When NZFW started creeping up, I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting to model.
My agent asked me to pop in so they could take some fresh digis of me for fashion week, and no kidding, I sent her an email back asking if she was sure I should come in (iconic how that aged haha). I mean, in reality, I am considered short in the modelling industry, and definitely, have more of a commercial look, so I didn’t know there was really a place for models like me when it came to fashion week.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I was heading to my very first NZFW castings. From what I remember, the whole thing was super last-minute — which I guess, if you’re part of the industry, is mostly how it rolls. Most of the castings I was only asked to attend the day before, and the few castings I went to were spread out over a few (very hectic) days. Especially when you consider I was trying to balance this with my job in fashion media, too. Essentially, I was running from castings to work and back to castings, with lots of long waiting time in between.
If you want me to be honest, I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into (literally). I even had to call up a friend to ask what to wear (to nobody’s surprise, yes, it’s exactly as you see online, black fitted singlet, black fitted jeans) – don’t come for me, I was clearly stressed. To paint a picture, for those who want to know, the casting I went to had a few hundred models in attendance — all waiting for their five minutes to be seen, photographed, and, in some cases, walk (in deathly silence). It was a little intimidating, but simultaneously, very fun to see how fashion week was coming to life.
After castings, I was put on hold for the Karen Walker x Adidas show and officially cast in the Graduate Collection, The Greatest Hits, and the Kathryn Wilson shows. I had to turn down the Karen Walker x Adidas hold because of a shoot clash (still a little gutted about that), but honestly, I was just so stoked to even be considered.
The week itself – hectic, stressful, yet extremely blessed
When I tell you this was the busiest week of my entire 25 years on earth… I mean it. Working in fashion media and covering fashion week, while also being backstage and modelling in fashion week, was a journey that, honestly, I thought I wasn’t going to survive. But by the end, I was so grateful for the week that had been, and even though I was so ready to hibernate for the next week or so, I felt pretty sad to see it end.
Backstage is its own little universe — electric, chaotic, but kind of magical. Everyone has a role, and everyone’s energy feeds into the next. The models, hair and makeup teams, photographers, volunteers, organisers… It’s like one giant machine that keeps ticking. Being part of that rhythm, watching it all come together show after show, felt surreal and so special to be included in.
It’s hard to sum up the whole week, and I’m definitely not an esteemed writer, so instead, here are a few noteworthy moments from shows that stood out for me as a model:
The Kathryn Wilson shows – the energy of the girls backstage was buzzing. If you’ve never been to a Kathryn Wilson show, they’re nothing like your typical runway. They are super high energy, fun, and very different to other typical runways. The catwalk was silver-foiled, raised to eye level with the audience, and models were told to have fun and walk the runway like a night out. The track list was also a 10/10, with the show opening with The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson. I wasn’t nervous for this one at all; I was actually kind of excited. Nothing I love more than a cute heel and a good track I can strut to.
The Greatest Hits show ended up being my favourite to walk — and lucky for me, it happened twice, so I got to relive the whole thing. As the final runway of NZFW, there was this really beautiful energy in the air. Everyone was definitely tired, but also so grateful for the week that had been (at least that’s how it felt to me). Backstage, you could tell the models had been through it — hair fried from endless hairspray and heat tools, skin feeling raw from constant makeup and removals. But even still, that same exciting energy remained. For this show, I had glitter swept across my eyelids and wore my favourite look of the week — an archival wedding dress with a matching veil and tiara. I honestly felt like a real-life princess, and Dan Awha even let me close the second-to-last show, I was screaaaming (internally).
My NZFW wrap-up
All in all, my fashion week experience felt like a dream to live out in my mid-twenties. Kind of like the stories I imagine telling my kids when I’m digging through the archives for cool things to tell them. A week in the city, running between fashion shows and quick changes, having street-style photos snapped at every corner, with after-parties galore almost every night of the week. A week spent with friends and co-workers (turned family), a week spent obsessing over fashion and the culture that creates New Zealand Fashion Week. It was hard not to feel like I was in The Devil Wears Prada.
I’m still so new to the scene, which is why I feel genuinely honoured to have been given a part to play. New Zealand fashion already holds so much beauty and meaning, but the energy, history, and culture that come with NZFW are on another level. It’s incomparable to anything else I’ve experienced — especially while working in this industry.
Watching the industry come together to celebrate New Zealand’s designers and local brands is something we should be proud of, and I think each person, whether an attendee, an organiser, a tastemaker, a designer, a model, or media, really gave their all to NZFW, and I think that’s something to be celebrated.
Watching the whole industry come together to celebrate New Zealand’s designers and local brands is something we should all be proud of. Everyone — whether an attendee, organiser, tastemaker, designer, model, or media — brought their all to NZFW. Coming together to celebrate art like this feels monumental, and it’s a powerful reminder that we can unite as a community to support our local talent and industry.
