Jerome Taylor (centre) designer of Not For You on the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week 2018. Image by Getty Images.
New Zealand Fashion Week 2019 is just months away already and applications are now open to designers who want to participate in the 19th annual event. This year sees some exciting changes for the event with a new venue and a focus shift towards long life fashion.
“One of the most exciting things to have happened to fashion in recent years is that seasons are no longer the relevant drivers,” says Dame Pieter Stewart, NZFW Founder and Managing Director. “Consumers and retailers are looking for quality over quantity, year-round versatility, wearability and longevity and we have taken up this challenge for the New Zealand fashion industry.”
“This direction will be consistent for Fashion Week and Fashion Weekend and early feedback from the design community is positive. Our designers are looking for occasions to not only showcase their collections but also to demonstrate the progress made in striving for the best possible level of sustainable and ethical business practise. This is a huge step for our event and we will use this high-profile platform to help NZ designers share these values and ethics with a wider audience.”
New Zealand Fashion Week 2019 officially opens on Monday 26 August with shows on everyday until the end of Fashion Weekend on Sunday 1 September. In a circular move, NZFW will return to the historic Town Hall where the event began in 2001. This year it will also be utilising Aotea Square precinct as well as some other exciting character destinations within the city.
“No other fashion event in New Zealand gives designers as much support as NZFW. With its 55 shows and sessions, a focused audience of 30,000 attendees, local and international buyers and delegates and the massive publicity exposure, the event springboards young careers and provides a launch pad for designers to grow their businesses both nationally and internationally,” adds Pieter Stewart.
Those sentiments are shared by many emerging and established designers including Dame Trelise Cooper who has regularly showed her eponymous label on the NZFW runway over the years.
“New Zealand Fashion Week has provided the most important platform for New Zealand designers to showcase and promote their labels to media, international buyers, independent retailers, consumers and brand partners,” says Trelise Cooper. “It has inspired designers to harness the collective spirit of the love of fashion under one framework.”
Emerging brand Not For You designed by Jerome Taylor have been noticed internationally after showing at NZFW. Not For You showcased their designs at Vancouver Fashion Week in a group show by Apparel Magazine in 2018. By showing at Vancouver Fashion Week, Jerome was able to network with Harbin Fashion Week in China. The opportunity then arose to have a solo show at Harbin Fashion Week in China after a successful stint in Canada.
“We definitely feel that without New Zealand Fashion Week we wouldn’t have made it this far,” says Jerome Taylor. “Not For You has showcased at NZFW for the past three years. We started in the Graduate Show in 2016 then in 2017 we showcased in the New Generation Show. In 2018 we had our biggest show yet which was also our first solo show. The brand has thrived by working with New Zealand Fashion Week and we have taken up every opportunity. We are so lucky as a brand to have worked so closely with New Zealand Fashion Week and we look forward to seeing what’s in store for 2019.”
Designer Kathryn Wilson, director of Kathryn Wilson Footwear is also an enthusiastic advocate for NZFW adding, “The major industry event of the year is a true celebration of local designers who are invited to showcase their collections in a creative environment to both wholesale and consumer customers. It is a great asset to the NZ fashion industry and Auckland City and I encourage designers to come together to support and learn from each other and share in the festivities.”
Designers interested in participating in New Zealand Fashion Week 2019 can complete the application form available on NZFW’s website and submit by 17 May 2019. There is extensive support available to assist new designers with a special assistance of a “NZFW starter pack” including an industry 101 in a NZFW bootcamp.
Bring on New Zealand Fashion Week 2019.