Fashion is often painted in broad strokes, but these three emerging designers prove just how rich and varied its palette can be. With bold ideas and hands-on craft, Finn Mora-Hill of Fringes, George Park of Mercury, and Chloe Giles of Anthurium are reshaping Aotearoa’s creative landscape – each with a distinct voice and vision. From layered streetwear to intuitive tailoring and sculptural jewellery, their work reflects a new era of fashion that’s thoughtful, tactile, and deeply personal. At the core is a shared ethos: make slowly, make with purpose, and make something that truly feels like your own. The future is diverse, and it’s already here.
Fringes
At just 23, West Auckland-born designer Finn Mora-Hill and his brand Fringes are making serious waves in Aotearoa’s fashion scene. After completing a master’s degree in fashion in Pōneke, his current work feels far removed from his starting point of making T-shirts for friends at the skatepark. “I technically started around 2017, just making stuff for fun,” he says. “But discovering screen-printing in 2019 changed how I viewed fashion. That’s when I really began to understand streetwear and fashion as genuine tools of expression.” The documentary Anti-Fashion in the ‘90s further fuelled his decision to formally study and commit to the craft.
Doubling as a solo contractor and working for Sylvester by day, he spends the rest of his time crafting made-to-order pieces and collections, from digital pattern concept to flat lay construction. Each design begins with a feeling or idea, often inspired by the people around him, and shaped while walking around Tāmaki Makaurau. “I’m really interested in seeing how people are and the way their clothes behave, and breaking that down.” Fringes features a mastery of pattern and material layering, with colourways of greys, blacks, and blues, inspired by Mora-Hill’s colour blindness — he sees blue the strongest, thus works in monochrome. He describes the ethos of Fringes: “[There’s] a huge importance on the fact that people really wear these clothes, making that wear visible, and creating a true feeling of ownership.”
His debut solo show ‘In Over Our Heads’ at Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa this year, presented alongside Anthurium, was a career milestone. “This was the first time I had full creative control… it was extremely surreal seeing every model walk out in a collection I’d sewn entirely myself.” The collection was met with praise for his layering abilities, technique capabilities, and eye for pattern composition. Now, Mora-Hill is focused on committing to more exhibitions, made-to-order garments, and stocking in stores. “Long-term, I want Fringes to be full-time. I love doing shows… it is a really awesome, rewarding experience.”
Mercury
Dunedin-born and Brisbane-based designer George Park, 23, is quietly building something rare in fashion: a brand that’s intuitive, slow, and full of soul. Before Mercury was a brand, it was a feeling — one Park named during his graduate collection, ‘The Nature of Mercury’. The name, taken from the idea of something being “ of a mercurial nature,” encapsulates a willingness to change, adaptability, and flexibility. That energy continues to guide his work. It blossomed into the more concise vision of what you see today when he exhibited at the show ‘As You Watch The World Go By’, in his hometown of Dunedin last April.
All of his fabrics — from the draping silk voiles to Japanese shirting — are sourced second-hand. “Not growing up with a lot of money, you learn to use what you have,” he said, “Even now, in my brand, I use a lot of upcycled fabrics— if it’s not deadstock fabrics, then it’s something I found at the op shop.” He first explored fashion through the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards in high school, where he entered the upcycled categories and won. That early recognition, followed by a sustainability-forward education at Te Pūkenga, shaped the upcycling ethos of Mercury. Its latest collection combines bold patterns with soft hues and fabrics in blues, pinks, and yellows, to make for a quintessentially beautiful portfolio.
Since relocating to Brisbane, he has taken the slow road — working in alterations, freelancing for local brands, and gradually carving out space for his brand. “I think there’s a real integrity in slow growth. It gives you time to match the rhythm of your opportunities,” he reflects. Each piece is made by him. “I don’t want to outsource my labour. A garment is a Mercury garment because I made it.” His approach is entirely hands-on: design begins with fabric, intuition, and trial and error. He compares it to cooking with what’s in season — working with what’s around him, without it looking like that’s what he’s doing.
Showing at the Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa 2025 show in collaboration with Emma Muir of Rhoda Nunn, a fellow designer from Dunedin, has been the highlight of his career so far. “It was very chill — even when things went wrong, we just trusted it would work out.” The show, ‘Mark of the Maker’, encapsulated Mercury’s core values: adaptability, freedom, and a tangible love of making, alongside a pairing of beautiful silhouettes and vibrant colours. Right now, Mercury is stocked across Australia, with hopes to expand to Aotearoa soon. But he isn’t rushing. Being directly commissioned remains his favourite way to work, directly with the wearer, making something together. “Fashion can get disconnected. But I don’t want to do it for ego or money, I’m really in it for the process. I love being one-on-one with someone and making decisions together, even if it is less profitable for me.”
Park’s passion speaks enough for itself. But to follow that with a raw, genuine talent? It all adds up to a clear synopsis that Mercury, and Park, are going to continue climbing the rungs of the fashion world. Everyone loves beautiful things, and Mercury is a hotspot for finding exactly that.
Anthurium
It all started with a fairy garden. During her time at university, Chloe Giles, now 22, began reconnecting with her inner child. “I made a fairy garden, and then remembered how badly I wanted to be a fairy when I was little,” she says. Now she is able to play with the magic of silhouettes, new shapes, and imaginative ideas through her brand Anthurium with its inventive, ever-changing portfolio.
Originally trained in visual arts, jewellery wasn’t initially the plan. “I thought I’d go the traditional route, and be making work for galleries,” she laughs. But when she began making insects from wire in a sculpture class, everything clicked. The wire became pendants. Pendants became headpieces. And, all together, it became a practice. Now, Anthurium is a space for experimentation and transformation — visually, spiritually, and emotionally. “I see jewellery as a form of protection. It’s healing, and an elevation of myself,” she says.
Showing at Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa jewellery exhibition night last year under her originally self-titled brand, Chloe Giles, she was surrounded by other jewellers with polished brands, which pushed her to name hers. “I realised it had grown past me. It wasn’t just personal anymore— it had become something for others now, too.” Thus, Anthurium was officially born.
Fast forwarding to Āhua this year, Giles found herself working alongside Fringes designer Finn Mora-Hill. The process was intuitive and deeply collaborative. “There was so much mutual respect — we just got each other creatively.” While Mora-Hill led the collection, ‘In Over Our Heads’, she responded instinctively, crafting pieces to complement his ideas. “There was no rigid plan. It came from hanging out, chatting, making, and just seeing what stuck.”
While Giles is proud of herself, she made it a point to speak to her gratitude for those who gave her the opportunity to showcase what she can do. “I really have to acknowledge the work Finn and the Āhua team have put in to create this space I was able to move into,” Giles noted. “I’m so thankful. It has changed my life and career trajectory.”
Giles embraces jewellery as a medium that can move fluidly across moods, identities, and contexts. ‘The Kismet’ was soft and romantic, centered on love, heartbreak, and womanhood, while her show with Mora-Hill leaned into something bolder and more masculine. Through different shows, her love of merging performance and wearable art with fashion was cemented. Giles is drawn to the intersection — chainmail and wire wrapping as both craft and spectacle. “I want to break through the boundaries of how accessories are perceived.” Looking ahead, Giles hopes to show at the World of WearableArt in the capital and continue creating. “I never thought I’d end up here,” she says. “I was no good when I first started, but it surprised me and opened doors I didn’t even think existed.”
Words: Paris Lloyd-Beere
Photography: Supplied.
