New Zealand’s Biggest Moments At Australian Fashion Week
From Cate Blanchett sitting front row, to shows that spotlighted formative histories, NZ fashion figures highlight moments with impact at Australian Fashion Week.
Across the ditch, Sydney is in the midst of Australian Fashion Week, celebrating the talents of more than 35 designers.
Although no New Zealand designers are on the programme this year, historically, Australian Fashion Week has been a space our best talents have showcased their distinct aesthetics and expertise.
In 1997 – just one year after AFW launched – Zambesi, Wallace Rose, Moontide and World became the first four labels from Aotearoa to show on Sydney runways.
To mark 30 years of the event, and ahead of our own Fashion Week in August, Viva spoke to seven figures about how they aimed to make an impression at Australian Fashion Week, and the moments that made an impression on them.
Liz Findlay, Zambesi
In the Sydney Morning Herald, Maggie Alderson declared “New Zealand is the new Belgium” (in reference to the celebrated Belgian designers of Antwerp Six, who changed the face of fashion in the mid-1980s). Zambesi was among those labels to make an impression on the papers (including Time magazine and CNN Style).
Our very first show in Sydney was the most amazing experience. I thought we would just be part of the group show, but the producer insisted we do a solo show. So, we got on with making a lot of clothes.
We were sewing until midnight, it was crazy. I did 74 exits. When we got to Sydney we [were told] to edit things out. I said ' no, I can’t, so just send the models out much faster, don’t leave so much space.’
We got a standing ovation, which was very overwhelming. It was just brilliant. It was lovely exposure in the media for that Sydney market.
Cate Blanchett filmed our [2000] show in Sydney. We dressed her a few times in the very early days.
Marissa Findlay, Zambesi
Zambesi’s creative director grew up around the fanfare of Australian Fashion Week. She recalls the inspiration she found.
I used to go to all the fashion weeks. I first went when I was 17 or 18. I met [model] Jennifer Souness and [producer] Marco Maccapani. They use to call me Thumbelina, ‘little mouse’ in Italian – I was very quiet, just learning.
We were invited to the Collette Dinnigan show and Jennifer introduced me to [Vogue Italy editor] Anna Piaggi. I hung out with her for the whole show. We were sitting at little Parisian dinner tables. It was very inspiring, and it was amazing to sit and talk with Anna. I remember wearing a Jean Paul Gaultier mesh with a suit printed on it, and my Zambesi flares underneath.
She did [comment on it] and she was fascinated with my pounamu. She went to the Zambesi show too. It was so iconic.
I learnt so much. I was photographing backstage, all the shows. I met Linda Evangelista, which was amazing. I really learnt the production side at a much more intense level.
It really impacted the way I looked at shows. When New Zealand Fashion Week came, I offered to intern with her and ended up being a producer.
Janetta MacKay
In 1997 and 1998, New Zealand Herald news writer Janetta MacKay was pulled off the desk and sent over to Sydney for the debut of New Zealand designers. She recalls the impact of the event and reporting alongside international editors.
I’d done fashion reporting in the past. We were offered a spot and a Viva editor of the day, Barbara Rogers, thought I was the best person to go. She thought I’d be good because I could cover news.
I guess it was a bit of a big deal, because the Herald had never really treated fashion as a news topic.
It was quite remarkable – compared with subsequent Fashion Weeks – because I was the only one, as far as I’m aware. I got hosted with the top international media. New Zealand generally doesn’t get treated in that way – I think it was just because I was sort of this lone extra.
You stayed in quite a flash hotel, and you sort of arrived at the hotel and they gifted quite a lot of things ... Stuff was being sent to the hotels, probably because they were trying to impress Italian Vogue – not me, obviously. It was pretty surreal.
The Australians have got a lot of big international media. They had a woman called Elsa Klensch from CNN, and she was quite a well-known wacky fashion commentator. They had Anna Piaggi from Italian Vogue, and they had some of those big British names that are still around, like Lisa Armstrong.
They commented on the New Zealand designers as having something a bit different. The Australians were all much more commercial, much more flesh-conscious, body-conscious. We were a bit more moody and different.
It was a big deal [for New Zealand designers], but I wouldn’t say they had as much cut through as they got probably the year or two later.
Certainly there was a bit of a buzz. The Zambezi clothes certainly made an impact. In the following year, 1998, is when Kate [Sylvester] and Karen [Walker] also went.
That gained more headlines, but that was also partly because other media had thought, ‘oh, Australian Fashion Week.’ [There was some] convincing people to take fashion a little bit seriously. That was the start of it. Fashion used to be a woman’s page thing, back in the day.
We were developing a growing sense of identity. I remember coming back and feeling quite proud that our stuff stood up, with the best of the Australian stuff without a doubt. And to my way of thinking, had a real point of difference.
