Stylist Alison Lewis from Christchurch was one of the five who got through.
She said the best thing about the shoot was seeing the vision coming together and collaborating with the other winners to get a great result.
Her mentor, Chris Lorimer, added that the competition opened up new avenues for young people hoping to break into the fashion industry.
"An opportunity like this is huge... you don't get it any other way and I think it works for Fashion Week beautifully."
Asrita Singh from Auckland — the winner of the makeup artist category — said she felt "really fortunate" to be mentored by M.A.C. makeup artist Amber D and was looking forward to working at Fashion Week.
"It's a very rare opportunity that someone gets to experience this and I intend to make the most of it," she said.
Fashion Week's Anna Jobsz said the competition and subsequent billboard shoot had exceeded expectations.
"I think we were all excited and open-minded because nothing like this has ever been done before in New Zealand," she told nzherald.co.nz.
"The shoot was exciting. Everyone was in harmony... you could tell that although the winners were in awe of their mentors, they also had their own ideas and it was great to see the collaboration."
Hunter McLeod, from New Plymouth, was the winner of the male model category and said he relished the opportunity to work with industry experts.
He entered the competition on a whim after seeing it advertised in a newspaper which was lying on a bench at the McDonald's he works at.
Although people have often told him he could be a model, McLeod said he was surprised to have been chosen.
"In the end it was between me and three others, but I had a lot of support from back home [on the Facebook campaign]."
McLeod said he was now concentrating on trying to find an agency and getting as much advice as he could from others in the business.
