Community collaboration, creative connection

Otago Polytechnic fashion graduates photographed at a shared studio in central Dunedin. Photo: Dylan McCutcheon-Peat

Fashion educator and sustainability practitioner Tracy Kennedy, fashion designer, photographer and lecturer Dylan McCutcheon-Peat and Otago Polytechnic academic leader of fashion Prof Margo Barton talk to the local designers showcasing at Te Wiki Āhua Aotearoa, Auckland’s underground fashion week.

Emerging designers and fashion creatives from across the motu, including eight Otago Polytechnic School of Design fashion graduates and a Dunedin School of Art jewellery graduate, will converge on Auckland this week to celebrate innovation and diversity, through a series of fashion shows and events.

The streets of Auckland will be abuzz with a creative community pursuing alternative platforms to showcase their work and connect, collaborate and consume all things fashion.

With a focus on growing their brands through community recognition, and beyond the financial constraints of New Zealand Fashion Week, these designers utilise the power of youthful exuberance and edgy storytelling to bring new looks to the fashion industry.

There is something for everyone with an exciting lineup of nightly events throughout the week.

We caught up with these designers before the third Āhua Aotearoa fashion week to ask what they want to achieve from participating, what inspires their creative outputs and why they are embarking on a challenging career in the New Zealand fashion industry.

The Cats Meow — The collection looks back at the "it girls" of the past, drawing on the aesthetics of different eras, with each look telling its own story. Model Devon Gamble. Photo: Jack King

Kennedy Lahood, Molly Stevens and Siara Marx are passionate about collaboration, and while they all have their own brands — Kennedy has Manawa, Stevens, Lulette and Marx, Sleeping Profit — at Āhua Aotearoa this year the trio have blended their fashion worlds in their collaborative show called "The Cats Meow".

All three voiced sentiments around the opportunity to build community. Lahood stated: "My collection for Āhua is a collaborative project with my best friends from Lulette and Sleeping Profit. We’ve blended our three creative worlds together, which has resulted in something really fun, romantic and theatrical". Stevens says "I’m excited to be surrounded by people who are pushing boundaries and shaping the future of fashion in Aotearoa", and when discussing what fuels their design say they "like to build a narrative around the garment so it feels like it carries emotion or history". Marx has shown twice before at Āhua, and reflects " ... whilst runway photos and brand exposure are amazing, I always find the connections made during show week is the highlight for me". @lulette-- ; @manawawardrobe; @sleepingprofit

Existence Scar Trench, Lucas Jones, 2026, Model Finn Strang. Photo: Elena Robertson

Lucas Jones loves learning new skills. After showing in Āhua in 2025, then completing a bachelor of design (fashion), Jones moved to Auckland, activating their ambition to "envelop myself in all aspects of the industry and really gain an understanding on how things work, and how I can use that understanding to put forward a successful body of work/label". Jones is well on their way to achieving this desire, as designs from their "Existence" brand will be for sale at The Shelter Auckland during Āhua Aotearoa Fashion Week. @exist3ncenow

Flax Hubzzy; Fall/Winter 2026; Model Ramona Mahutte. Photo: Ethan Montañer

Flax Hubzzy is Felix Huber’s showing at Āhua this year.

Like Lucas, Siara and Finn, this is not their first showing.

Huber wants to make connections and be more involved in the community, especially as an Ōtepoti based fashion designer "connecting with people outside of Dunedin also comes with lots of new vibes, moods and ideas to explore and bring into the world I have already built".

Huber went on to say the event "also provides a great opportunity for self-reflection on what worked and what didn’t and see what ideas can be brought over into the next project."

@maison-flax-hubzzy

ANIINA Chainmail Gown; Model Kennedy Lahood. Photo: Silva McDowell

Silva McDowell and their ANIINA brand hope to make "connections with like-minded people and a sense of community".

"Āhua being based in Tāmaki [Auckland] feels like a step out of the small sphere of the Ōtepoti fashion scene which hopefully means a larger audience and more opportunities to continue to work in the current fashion economy in Aotearoa."

McDowell’s aim with their designing is to "complement and empower women, their minds, bodies, strength". Vivienne Westwood’s political stance is important to McDowell, so much so they have a tattoo in reference to Westwood — a bow with a Westwood charm — as a graduation present to themselves. @aniina-aniina

M.V.H Jewellery; Twin Heart Lucky in Love. Photo: Meg Van Hale

While fashion designers have a tradition of showing their designs on the catwalk, this is not usually the case for jewellers. Āhua provides a unique opportunity for jeweller Meg Van Hale to share their MVH jewellery designs in "a new way, on the runway". Like the fashion designers featured here, van Hale also spoke of connection and the "great chance to work alongside fellow makers; the sense of community and the inclusive welcoming energy I have felt has been really amazing".

@mvh.jewellery

Jojo Ross; Model Harper Sergeant from 62 model management. Photo: Felix Jackson

Jojo Ross started their eponymous brand in 2016, showing in New Zealand Fashion Week in 2019. For Ross, their motivation wasn’t to start a business after graduation or make connections. but to celebrate a huge milestone in life — the birth of their first child. Ross says the collection is "a time capsule of thoughts and emotions from both sides [pre baby and motherhood] of this brave new world". @jojo.ross

Alex Strachan. Photo: Dylan McCutcheon-Peat

The fashion industry is a wide and varied field with a multitude of roles. Not all participants in Āhua are presenting their collections. Following a 2025 internship with Āhua Aotearoa as a production assistant, recent fashion design graduate Alex Strachan has taken on the role of production assistant for Finn Mora-Hill in 2026. Like the emerging designers above, Strachan is most interested in collaboration and stated that besides working on the production side of the week, Strachan hopes "to build meaningful connections and further immerse myself in the New Zealand fashion community". Strachan’s long-term goals are to have their work "encourage reflection and conversation, while also providing people with garments that feel meaningful to wear".

Finn Mora-Hill. Photo: supplied

One of the key people of the 2026 Āhua Aotearoa is Finn Mora-Hill, designer of Fringes Garments and passionate fashion professional. Mora-Hill joined Āhua in 2024 as a designer, and more recently became a producer. Mora-Hill said he felt "super lucky to be a director with five very close friends ... Āhua serves an important purpose to allow emerging designers to explore creativity and learn how runways work". @fringes.garments

In 2025 Āhua Aotearoa was scheduled next to New Zealand Fashion Week — it is noteworthy established designers such as Jojo Ross are now gliding between these two Auckland-based fashion weeks.

Many of the garments and jewellery pieces will be featured in a pop-up exhibition and retail space at The Shelter Auckland, where Vicki Taylor continues their ongoing support of emerging designers, showcasing the work of 40 young Āhua o Aotearoa designers.

Taylor hopes "the event not only spotlights a new generation of Kiwi designers, but also reminds people how important local support is to our creative sector, particularly in a challenging economic climate".