Margaret by Lana del Rey. I was giving a 9-year-old an education in music gossip.
ZWA: True Believer by Hayley Williams. Art!
What was the last concert or show you attended?
RW: Japanese Breakfast at the Auckland Town Hall. Incredible!
ZWA: I think it was Japanese Breakfast with Rebecca in June.
The last TV show you watched?
RW: Finished Task on Neon last night, loved it. Other shows we have on the go currently are The Morning Show, Only Murders in the Building, Wayward and Dark Winds. I'm missing The Valley and Summer House, so considering starting Southern Charm. I consume a LOT of TV. It is my favourite art form.
ZWA: I finally caved and started watching The Morning Show; we’re up to season three. November is a big month for TV for me: season two of Palm Royale and Rachel Sennott’s I Love LA. And hopefully the new, re-cast season of Vanderpump Rules.
The last DM/text you sent? Who was it to?
RW: “Is this what we call a hard launch?” to Zoe.
ZWA: ‘can you get cat food’ to Dan.
The last flight you took?
RW: I went to Sydney last month and was extremely excited that they had S4 of Hacks on the flight.
ZWA: Home from Sydney in May last year; I was there for Australian Fashion Week. It’s been a while…
The last time you laughed so much your tummy hurt?
RW: I bought a sourdough starter recently, but then with the shock of my bowel cancer diagnosis, I didn’t have the brain capacity to follow instructions so I delegated to my husband. He was honestly working on the first loaf all day, then when he crawled into bed that night I asked him what he'd done/how he was storing the rest of the starter. He looked at me blankly and said ‘huh? I put it all in?’.
ZWA: When Dan was being a bitch but mixed up words and called someone a cunch.
What’s the last drug you took?
RW: I take Citalopram (an SSRI/antidepressant) every day and have since entering perimenopause a few years back. I’m not a candidate for HRT (due to a prior breast cancer diagnosis) so it really helps with the rage, and the feelings of hopelessness.
ZWA: Letrozole and progesterone. I’m on a fertility journey that I would not wish on my worst enemy.
When’s the last time you were home? (And where is home?)
RW: We live in Pt Chev, where I am currently writing this, but my favourite place in the world is Ōpito where I've spent at least part of every summer since the year I was born. That whenua feels like my true home. I am going there on Thursday, can't wait.
ZWA: Home is central Auckland, home is West Auckland even though I haven’t lived there for years. So, right now as I’m answering these questions, and this morning for my weekly Sunday breakfast with my nana, mum and sister.
