New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria kicks off on Monday in Auckland. Twenty-five years on from the inaugural edition, we asked fashion industry figures to look into the mists of time and hairspray and recall their very first.<\/p>\n
Fashion shows are a funny thing. Countless people, months of work and a large chunk of change are poured into something that lasts maybe 15 minutes. Get it right and you\u2019ll be remembered forever \u2013 that\u2019s why the industry still talks about Zambesi\u2019s 2005 show at the St James Theatre, King Kapisi\u2019s Overstayer collection in 2003 and Campbell Luke\u2019s 2019 debut.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t recall the first show I attended (it was 2008, probably) but I vividly remember how it felt to be there: a grateful interloper. The whole thing felt glamorous and cosmopolitan. People wore sunglasses inside. All Blacks and rock stars were plonked in the front row! Some of them even looked comfortable. Everyone was there for the show.<\/p>\n
Things were a bit different in the early 2000s. It was a pivotal time for NZFW, which launched in 2001, as well as the local industry. Designers made headlines. Models did too. Kiwi fashion was cool. And the runway was where it all came together. Since those were the nascent days of the internet (Instagram didn\u2019t even exist yet), you really, really had to be there \u2013 or pick up a newspaper the next day, or magazine the following month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What was it like to be in the audience, behind the scenes or on the runway? And did it leave an impression? We asked some industry figures what they recall from their very first New Zealand Fashion Week.<\/p>\n
Ngahuia Williams \u2013 model, agent, photographer<\/p>\n
I think it was\u2026 2001 or 2002. I was in the early stages of my modelling career, and that would have been my first one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was very different from what the fashion week landscape looks like today. It was such a fun time to connect with other people in the industry, wear new collections, and be transformed into someone else\u2019s creative vision, often looking very different from your natural self. For a teenager, it was incredibly exciting.<\/p>\n
One thing I remember vividly was the anticipation surrounding each show. There was no social media, so if you weren\u2019t there, you simply missed it. You had to wait until the next day to see whether there was any media coverage. Because of that, I think people were much more present. Everyone was there to enjoy the moment, to experience the creativity of the collections, and to be immersed in the atmosphere of the show itself.<\/p>\n
My memories\u2026 from those early years are a little muddled, so I\u2019ll go with the moments that have stayed with me over time.<\/p>\n
I remember walking in a Zambesi show at the St James Theatre while Pluto played live. That was really fun to be part of. The backstage energy was electric, the music was loud, the clothes felt so of their time yet have completely stood the test of time. It\u2019s one of those shows that has stayed with me, and if I remember correctly, the party afterwards was pretty epic too.<\/p>\n
I also remember Karen Walker presenting a show with a gorilla on stage, which definitely left an impression. NOM*d\u2019s Don\u2019t Shoot show in 2003 was another standout. It really was such a good time.<\/p>\n
Zambesi (and Pluto) took to the stage of the historic St James in 2005. Karen Walker launched her jewellery line with models and a \u2018gorilla\u2019 in 2003. Ngahuia Williams was there for both of them. (Photos: Supplied)<\/p>\n
I recall\u2026 the nerves of not knowing what the experience would be like and having to do it anyway. As a model, there\u2019s a responsibility to carry and execute your part of the creative vision with mana, and in those early years I definitely felt that pressure. I remember hoping I wouldn\u2019t topple over in a pair of impossibly high heels!<\/p>\n
Looking back\u2026 I was very young and like a sponge. Those years were important in teaching me how to navigate a world that was new, creative and constantly evolving. They showed me how acceptable and valuable it is to express yourself and think creatively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As someone who was still discovering their own identity and independence, I loved being part of a world where people encouraged each other\u2019s creativity. It felt supportive, vibrant and full of possibility.<\/p>\n
Fashion week has changed enormously over the years, but I feel really grateful to have experienced it for the changes and the growth!<\/p>\n
NZFW 2026: Ngahuia will be working behind the scenes and is set to appear on the runway too.<\/p>\n
Des Rusk, designer<\/p>\n
My first fashion week was\u2026 2002.<\/p>\n
I was there\u2026 mostly lingering trying to get an invite to a show. I think I walked in a show but I can\u2019t remember.<\/p>\n
