2015 New Zealand Fashion Week Opens

2015 New Zealand Fashion Week Opens with a Celebration of Innovation

The New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW) Opening Launch was a fitting beginning to an event that celebrates innovation, ingenuity and excellence.

The opening party, attended by local dignitaries including Auckland Mayor Len Brown and MP Jacinda Ardern, international guests, media and designers, signaled the start of the fifteenth year of NZFW and acknowledged the success of two inspiring New Zealand initiatives, led by NZFW partners.

This year NZFW are incredibly proud to be partnering with NZ-led social enterprise, ‘Child Labor Free’.

Child Labor Free (CLF) is the world’s first global accreditation system that will allow companies across all product categories to have their supply chains independently certified as ‘Child Labor Free’.

Qualifying brands will be able to display a mark of certification, communicating to their customers where their brand is on the journey to becoming child labor free.

New Zealand Fashion Week designers Hailwood, Kate Sylvester, Nom*D, RUBY and Stolen Girlfriends Club have lead a pilot programme, working closely with CLF to refine the accreditation system as well as documenting and sharing their journey with the industry and customers along the way.

Beyond this group, NZFW designers Zambesi and twenty-seven names have also joined the journey to become child labor free.

The social enterprise’s influence is already moving beyond New Zealand fashion week – other brands to already sign on include the ecostore, Untouched World, Chaos & Harmony, Starex and Tree Hopper Toys.

Michelle Pratt, Co-Founder and CEO of Child Labor Free who spoke at the opening of NZFW said: “We are so thankful for the incredible support we’ve received from NZFW and the designers. We’re now looking forward to working with other brands in New Zealand and globally as they start their journey to becoming child labor free.”

Dame Pieter Stuart, Director of New Zealand Fashion Week added: This year, NZFW is thrilled to be partnering with ‘Child Labor Free’ which is tackling the very serious issue of businesses working ethically throughout the world. It is something I personally feel very strongly about and we are proud to be part of the CLF journey.”

Watch the video of the NZFW designers talk about their experience and share their message for other brands here.

Another initiative close to Dame Pieter’s heart is nurturing and coaching young people who aspire to be in the fashion industry. This year, NZFW partnered with HITO, the New Zealand Hair and Beauty Industry Training Organisation to create the 2015 HITO Hot New Talent Competition, with the aim of identifying a future generation of fashion influencers and experts and assisting them into apprenticeships.

The competition garnered over 250 entries across five categories, Hair Stylist/Barber, Makeup Artist, Stylist, Female Model and Male Model. After a public vote and a final stage of deliberation by industry experts, the winners were announced at the launch last night.

The winners are as follows:

Hair Stylist/Barber
Hannah Oxley of Invercargill. Rodney Wayne Creative Director, Richard Kavanagh will mentor Hannah.

Makeup Artist
Emma Robinson of Christchurch. Kristen Stewart School of Makeup founder, Kristen Stewart, will mentor Emma.

Stylist
Rebecca McGill of Wellington. Fashion Quarterly Editor, Sally-Ann Mullin will mentor Rebecca.

Female Model
Sarah Lake of Christchurch. Portfolio Models will mentor Sarah.

Male Model
Nichol Drayton of Christchurch. Portfolio Models will also mentor Nichol.

ENDS

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