New Zealand Fashion Week 2026: Indigenous fashion takes center stage
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New Zealand Fashion Week 2026 placed Indigenous fashion at the centre of its 25th-anniversary edition, with Kāhui Collective’s 16-designer runway, an inaugural Indigenous Symposium and multiple Māori and Pacific-led shows. The program was a big step towards Indigenous representation, which has long been a part of NZFW, but has expanded in recent years.
In 2016, 16 designers — 8 designers from Aotearoa Māori/Pasifika and 8 international Indigenous designers from Alaska, Canada, First Nations Australia, India, Fiji, Rotuma, and Taiwan — created the largest-ever Indigenous runway at the event. The entire production was Māori-led, including hair and makeup.
The group was led by Kāhui Collective, founded in 2017 by designer Kiri Nathan, whose career is entangled with New Zealand’s recent fashion history.
Nathan was the first winner of the Miromoda Emerging Designer award in 2009, given by the Indigenous Māori Fashion Apparel Board. The designer debuted at NZFW in 2009, and in 2023, Nathan became the first Māori designer to open NZFW in its 22-year history. In 2025, Nathan’s Kāhui Collective debuted at the event with six Māori and Indigenous designers showcasing their collections.
Other 14 Indigenous designers, from locals to internationals across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, joined forces on a runway show promoted by Pacific Fusion. Both runway presentations showcased ancient craft, featuring handwoven textiles, natural dyes, harakeke and muka throughout the collections.
The NZFW 2026 edition also included the debut solo presentation of Fijian designer Makaira Lee’s By Kai, which is created in Aotearoa alongside her mother Jeannie. The designer explored the tension found between different places and people that feel like home in her collection titled “When are you coming home?”
Other highlights of the event included Karen Walker, who staged an 80-model, travel-themed show at Auckland Art Gallery with Thomasin McKenzie and Benee; Caitlin Crisp, who debuted a solo headline show with the Royal New Zealand Ballet; Twenty-seven names, which celebrated 20 years; and Juliette Hogan, Kathryn Wilson, Taylor, Zambesi and Claudia Li anchored the Shed 10 schedule.
NZFW was founded by Dame Pieter Stewart in 2001, and is now run by Feroz Ali.