I felt\u2026 excited and intrigued. It was the second ever NZFW and I was at the start of my career, so it was all very new. Perhaps a sign of too much partying but I can\u2019t actually remember what I attended! The shows were heavily trade focused, so invites were for media, buyers and those within the brands\u2019 inner circle. Being a newby meant getting an invite was a hard task.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The most memorable part was\u2026 seeing brands that I looked up to showing in this format. With no social media yet, it was very much an in-person\/have-to-be-there occasion. There was a real buzz around during the week \u2013 some of it fun and exciting, some of it pompous and cynical, but that all added to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wore\u2026 likely a mixture of Little Brother (I was working there at the time), and something self-made.<\/p>\n
Looking back now, it felt\u2026 so fresh! It was a great time in New Zealand fashion in many ways. There was this new event that put a spotlight not only on our designers, but also the wider creative ecosystem \u2013 hair, makeup, show production etc. In-person retail was how people shopped and new brands were being born. It was a bit closed off in some ways but still a great event for our industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NZFW 2026: Des Rusk\u2019s label Longform will appear in The Studio group show.<\/p>\n
Anjali Burnett, co-founder of Twenty-seven Names<\/p>\n
My first fashion week was\u2026 2007. We [Burnett and Rachel Easting] were having our first fashion week show, Smoke and Mirrors, under our moniker Love-Lies-Bleeding (emo much?) It was a joint show with New Zealand designer Sera Lily.<\/p>\n
Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett, very 2007. The pair made their NZFW debut that year with their label Love-Lies-Bleeding, later renamed Twenty-seven Names. (Photos: Supplied, Getty Images)<\/p>\n
I felt\u2026 So fizzy and excited.<\/p>\n
We attended\u2026 Anything and everything we could sneak\/get tickets to.<\/p>\n
I wore\u2026 A cotton T-shirt dress with a built-in waistcoat complete with contrasting white stitching and black-on-black Converse (again, emo much?)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The most memorable part was\u2026 Rachel had a full-blown pixie cut. Like Agyness Deyn [the influential British model]. Iconic 2000s vibes.<\/p>\n
Looking back now\u2026 I feel grateful Rachel had that, because I have been going back to the well on that for the last 20 years.<\/p>\n
I also want people to\u2026 support independent locally made brands \u2013 buy tickets to the shows.<\/p>\n
NZFW 2026: Twenty-seven Names is returning to the runway this year (the brand\u2019s 20th anniversary) with its first fashion week show since 2018.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Lawson, PR and event production<\/p>\n
My first NZFW\u2026 was 2008.<\/p>\n
I was working\u2026 with Lucy Slater, looking after front of house for Stolen Girlfriends Club\u2019s Pretty Vacant show at the DHL Centre in Morningside. Huffer did their iconic show on the wharf near the Hilton in 2008; it was a miracle no one went in the water. <\/p>\n
Huffer\u2019s famous wharf show. Rebecca Lawson and Lucy Slater at the Stolen Girlfriends Club show. (Photos: Tim Hales\/Getty Images, supplied)<\/p>\n
The following year was my most memorable though: SGC\u2019s 2009 show, Last Night\u2019s Party, at Mercury Theatre. That one has gone down in history! The show at Mercury Theatre was a party in itself, then we all went straight to 420 [a bar on Karangahape Road] for the after party till the wee hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As an experience\u2026 I absolutely loved it. Working the SGC shows ignited my love for working on the event, and kicked off two decades of looking after front of house and seating for NZFW shows.<\/p>\n
Being\u2026 on site was a total vibe, it was as much fun hanging out outside the sheds as it was in shows. The most memorable part would have to be the people \u2013 so many amazing humans, all in it together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wore\u2026 an amazing SGC dress that is still in my wardrobe.<\/p>\n
Looking back now\u2026 There was no better place to be: shows followed by drinks at SPQR, then we\u2019d do it all again the next day. I just remember having so much fun, and making life-long friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NZFW 2026: Rebecca Lawson now works for NZFW as designer liaison and show producer.<\/p>\n
I went to my first fashion week when\u2026 I was a young teenager. I had caught the bus from East Auckland to go to an NZFW show. I\u2019m not sure what note I produced to get me out of school for the afternoon, but perhaps it was \u201cresearch\u201d for my textiles class. It must have been a public group show for me to be able to attend and sit myself at the front to watch. I do recall hiding my school bag on the row of seats behind me, so as not to give away the fact that I was not an industry VIP. I was super confident in going to things, especially by myself, so I didn\u2019t think twice about turning up to a show on my own.<\/p>\nGuests packed out Mercury Theatre for Stolen Girlfriend Club\u2019s 2010 show. They\u2019d waited an hour<\/a> to get in. Drinks were served in jam jars and models sported faux black eyes. (Photo: Sandra Mu\/Getty Images)
\nKiekie Stanners, makeup artist<\/p>\n