NZFW announces second wave of designers for 2026
Precisely two months from today, Auckland City will set the stage for New Zealand Fashion Week—a six-day programme spotlighting the established designers and emerging talent shaping Aotearoa's flourishing fashion industry.
Image credit from left: @____commonplace, @oosteromofficial
Today, the schedule welcomes the next wave of shows and designers, with the announcement cementing The Studio group show as—dare we say—the most coveted ticket in town. Curated by NZFW Creative Director Dan Ahwa, The Studio presents a celebration of the best contemporary designers shaping the next chapter of New Zealand fashion. Joining the likes of Harris Tapper, REBE, Bronwyn Footwear and Rhoda Nunn are Claudia Li, Adrion Atelier, Liam Lingerie, COMMONPLACE ESSENTIALS, Dominique Healy, Emma Jing, Francie Knitwear, Oosterom, Ovna and Sylvester.
Image credit from left: @annie__label, Yu Mei supplied
ANNIE, The Keep, Claudia Li and Yu Mei extend the off-site schedule. Yu Mei's inclusion comes just a week after founder Jessie Wong debuted her ready-to-wear offering at Wellington's Common Material during the Salon Yu Mei show—a contrast to the brand's bread and butter of leather goods, but a pivot that was positively received by those in attendance. Now, that 36-piece capsule collection has launched, ready for purchase, with cashmere, wool suiting and silk making up the elevated RTW offering.
Elsewhere, the schedule continues to support the next generation of designers, with the return of The Graduate Collections. Here, emerging designers from Whitecliffe, Massey University and Otago Polytechnic will showcase their creations on the runway.
Images via Hope Patterson
Last week, we caught up with stylist Estelle Schuler and New Zealand designer Juliette Hogan to get their thoughts on the upcoming schedule and the future of New Zealand fashion.
ESTELLE
What feels genuinely exciting in New Zealand fashion right now, and who's leading the charge? What feels genuinely exciting about NZ fashion right now is the boundaries that many NZ brands are pushing. It's so cool to see brands like Harris Tapper and Porter James have residencies over in NYC. I think that's really inspiring for the rest of the industry, and shows anything is possible—even if we are all the way down at the bottom of the world.
As a stylist, what are you looking for on the runway that the rest of us might miss? I'm looking at the outfit as a whole, and the physical language that's been given to a certain piece of clothing. Then I like to take that and analyse it in my head—see whether I'd have styled it that way or differently—to work out what energy or message comes through in the final look.
What's the story about New Zealand style you most want to tell through your work? Definitely the Number 8 wire ingenuity. As Kiwis, we're really adaptable, we're problem solvers, and because we don't have a huge amount of resources available to us here, I like to think my work shows that we can create greatness with even the smallest of things.
JULIETTE HOGAN
2026 will mark two decades since your first NZFW show. How has the Juliette Hogan brand and offering evolved from your first showcase to this year's? Things have changed so much over the last 20 years. There's still real clarity of vision around who we are as a brand and who I am as a designer, but my confidence has definitely grown, and our budgets for putting on shows have grown too. We're so much more secure in what we design and how we put on a show, and I think as the years have gone by, our shows have just got bigger and better.
What does the NZFW stage still offer you that keeps you coming back? It's an amazing stage for us to showcase our creativity and our brand, and to celebrate who we are with our wider community. I love the way it excites my team, and the energy we find to produce beautiful shows.
As a founding member and now Chair of Fashion & Textiles New Zealand, you've put your name behind a more responsible industry. Why does that matter so much for New Zealand in particular? This industry we have here in NZ is so important. We've got such a competitive advantage with the fibres we produce here, the value we put into our products, and also the integrity of design—and that's really important to NZ. It sets us apart from all the fast fashion around the world right now. It's an industry I care so deeply about, and one we need to protect, so that's what we're here doing at Fashion & Textiles NZ. Our industry must have a collective voice, and that's what we're doing at Fashion & Textiles NZ—making sure our industry doesn't just survive, but thrives.
Advertisement
