The Vanguards. The Artists. The New-Gen. Meet your Power Listers.
Fashion influencers get a bad rap. But at FashioNZ, we believe the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
And so we present our inaugural FashioNZ Creators Power List, celebrating 30 of the squeakiest wheels in NZ fashion, whose willingness to put their hands up and their necks out invariably greases the track for the whole industry, keeping the content fresh and the conversation moving.
The Vanguard
Aotearoa’s most established and prolific content creators, with the utmost influence and engagement.
Ash Owens @ashowens_
“The ‘influencer’ world was my dream job, and still to this day feels like the perfect career for me.”
Get to know Ash here
Beck Wadworth @beckwadworth
“I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world and work with some of my dream brands including Veuve Clicquot, Tiffany & Co, Net-A-Porter, Emma Lewisham, Mecca, Lexus, Burberry, Sarah Ellison, Giorgio Armani and many more.”
Get to know Beck here
Caitlin Wiig @caitlinwiig
“For me, it’s important to break down that ‘picture perfect life’ that people always assume influencers have, and instead create a world where my audience can relate.”
Get to know Caitlin here
Chloe Hill @chloechill
“I handpick projects that strongly align with my style and ethics and try to go out of my way to support local brands and sustainable and ethical makers.”
Get to know Chloe here
Hannah Barrett @hannahlaity
“I often joke that I am either in hot pink sequins or all black – there isn’t a huge amount of in-between.”
Get to know Hannah here
Harry Dalton @mrdaltonharris
“Fashion for me is a means of self-expression. I come from a pretty hardcore rugby background, where expressing an ounce of femininity or creativity was quickly squashed by your peers and adults.”
Get to know Harry here
Jaime Ridge @jaimeridge
Get to know Jaime here
Jess Molina @jessmolina
“I loved magazines but never saw myself represented in them. But I didn’t want to change myself to be accepted in those spaces. I wanted to change those spaces so more people who look like me would not just be tolerated, but welcomed.”
Get to know Jess here
Juliette Perkins @julietteperkins_
Get to know Juliette here
Mandy Duncan @_mandyduncan
“My goal is simple: to empower others to replicate these looks, proving that fashion is an inclusive realm where everyone can find their unique style.”
Get to know Mandy here
Mary Outram @mary_oh_
“Fashion, for me, isn’t about how you look, it’s a feeling. What I’m passionate about is inspiring others with their outfit choices and instilling that same feeling into their everyday.”
Get to know Mary here
Portia Prince @portiaprince
“My goal is to create, authentically. That means not always striving for huge insights or views, but putting out clear messages that my community may or may not have been in dialogue with before.”
Get to know Portia here
Rosalie Burns @rosalieburns
“It’s all so exciting, but there’s always this element of risk. It’s a job that absolutely lacks security and stability.”
Get to know Rosalie here
Sarah Stuart @styledbysarahstuart
“My intent was never to use my social media platform to become an influencer, nor do I consider myself one. The idea was to use it as an extension of myself and my love for the fashion industry.”
Get to know Sarah here
Siposetu Duncan @siposetuduncan
“In continuing my creative pursuits, I hope to see more people that either look like me, or share my passion to step into these spaces.”
Get to know Siposetu here
Zeenat Wilkinson @zeenatwilkinson
“As an influencer, I’m only interested in providing an honest endorsement of brands that resonate with me. In this way, I hope that my content becomes a valued piece of the brand conversation.”
Get to know Zeenat here
The Artists
The truest content creators – those who aren’t traditional ‘influencers’, but whose influence on the industry through their creative output is undeniable.
Blue Hamel @halfofnothing
“My work focuses on sustainability and creativity. Through a combination of futurist concepts and delicate details, I want to contribute to a world in which fashion can overcome physical barriers.”
Get to know Blue here
Bonnie Brown @studio.bon
“My illustration style is so influenced by the fashion world. Through my work I get to work parallel to the industry, whether that’s through collaborations, limited edition packaging, or magazine illustrations.”
Get to know Bonnie here
Juno Jung @the.juno.jung
“As a small-height model wannabe, the chances of breaking into mainstream modelling were limited, with not many clients seeing me as an editorial-worthy. So I just decided to take a self-portraits with the fashion items I collect from different sources, locally and internationally”
Get to know Juno here
Laura Snelling @ljsstudios
“My photography ethos aims to capture the pure essence of human energy and spirit in my visual storytelling making portraiture photography my main calling.”
Get to know Laura here
Marc Moore @marcmoore
“I’m probs not your conventional ‘influencer’, that’s for sure.”
Get to know Marc here
Sammy Salsa @sammysalsastyle
“When I first started out in fashion, my goals were a lot different to what they are now. You grow up and get a (fashion) reality check.”
Get to know Sammy here
Kiekie Stanners @kiekies__
“I have always tried to champion local fashion – wearing NZ designers when working abroad or presenting in front of an audience. And in the face of the changing media landscape, that has shifted to my social content too.”
Get to know Kiekie here
New Gen
The hardest and most exciting category to narrow down. Locally, the volume of young content creators coming through and rewriting the rulebook of modern media speaks to a global trend that shows that influencers aren’t going anywhere.
Dennise Palpal-latoc @asianbellahadid
“Two years into my PhD, my day-to-day became quite repetitive and at times, stressful. I wanted to do something more creative on the side that was different and exciting. I started posting my outfits on TikTok and Instagram for fun and eventually, people and brands started noticing my content.”
Get to know Dennise here
Liv Purdon @livpurdon
“The world of social media influencing is a whirlwind, and I’ve learned to take each month as it comes. I’m always ready to pivot and get creative at a moment’s notice.”
Get to know Liv here
Michel Baudouin @lifeofmichel
“My journey into the world of fashion wasn’t a premeditated leap but rather a realisation inspired by observing it from the sidelines.”
Get to know Michel here
Rose Chang @appoc
“My initial goal was to establish a community for women who share an enthusiasm for sneakers, and connect sneaker fans from all over the world as we share our passion on Instagram.”
Get to know Rose here
Sophie de Renzy @sophiederenzy
“I aspire to be the creator that people look to for inspiration, and to encourage my audience to stay authentic in a fast-paced world of momentary trends.”
Get to know Sophie here
Sophie Negus @sophienegus_
“I’ve faced both the allure and the pitfalls of the digital age and learned that the path to self-expression isn’t always a smooth one.”
Get to know Sophie here
Tobi Innes @tobi.innes
“You could say I am fully immersed in the world of social media. Many of my days are filled with capturing photos, creating (hopefully) engaging content and living by the mantra that fashion is about expressing your mood.”
Get to know Tobi here
The FashioNZ Creators Power List 2023 was brought to life with the support of Powerhouse