Outfit by designer Misty Ratima on the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week 2018. Image by Katherine Tuenter.
Miromoda celebrates its tenth year this year and this weekend’s competition runway show promises a strong line up of Māori designers showcasing their skills on the runway in Wellington. The Renouf Foyer at the Michael Fowler Centre will host the tenth annual design competition on Saturday 29th June with 15 short-listed designers competing for eight spots in the Miromoda show at New Zealand Fashion Week 2019.
Miromoda is run by the Indigenous Maori Fashion Apparel Board and the fashion design competition calls for entries from people of Māori descent from around NZ. This year they will be judged by a strong judging panel led by NZ Fashion Week founder, Dame Pieter Stewart, and including Auckland-based fashion designer, Adrian Hailwood and Wellington-based fashion commentator and broadcaster, Sonia Sly.
Since the beginning Miromoda has been an important facet of NZFW to Dame Pieter Stewart, who claimed ‘she had always wanted to show international media and buyers something at New Zealand Fashion Week, that wouldn’t be seen at any other Fashion Week around the world.’ When asked in 2015, what was the most significant thing she’s achieved since founding New Zealand Fashion Week? Dame Stewart simply replied, “that would be Miromoda”.
The designer entrants will take part in the judging part of the competition during the daytime before showcasing their outfits on the runway at the public Miromoda show in the evening. The event will feature six established Miromoda fashion designers, and two local brands on the runway.
More than 300 emerging fashion designers have competed in Miromoda’s competition over the past decade with around 150 Māori designers showing on the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week. It’s a fantastic chance for emerging brands to be noticed and gain professional experience with some exciting opportunities arising from national and international exposure at the event.
This year Miromoda is fittingly sponsored by internationally acclaimed and award-winning indigenous wine, Tohu, which is a Māori owned company based in Nelson and Blenheim.
Best of luck to all the competing Miromoda designers.