New Zealand Fashion Week has begun in Auckland with a colourful opening event featuring designers, performers and well-known New Zealanders. Chef Josh Emett, rapper and poet Melodownz, former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes and opera singer Isabella Moore were among the people modelling clothes. The event was held at a car showroom in Grey Lynn.
The models wore clothing from New Zealand designers alongside vintage pieces and outfits borrowed from New Zealand Opera and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Other special guests included fashion historian Doris de Pont, actress Geeling Ching and poet Rosanna Raymond. The opening brought together people from the fashion, music, arts and business worlds.
This is the second year of the revamped New Zealand Fashion Week, which is now designed as a public celebration rather than an event mainly for people working in the fashion industry. The week includes runway shows, pop-up shops and other events. There are also shows celebrating Pacific fashion and teenage designers.
The event comes during a difficult year for New Zealand’s fashion industry, with several well-known brands announcing they will close. However, designers say there is still plenty of creativity and enthusiasm in the industry. Fashion Week creative director Dan Ahwa said the event was a celebration of Auckland and could also support local shops and hospitality businesses.
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