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JASON DORDAY/Stuff
Kiri Nathan will be the first Māori designer to open New Zealand Fashion Week when it returns to Auckland in late August.
Kiri Nathan is set to be the first Māori designer to open New Zealand Fashion Week, when the event returns in August after a three-year hiatus.
Nathan’s premiere slot on the runway roster aligns with NZFW’s renewed “focus on Te Ao Māori and a sustainable circular model for the industry.”
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Nathan (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Paoa) told Stuff that her selection mattered because “reference points are important.
“Opening this year’s NZFW means there’s been a shift in the way our industry operates, and that we have a responsibility to create a moment that supports this shift, adding a different layer to our collective NZ fashion story.”
Nathan is a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contribution to Māori and the fashion industry.
Her eponymous brand is a family owned business that produces bespoke fashion, Pounamu jewellery and contemporary handwoven Kākahu. Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wore a Kiri Nahtan handwoven kākahu to the Queen’s funeral.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
A model walks the runway during the Kiri Nathan show during New Zealand Fashion Week 2018.
She is also the founder of Kāhui Collective, an initiative that focuses on uplifting indigenous fashion businesses.
She was recently one of five local designers to refresh Kiwibank’s new uniforms, with her pieces drawing on her Māori whakapapa and experience with Māori weaving.
In a press release from NZFW, Nathan said that her collection will be “based on the haerenga of fashion for Māori, from kākahu muka through to today and a look into the future.
“It’s an honour to be the first Māori designer to open NZ Fashion Week and we’ll be showing our respect to the Māori makers and weavers of kākahu and clothing based on environmental impacts.”
NZFW also announced today that designers Kathryn Wilson, Campbell Luke, Juliette Hogan and NOM*d will join already confirmed designer Kate Sylvester in showing collections on their runway in 2023, with more to be announced.
New Zealand Fashion Week will be held at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland from Tuesday, August 29 until Saturday, September 2, 2023.
It was last held in 2019, with multiple postponements and cancellations. Founder Dame Pieter Stewart sold the event in 2021, with Yasmin Farry joining as its new general manager in 2022.