NZ Fashion Week has just dropped its 2025 schedule—and it’s one of the most exciting lineups in years
For the better part of a decade, I’ve been showing up at New Zealand Fashion Week in some form or another—sometimes as a writer, sometimes in head-to-toe black backstage with a clipboard and a radio, and sometimes just as a fan. It’s the kind of event that, if you love fashion, gets under your skin. And when you believe in the grit, talent, and tenacity of our local industry the way I do, it becomes more than a calendar date. It’s a commitment.
So, when the news came through about the NZFW 2025 lineup—featuring legacy names and next-gen visionaries—it wasn’t just exciting. It felt like a shift. One in the right direction.
Sophie Song wears Giulia Zigliani, Tango Vintatge, Niicolé Pollard and Stolen Girlfriends Club. Vinnie Woolston wears Zambesi.
This year, NZFW is pivoting away from the traditionally insular, industry-only format to become something bolder and more inclusive: a public-facing festival that invites anyone with a love for fashion to be part of the conversation. And honestly, it’s about time. Because if we want our local industry to sustain itself, it’s going to take more than raw talent (of which we have plenty). It’ll take engagement. Involvement. People showing up and celebrating the work.
The lineup announcement lands alongside a brand new campaign—the first in over five years—helmed by Creative Director Dan Ahwa and photographed by Mara Sommer. It’s not just a visual reset for the brand either. It’s a tribute to the people who are New Zealand fashion. Shot in full colour and full character, the campaign features a mix of familiar and emerging faces—Juliette Perkins, Adam Banoori, Sophie Song, Yasmine Mohamud, Vinnie Woolston, and more. Each casting choice feels intentional, capturing the richness and diversity of the fashion landscape we’re all part of. Not aspirational in a far-off, glossy sense, but grounded, real, and actually representative.
Juliette Perks wears Zambesi, Ruby, Kathryn Wilson and Niicolé Pollard. Adam Banoori wears Nom D, Stolen Girlfriends Club and Austin Delaney Girdlestone.
And no, I didn’t forget to mention it (I know that’s why you’re here), but the schedule itself reads like a love letter to New Zealand’s fashion history—with legends like Karen Walker returning to the runway after more than fifteen years, Zambesi doing what Zambesi does best, and Juliette Hogan opening the week with the first solo show. These are the designers who’ve carried Fashion Week on their backs through uncertain times. Their return feels not only right but essential.
But equally thrilling is what’s coming next. There’s a new wave of designers bringing something electric to the table. Claudia Li, who’s fresh off the international circuit with a point of view both expansive and deeply rooted. Rory William Docherty, whose moody, intelligent tailoring and conceptual edge made his 2023 debut one of the week’s most memorable. Rebe, with her subversive silhouettes and cultural bite, feels like the kind of label that will define a generation.
Carrie Berkey wears Adrion Atelier, Rebe and Jasmin Sparrow. Molly Dennis wears Juliette Hogan and Kathryn Wilson.
There’s something deeply powerful about seeing them on the same schedule as Knuefermann (celebrating 20 years), Untouched World, and Taylor. It’s not about nostalgia—it’s about continuum. About what happens when a fashion week stops being just a showcase and starts becoming a platform.
The programming this year backs that up: Into the Archives will open the week with two decades of fashion history on the runway. Beyond the Runway talks will unpack what it means to build a fashion business in Aotearoa in 2025 and beyond. And initiatives like Walk the Line and The Graduate Collections will give the future a spotlight—right now, not later.
Yasmine Mohamud wears Claudia Li, Niicolé Pollard and Kathryn Wilson. Kaarina Parker wears Ruby, Charlotte Penman and Frances Allison.
There are a hundred reasons to feel hopeful about the new chapter of NZFW, but for me, the biggest one is this: it finally feels like it belongs to all of us. Whether you’ve worked behind the scenes, stitched a collection in your flat, written about fashion late into the night—or simply found your confidence in a good outfit—there’s a seat for you this year.
And that’s what the future of fashion should look like.
The first tickets are on sale now here. Delegate registrations open now.
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