After the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/08, New Zealand fashion took a deep breath, and over the next 5-10 years (with the help of a collective sense of optimism) its creative community exhaled some brilliant new brands in the form of Georgia Alice, Wynn Hamlyn, Paris Georgia, Maggie Marilyn and Harris Tapper.
Unfortunately the same can’t yet be said of the Covid aftermath – optimism is in short supply, creatives and businesses are risk-averse, low on resource, shy and, worst of all, are looking at the greener pastures of Australia and the United Kingdom as their future creative landscapes. Despite New Zealand Fashion Week re-surfacing in 2023 after a four-year hiatus, its postponement from 2024 until 2025 was yet another example of the cruel realities of recession and a cost-of-living crisis that’s impacting Kiwis and their businesses up and down the country.
However in the wake of New Zealand Fashion Week’s postponement, Auckland’s traditionally-vibrant cultural and creative incubator, Karangahape Road, will be home to a new week-long fashion celebration from September 9-13.
Enter Te Wiki Āhua O Aotearoa, which translates to New Zealand Āhua Week. Āhua means form or shape, and is a synonym for fashion. The event’s organisers have rolled up their sleeves and are preparing to create a new 5-day event that showcases the very best up-and-coming fashion talent, supported by new models and artists, all giving their time for free. Ticket sale proceeds are being donated to support Palestine.
Organisers Nina Bailey, Sophia Kwon and Billy Blamires say in their event prospectus “Despite being a small and tight-knit community, there haven’t been many opportunities for large scale collaborations where creativity isn’t restricted. We are currently recruiting designers, photographers, videographers, models, musicians, dancers, graphic designers, writers, makeup artists, and stylists. Join us, in what we aim to make the biggest creative collaboration of Aotearoa artists of this decade.”
Āhua Aotearoa’s momentum is already significant, and their small team act and talk with the courage and skill set of business people far beyond their years. In our introductory meeting, co-organiser Nina Bailey’s passion was clear, her vision articulated to perfection, and her energy palpable.
Harking back to the raw and powerful shows produced by Stephen Marr in the early-to-mid 2000s, culminating in an annual series of shows called ‘The Marr Factory’ at the now-shuttered Golden Dawn, Āhua Aotearoa is putting words and thoughts into action, a trait that all too few people have the motivation to do. NZFW has had its fair share of critics and detractors over the years, but few people know the hard work, time, resource, manpower and money that needs to be poured into an event of that scale in order for it to be undertaken. In its absence (while not yet being on a comparable scale) Āhua Aotearoa is taking action to ensure the void left by NZFW’s postponement doesn’t go to waste.
Tickets for three of the runway shows are on sale now. Get them HERE and check out the Āhua instagram HERE.
Stay tuned for updates in the week of September 2nd as we continue to support and profile this unique fashion event.