Liam Bowden, Deadly Ponies
In 2018, the luxury handbag label debuted at Australian Fashion Week after years of nudging from an agency across the ditch. The collection featured transparent handbags and high shine purses, with a nod to cultish worship.
We were maybe a quarter of the way through the design process. We’d usually make it in one colourway, the most commercial – [but] this meant flipping it and going, ‘OK, what’s the least commercial?’
The concept was this kind of big reveal. It was pretty chaotic looking back. We’d hung a huge tree upside down in the space. This big sheet dropped and it was quick, fast, and then it was over. It was a buzz. It was like I’d taken a shot of something and I was ready to party.
It was definitely amplified, considering more the Australian customer who liked things a bit bolder, a bit more colourful – browns and golds and snake prints worked well for us in that market.
[Australian Fashion Week] was a moment where delegates [and industry] know who you are and see what you do. It definitely has an amplification effect, I guess, of what you’re already doing.
It was more of a nice-to-have, looking back, not a need-to-have. But, now, and when I’m 80, looking back, I’ll be like ‘wow, I remember we did that crazy thing.’
I love the idea of the spectacle or you’ve got to entertain someone for 30 minutes. It’s a little snapshot of what you’re about.
Jessie Wong, Yu Mei
The luxury handbag label has shown twice in collaborative efforts at Australian Fashion Week, receiving notable write-ups from international media.
Both opportunities came through trips to Paris, in different ways. The ESSE collaboration came via Robyn Catinella, the showroom we were based in during Paris Fashion Week. That introduction led to Yu Mei’s first runway in Sydney, which felt like an iconic way to debut at AFW – given the show was staged at the Opera House. Some of our Australian audience’s favourite shapes, like the Teresa Tote, were first debuted at this show.
Beare Park came the following Paris Fashion Week. I met Bella Pereira, Beare Park’s creative director, while we were both doing sales. We had dinner at Hotel Costes, and ended up going up the Eiffel Tower together just before it closed for the night. The Beare Park show was memorable for more than one reason. It was held at the Art Gallery of NSW, and the date happened to fall on my due date with Bobby. I watched it live-stream from home, sitting on a Swiss ball. The Bobby bag debuted in that show, so the day held a few firsts at once.
Market and industry size are the obvious draws. There’s a scale and proximity to Australia that makes it a meaningful platform for a New Zealand brand. Beyond that, it’s always a fun week, and you meet people you might end up working with down the track. A lot of what comes next gets seeded during those few days, which is part of why we keep showing up.
Australians love different things from our New Zealand audience – Australia loves bright colour – and getting to know our Sydney community has inspired new shapes that have been iterated from existing brand codes.
Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia Cherrie, Paris Georgia
Paris Georgia’s debut came with The Frontier in 2025. For the London-based NZ label Paris Georgia, Australian Fashion Week presented the opportunity to connect close to home and refine a brand aesthetic.
We saw [Australian Fashion Week] as a strong opportunity to present the brand alongside an impressive group of designers. The Frontier felt very considered and well executed, and being based in London, it was also a meaningful way for us to reconnect with the Southern Hemisphere and our audience there.
We worked closely with stylist Karla Clarke, who brought a clear and thoughtful perspective to the collection. The process was very collaborative – refining the looks, considering proportion and styling, and ensuring everything felt cohesive on the runway.
We really valued the see-now, buy-now format. It created an immediate connection between the runway and our customer, which feels very aligned with how we think about the brand today. Showing in that context reinforced the importance of clarity – designing pieces that feel resolved, wearable, and relevant in the moment.
Manahou Mackay
Model Te Manahou Mackay has been a mainstay for runways in Australia, from Deadly Ponies in 2018 to Carla Zampatti in 2025.
I actually barely remember any of my first Australian Fashion Week things – the most I remember is when I was platinum blonde and all my hair was falling out that week.
I had triple bleached it in the space of two months and was working a lot, getting heat on it every day – so I had to cut it all off.
The brands that I work with now have really developed relationships. So, it’s way less pressure now. It’s just like seeing friends for a week at this stage. Just hanging out.
The most moving show that I did was for Nicol and Ford. That’s an all queer show. It was a history and education of trans research from the 1920s by Magnus Hirschfeld.
I haven’t, in my life, got to spend a whole bunch of time with the queer community to that calibre. So being amongst so many queer bodies, in fashion and in beauty, it was just a really beautiful time. I was crying backstage. It was so nice to be in community, in terms of being queer, but also in terms of fashion. I’m very excited to walk for them again.
Interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.
Australian Fashion Week runs until May 15. New Zealand Fashion Week returns to Auckland from August 17 to 22. Tickets are on sale now at Nzfashionweek.com.
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