New Zealand Fashion Week returns with a fresh outlook and new leaders at the helm. Dan Ahwa talks to general manager Yasmin Farry about what to expect.
It’s official: New Zealand Fashion Week will mark its comeback to the events calendar this year, taking place on August 29 to September 2.
The five-day fashion affair will also make a return to the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland this spring, after its brief homecoming at the Auckland Town Hall in 2019 — the last time Fashion Week took place.
Under the guidance of its new owner and entrepreneur Feroz Ali, who acquired Fashion Week in May 2021 from its founder Dame Pieter Stewart, the event will also debut a fresh outlook under the vision of its general manager Yasmin Farry, after three years of being unable to take place due to lockdowns. “I think the return to the Viaduct Events Centre actually lends itself to having beautiful big open runway spaces, modern facilities and space to host and network with all of our partners and industry,” says Yasmin.
Since Fashion Week’s hiatus, the local fashion industry has grappled with challenges faced during the pandemic, experiencing significant changes in the way consumers engage and consume fashion on an operational, societal, and environmental level.
This includes the increase of digital communications with suppliers and customers, logistical supply chain issues, conversations around inclusivity, marketing squarely targeted at Gen Z audiences, and the industry’s ongoing conflict with sustainability.
One outcome during this period is the increasing awareness of improving cultural competency, and included in the new-look New Zealand Fashion Week is a dedicated commitment to connecting the industry with mana whenua, particularly Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
“For us, we’re building on the legacy of New Zealand Fashion Week,” says Yasmin. “As a new team — and in essence a new company — we’re building the foundation by consultation with the wider industry as well as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei which will strengthen the brand. I see that as a very important element of the reimagined New Zealand Fashion Week.”
In addition to this, Yasmin says there will be a much bigger emphasis on consumer-facing shows, along with a concerted effort to further support emerging designers beyond Fashion Week.
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Advertise with NZME.In support of the announcement, leading fashion designer Kate Sylvester has confirmed she will show.
“We are very excited to celebrate our 30-year milestone as part of New Zealand Fashion Week and be part of the relaunch of such an important event for our industry,” says Kate. “Fashion Week has played a significant role in our brand history and brought to life some of our most iconic runway shows.”
Stepping into the role of general manager in September 2022, Farry is a familiar face to the event having worked as a leading producer from 2001 through to 2016, and subsequently as a producer from 2018 onwards after a brief hiatus in between.
Since her appointment, Yasmin has also received support from Pieter, who continues to serve in an advisory role. Speaking with Viva upon her appointment in 2022, Yasmin is aware the opportunity for the wider industry to connect in real life right now is few and far between.
“Virtual connection isn’t as powerful as bringing a customer into their world, telling a story among the energy and buzz of a runway show. It’s the energy of bringing people together designers, models, makeup artists, customers, buyers and media that is so important and why fashion weeks globally are having a post-pandemic comeback. NZFW also allows our emerging brands, young creatives and stylists a platform for visibility.”
In the six months since she came on board, Yasmin has also met with designers one-on-one to canvas their feedback about the type of Fashion Week they’d like to see.
“I began speaking with industry and designers in September last year, and the majority of people were incredibly positive about seeing Fashion Week back on the calendar. There were definitely elements that people wanted to see change,” says Yasmin.
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Advertise with NZME.“One particular feedback was having even more of the ability to talk directly to the consumer as well as trade. Things have changed since 2019, and the way people speak to their buyers and their consumers has evolved rapidly, so that was a strong consideration for us.”
“It’s been a very critical time to listen and weigh up the varying views of everyone,” says Yasmin.
“This is why we’ve landed back on that same time period of August simply because it allows us to factor that feedback and have the time to do it justice. We had to also factor in where were placed in terms of the international fashion week calendar, to make sure we weren’t clashing with anyone and to ensure this worked for our designers and their planning too.”
From what we’ve seen already in London and Sydney fashion weeks in particular, a desire for interactive programming on the schedule is a key component to ensuring that any fashion week is engaging and relevant to the public, with a goal of introducing more accessible panel talks and workshops peppered in amongst traditional shows and installations.
“The intention is to have at least three industry panel discussions or seminars. There will be a mix of ticketed events, but what we’re wanting to do is to try and disperse a few more hybrid trade and consumer shows between Tuesday to Thursday. The exact number is early days but, obviously, those shows will have limited ticket sales. We really want to give the general public access to the full week.”
Vancouver-based Feroz, who last spoke with Viva on the eve of what was meant to be the 20th anniversary New Zealand Fashion Week in 2021, divides his time and business interests between Canada and New Zealand. He also owns Whitecliffe College in Auckland, and several years ago acquired New Zealand Fashion Tech and merged it the following year with Whitecliffe, under the Asia Pacific Education Corporation (APED).
Communicating with local industry to support the return of Fashion Week, Feroz is keen to safeguard the future of Fashion Week.
“I have engaged with several folks some present and some past members of Fashion Week and the industry,” he explained at the time. “Mindful Fashion was one particular group and I am fully supportive of their agenda in highlighting and educating everyone about fashion sustainability. A key theme arising is ensuring the event is accessible to both industry and consumers. We are also looking for a large title sponsor that can get behind NZFW so that we have the necessary resources to deliver the best event going forward.”
“Feroz is a key part of our executive team,” adds Yasmin, “and as the owner, he is strongly invested in the future of the event. He is a fantastic leader and he has really left myself and my team to it, offering his recommendations and guidance along the way.”
With Feroz’s particular passion for the education sector, strengthening New Zealand Fashion Week’s commitment to the next generation is a key part of the new leadership team’s vision.
Several new brands have emerged over Covid — some with a professional backing and others simply selling over Instagram — so one of Fashion Week’s key challenges will be how to engage brands at varying stages of their business.
This year’s event will build on its legacy of spotlighting new talent with the NZFW Next Gen initiative — a runway event designed to support, develop and promote emerging New Zealand talent, supported by an industry-led mentorship programme.
“We definitely want to elevate and uplift the next generation of designers,” says Yasmin " and they are a real mix of business models. So it’ll be interesting to see who we can connect with and who will be interested in showing at Fashion Week. But we really want to appeal to a wide and diverse range of those mixed-gender designers too.”
Along with shaping a schedule that will need to engage with a wide range of brands, the production of an event of this scale requires a fresh set of experienced eyes to take it to the next level, as well as improving the backstage experience for those involved working behind the scenes.
“Something else that is new is that I’m working with actual event producers,” says Yasmin. “So they will cover various areas of the events and the special projects that run alongside them. I think that’s a real difference because having, a team of event producers that have worked on multi-dimensional events across various industries throughout their careers is really important. This will impact our sustainability efforts, security and how we deliver seamless experiences in terms of registration and ticketing. Having those producers on board is enabling us to look at various innovations in this space.”
