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.

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’ll be remembered forever – that’s why the industry still talks about Zambesi’s 2005 show at the St James Theatre, King Kapisi’s Overstayer collection in 2003 and Campbell Luke’s 2019 debut.

I can’t 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.

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’t even exist yet), you really, really had to be there – or pick up a newspaper the next day, or magazine the following month. 

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.

Ngahuia Williams – model, agent, photographer

I think it was… 2001 or 2002. I was in the early stages of my modelling career, and that would have been my first one. 

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’s creative vision, often looking very different from your natural self. For a teenager, it was incredibly exciting.

One thing I remember vividly was the anticipation surrounding each show. There was no social media, so if you weren’t 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.

My memories… from those early years are a little muddled, so I’ll go with the moments that have stayed with me over time.

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’s one of those shows that has stayed with me, and if I remember correctly, the party afterwards was pretty epic too.

I also remember Karen Walker presenting a show with a gorilla on stage, which definitely left an impression. NOM*d’s Don’t Shoot show in 2003 was another standout. It really was such a good time.

I recall… the nerves of not knowing what the experience would be like and having to do it anyway. As a model, there’s 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’t topple over in a pair of impossibly high heels!

Looking back… 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. 

As someone who was still discovering their own identity and independence, I loved being part of a world where people encouraged each other’s creativity. It felt supportive, vibrant and full of possibility.

Fashion week has changed enormously over the years, but I feel really grateful to have experienced it for the changes and the growth!

NZFW 2026: Ngahuia will be working behind the scenes and is set to appear on the runway too.

Des Rusk, designer

My first fashion week was… 2002.

I was there… mostly lingering trying to get an invite to a show. I think I walked in a show but I can’t remember.

I felt… 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’t actually remember what I attended! The shows were heavily trade focused, so invites were for media, buyers and those within the brands’ inner circle. Being a newby meant getting an invite was a hard task. 

The most memorable part was… 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 – some of it fun and exciting, some of it pompous and cynical, but that all added to it. 

I wore… likely a mixture of Little Brother (I was working there at the time), and something self-made.

Looking back now, it felt… 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 – 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. 

NZFW 2026: Des Rusk’s label Longform will appear in The Studio group show.

Anjali Burnett, co-founder of Twenty-seven Names

My first fashion week was… 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.

I felt… So fizzy and excited.

We attended… Anything and everything we could sneak/get tickets to.

I wore… A cotton T-shirt dress with a built-in waistcoat complete with contrasting white stitching and black-on-black Converse (again, emo much?)  

The most memorable part was… Rachel had a full-blown pixie cut. Like Agyness Deyn [the influential British model]. Iconic 2000s vibes.

Looking back now… I feel grateful Rachel had that, because I have been going back to the well on that for the last 20 years.

I also want people to… support independent locally made brands – buy tickets to the shows.

NZFW 2026: Twenty-seven Names is returning to the runway this year (the brand’s 20th anniversary) with its first fashion week show since 2018.

Rebecca Lawson, PR and event production

My first NZFW… was 2008.

I was working… with Lucy Slater, looking after front of house for Stolen Girlfriends Club’s 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.

The following year was my most memorable though: SGC’s 2009 show, Last Night’s 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. 

As an experience… 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.

Being… 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 – so many amazing humans, all in it together. 

I wore… an amazing SGC dress that is still in my wardrobe.

Looking back now… There was no better place to be: shows followed by drinks at SPQR, then we’d do it all again the next day. I just remember having so much fun, and making life-long friends. 

NZFW 2026: Rebecca Lawson now works for NZFW as designer liaison and show producer.

Kiekie Stanners, makeup artist

I went to my first fashion week when… I was a young teenager. I had caught the bus from East Auckland to go to an NZFW show. I’m not sure what note I produced to get me out of school for the afternoon, but perhaps it was “research” 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’t think twice about turning up to a show on my own.

I wore… my favourite vintage low-rise black sateen pants, and an electric blue Insidious Fix tie-up halter knit – very skimpy, very cropped, very sheer for just watching a show! I got changed out of my school uniform in the bathrooms. I can’t remember exactly what shoes, but I will assume I had on my black sequin mesh slides (you know the ones) from Wah Lee’s.

There wasn’t any show dynamics – no theatrics or sets, no crazy lighting or mood, just a classic raised catwalk fashion show at the Auckland Town Hall. I can’t recall exact styling, but I remember male models wearing singular feather earrings with knits and I thought that was such a bad ass styling statement.

The most memorable moment was… when I realised I had sat myself front row, in some bright lights, and then recognised a lot of the models when they walked out, I couldn’t stop myself from doing a nervous wave to all of them when we made eye contact. I was like “OMG Kiekie, so embarrassing, stop doing that” but I literally couldn’t.

I think I probably had grand plans to hang around after the show, go to the installations or whatever else there may have been at the NZFW hub at the time, but most likely picked up my school bag and walked straight back to the bus stop to minimise my cringe factor.

Looking back now… I feel incredibly nostalgic about both that time in Auckland and the young version of me at that age. It felt very exciting to be around fashion; New Zealand Fashion Week was starting up, and High Street, Lorne Street, K Road and the CBD also had such an alternative, stylised feel to them. I was so curious and hungry to be around any event that involved fashion and music, everything felt very creative and expressive. I adored people-watching for styling statements – obviously there was no social media then, so wandering the CBD or going to bFM Summer Series or hanging out long enough at Verona or Brazil on K Rd you were sure to get some cool girl inspiration. I am quite proud of baby Kieks at that age – I was really ballsy in just going all in and doing things.

That first show was the start of me being involved with NZFW for nearly every other year since. I worked as a volunteer dresser as part of studying fashion, backstage dressing for Zambesi while working for the brand, then straight into the makeup team with MAC for many years to come. Every experience I have had with NZFW has been uniquely different from the last, and it was always a hugely important and exciting rock in my calendar. I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings and the new excitement it gives to young creatives who are heading along for their first time.

NZFW 2026: Kiekie Stanners is directing makeup at the Karen Walker and Zambesi shows.