The world’s first online fashion museum welcomed fashion lovers in real life this past weekend. Here’s what people wore and why.
What we choose to put on our backs each day is a natural part of how humans function, and the heart of the New Zealand Fashion Museum’s focus on
As part of the month-long Global Fashion Assembly 2024 - an initiative that engages global fashion industries from 22 countries to recognise how diverse fashion is, the Aotearoa component, led by the museum’s founder Doris de Pont, was held at the Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero Central City Library in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Spanning a range of activities and workshops, some highlights included an insight into the first-hand experience of the museum’s exhibition-making, archival research with the support of the library’s extensive archive collection, building relationships with our clothing and storytelling.
The free event also featured a workshop with local vintage seller Dianne Ludwig from Welcome Back Slow Fashion who reinforced her love of mending and washing pre-loved items to make our clothes last the distance, along with photography tips and selling advice.
An all-day repair workshop was stationed for the public to pop by and get their garments repaired along with learning some basic mending techniques, and a photography studio set up to teach people how and why clothes for the museum are documented in specific ways.
Below, an array of visitors dressed up for the occasion and shared the beloved treasures they wore along with why fashion is a vital part of their everyday life, photographed by rising photographer Felix Jackson.
Enid Eiriksson
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Advertise with NZME.A raspberry beret and matching lipstick caught our attention.
The former costume designer for the hit 80s TV series Gloss, wore a custom tweed Liz Mitchell jacket inflected with green, brown and orange. A complementary pistachio-colored shirt and smart black trousers helped further elevate her look for the day.
Doris de Pont (ONZM)
As one of the country’s most stylish women, the Fashion Museum founder led the day in typically stylish fashion.
Working on the Open Day’s diverse programme, Doris chose a signature dress by Dru Douglas, expertly created with vintage ties. The denim blazer is from her spring/summer 2005/2006 collection “Cheap Thrills in collaboration with artist Paul Hartigan, whose work was adapted to create signature textile prints for the collection.
De Pont’s earrings are described as her “Covid earrings”, two different earrings worn on each ear; one by jewellery Helen Holmes and the other de Pont’s creation made from a single Cook Island black pearl. Her boots are a 90s purchase from local footwear stalwart Briarwood.
Dominique de Give
The New Zealand Fashion Museum Trustee’s love of unique accessories was on display.
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Advertise with NZME.Wearing a pair of gifted feather earrings, the vintage lover explained her entire outfit was mostly thrifted including a second-hand Yohji Yamamoto jacket and a berry-hued Augustine felt hat. Jewels are a collection she has accumulated over the years, with some available from her online jewellery store Silver In the Cloud.
To complete her outfit, a pair of classic Old Skool Vans kicks add a casual and cool finish.
Boba Baluchova
The journalist combines comfort with colour.
With her vibrant red hair, Baluchova selects complementary tones with a jacket made by her mother and a pair of earrings made by Māori designer Nichola Te Kiri, a blue knit scarf and a pair of Dr Martens Chelsea boots.
Dianne Ludwig
The founder of Welcome Back Slow Fashion combines her passion for activism with style.
There to hold a workshop around her passion for pre-loved clothes, the Welcome Back Treasures from the Wardrobe session covered a wide range of topics, from practical care like mending and washing tips, and some of the appreciation of a garment’s provenance.
Here Ludwig wears a vintage DNA top layered underneath a classic factory jacket from Deane Apparel, a pair of Penny Sage jeans and a pair of boots she purchased in the 90s. She accessories with a Burberry satchel and a Palestine flag badge.
Justine McFarlane
An expert clash of prints.
Wearing a top and trousers purchased in Tairua, Justine’s favourite piece is her necklace - multicoloured beads purchased for $3 from an op-shop.
Tejo van Schie
An elegant figure dressed mostly in layers of black.
There to support wife Doris, van Schie is another example of a well-dressed man with a particular soft spot for locally made fashion. His linen patchwork coat is made from recycled kimonos from Auckland-based brand TUR Studio located on Karangahape Rd.
Steffie Bedford
Unique accessories add plenty of interest to this look.
A kaleidoscopic blazer makes a standout focal point for this outfit consisting of wardrobe basics of a white shirt and blue jeans. Purchased from Sinda Vintage in St Kevin’s Arcade, Bedford explains that fashion is about being “a walking mural. It’s the canvas for creative expression and a personal intention of liberation”.
Grayson Goffe
A cheerful disposition will never go out of style as Grayson proves.
Wearing a classic linen shirt, a unique piece of jewellery comes in the form of a gold necklace from Make Aotearoa Native Again. A gifted Keffiyah scarf adorns his head in solidarity with Palestine.
Shona Roberts
Having held senior roles in cultural organisations over the years, Roberts’ love of fashion runs deep.
Wearing a dress her mother made in the 1970s, Roberts wears this retro piece well with a pair of classic black boots. “To me, fashion is a love-hate thing. I love to dress up, but I mostly want to dress comfortably too.”
Nikirei and Zee
Bag charms and sneakers offer a snapshot of Gen-Z wardrobe obsessions.
Nikirei wears a Diesel leather jacket with a skirt from Korea with a plush bag charm of a croissant. Zee wears a smart thifted blazer with jeans. The most striking part of her look? A bolo tie made by local maker Vincentimenta.
Barbara Holloway
Auckland Council’s City Centre Place Activation Team leader Barbara Holloway is a vital figure in Auckland’s arts and culture communities.
A graphic print jumper makes an impact from Australian-based knitwear label Kaylene Milner, who often designs in collaboration with bands and artists under the label Wah Wah. Giving the print plenty of time to shine, Holloway teams this with black leggings and a pair of Valentino sneakers with silk ribbon ties.
Pete Bossley and Miriam van Wezel
Showing how to do weekend casual with style, the pair combine well-made pieces into two striking outfits.
The leading architect whose notable works include the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the McCahon artists retreat in Titirangi lets a pair of yellow chinos make an impact with a lightweight knit and a denim jacket. Artist van Wezel combines her utilitarian outwear with classic jeans and Asics sneakers. She describes fashion as something that isn’t always confined to “seasonal trends. Comfort is important”.
For Bossley fashion is an integral part of design. “Design is integral to everything in our lives.”
Philip Clarke
The New Zealand Fashion Museum trustee and chair of the Blumhardt Foundation combines sportswear with a passion for locally-made jewellery.
Crisp, sporty pieces from COS are combined with local jewels - a pendant from Koby Bosshard and rings from Et al and Warwick Freeman.
Emma Gleason
The deputy editor of The New Zealand Herald Lifestyle team is also a trustee of The New Zealand Fashion Museum.
“The skirt is 100% wool and made in New Zealand — the label says “Tiger & Tiger” — and I bought it from Tatty’s around 10 years ago.
“I got the jacket from Avondale Markets when I was 15, and there’s a Kate Sylvester cardigan underneath because it was cold and windy walking to the library. The tights are from Farmers. I bought the loafers, Sebago, second-hand from someone on Facebook. The bag is Papua New Guinea bilum that I got on eBay [we lived there when I was a kid]. Sunglasses are from Glassons.”
Lucia Holloway
The costume designer likes to dress tonally.
A custom Kmart shirt is embellished at the shoulders and styled with a pair of leopard print trousers and a necklace purchased from a trip to India.
Dan Ahwa is Viva’s fashion and creative director and a senior premium lifestyle journalist for the New Zealand Herald, specialising in the intersections of style, luxury, art and culture. He is also an award-winning stylist with more than 17 years of experience and is a co-author and co-curator of the book and exhibition Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now.
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