As New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW) prepares to celebrate its 25th year, renowned designer Kiri Nathan says Māori fashion is in its strongest position yet.
“The future of Māori fashion is in the best position that its ever been in. There are pathways now, there are opportunities, there is community, and there is far more experience, [that] experience is invaluable.”
Nathan (Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Maru, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) debuted at NZFW in 2009 after winning the inaugural Miromoda Emerging Designer award. In 2023, she became the first Māori designer to open the event.
“New Zealand Fashion Week is the most prestigious event in the New Zealand fashion calendar, so for any New Zealand designer that is showing on that runway or presenting in any way on the schedule, there’s a level of credibility that comes with that.”
He kāhui kaihoahoa pūeru Māori
This year, Nathan will produce the Kāhui Collective runway show for a second time following its successful debut in 2025, as well as lead the inaugural New Zealand Indigenous Fashion Symposium.
Kāhui Collective now includes around 40 Indigenous designers using fashion to share Indigenous worldviews, tikanga and stories.
This year’s runway will feature eight international Indigenous designers from Alaska, Canada, First Nations Australia, India, Fiji and Rotuma, alongside eight Māori and Pasifika designers from Aotearoa.
“Every single one of them has a very different aesthetic voice, story, but this one thread that brings us all together is Indigenous culture.”
Nathan says the cost of showing at NZFW has also become more accessible.
“The show that we did to open NZFW in 2023 cost over $100,000,” she explains.
“For the first time in 2025, they sold tickets to the public, and that helped to offset the cost of the designers. So last year for the first time, there was such a relief for designers out there.”
In 2025, designers paid only a couple of thousand dollars to take part, compared with more than $100,000 for Nathan’s 2023 opening show.
Kei te tōreretia ngā pūeru taketake
Last week, Kāhui Collective held its casting day, attracting more than 330 registered models.
“[This is] diversity at its best. The whole day, 330 very, very different people, very different voices and representation of culture was incredible,” she adds.
Alongside Māori and Pasifika models were applicants from Sri Lanka, Congo and Africa, as well as whaikaha models hoping to walk the runway.
“It’s the normalisation of something that hasn’t existed before.”
Nathan says the growing opportunities are encouraging the next generation.
“[I’m] very excited about the depth of rangatahi coming through.”
“In the past they would be discouraged - [there] weren’t points of reference to sort of show them what they could work towards.”
He pā taketake, he āhuru mōwai
Another major milestone is the opening of Te Pā in Glen Innes - Aotearoa’s first Māori and Indigenous fashion and arts hub.
The space brings together Indigenous fashion, art, retail and creative enterprise, with a focus on creating opportunities for Māori, Pacific and Indigenous designers, artists and entrepreneurs.
“Te Pā is more than a collection of shops,” Nathan says.
“This is about investing in our people and talents, creating a destination that excites and intrigues both our community and visitors.”
Te Pā includes the first Kāhui Collective Department Store, home to 30 Indigenous fashion labels and makers, including Adrienne Whitewood, Hunaarn, Nichola, Nōku Kākahu and Taiea. During next month’s NZFW, eight international Indigenous designers will join the store, with more local brands set to come on board.
Ngā kaihoahoa pūeru Māori o āpōpō
Among those championing Māori fashion is Natua Kaa-Morgan (Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Pūkenga ki Waiau), better known as Hinenuitepūweru, who has gained around 27,000 Instagram followers since she began posting Māori fashion content last year.
She says the page grew from conversations with Māori designers at last year’s NZFW about how she could support their work.
“Hinenuitepūweru was born out of that; just that need for spotlighting and highlighting and celebrating what our whānau Māori are doing in the creative space,” she says.
“Tirohia te reanga o te Kura Kaupapa Māori e puta ana, e whakahou ana i te ao.”
“Ahakoa kei te whare pāremata, kei te ao kori tinana, kei te ao reo, aha rānei, nā reira kāre i kore, ka pērā hoki i roto i tēnei ao pūeru.”
NZFW events will begin on 17 August.
