Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa made its debut last September as the underground replacement to the postponed New Zealand Fashion Week, taking over Karangahape Road’s Raynham Park with bold vision and fresh energy. Born from the hearts and minds of three young creatives—with a big dream and a shared love of cheesecake—the event quickly made its mark. Now preparing for its second showcase next week, the co-founders and their growing team of department heads reflect on the journey so far. From scaling up and leading a 500-strong team to reshaping the creative landscape of Tāmaki Makaurau and beyond, this is a story of ambition, evolution, and an unwavering commitment to community.
The success of Āhua, late last year, didn’t just confirm there was in fact a hunger for an alternative, accessible fashion week, but it also laid the groundwork for an even more ambitious event this year. Inevitably, co-founders Fifi Kwon, Nina Bailey and Billy Blamires, admit they learnt a lot.
“We’ve really honed in on all of those aspects that we wanted to be done differently, while still keeping the same vibe, and heart,” says Kwon. Bailey continues, “We’ve learnt a lot about our community and what it looks like, and all the deliciousness that comes with that. So, round two is about reaching out wider and bringing more of all that we can. Because why not push the limits – why not push for more!”
One major change this time around is the introduction of solo shows. “[the solo shows] allow designers who have done group shows a couple times to really decide what they want to show for themselves,” Kwon noted. “All our group shows have a theme – it’s not as direct as last time, just a little bit more abstract. For the solo shows we really wanted to keep it up to the designers’ vision and story that they want to tell personally, which is a different aspect of Āhua that we’ve brought.”
Āhua’s “birth”, in Bailey’s and Kwon’s words, originated when the two long-time friends met for coffee shortly after New Zealand Fashion Week announced its postponement last year.Bailey was a “struggling creative with no real purpose. […] I had been in this mindset for a while where I just felt so disheartened for all creatives in Tāmaki.” A week later over cheesecake, with a little pressure and a proposal plan made by a “very convincing” Kwon, according to Blamires, Āhua was officially born.
So what’s the plan for this year? There are 11 shows over 5 days, in 3 locations. It’s ambitious, but the team has grown from the three founders to eight. Alongside Kwon, Bailey and Blamires they have five others joining them, all undeniably energetic and passionate about Āhua. Aellerie who was a model last year and now an event coordinator this year says it’s a huge privilege to be involved. “I got to see it from a model point of view, and now seeing it from a behind-the-scenes point of view has been a really unique experience. I know that this show is just going to be so, so spectacular.”
Social media manager, Whioi Heslin-Raukawa, shared the same sentiment. “I’m just excited overall,” he says. “The kaupapa that Āhua brings is something that is really really dear to me, and it makes me emotional. I’m happy that everyone can see what we’re doing, and are appreciating it.”
As for Blamires, they are stepping back from their producer role from last year and is focusing more on their first love – designing. “I’m really excited to actually be a designer,” they shared. “Obviously I did Āhua last year and ROGUE the year before that, and [giving designers a platform] is something that I’m so, so passionate about but I also haven’t actually used that platform myself.”
This year’s event also comes with a new take on their thematic focus. While last year, they grouped designers by aesthetic and curated the shows accordingly, this year is set to follow an overarching theme of ‘the struggle of creatives in a corporate world’. All the group shows will work together to tell that story, consecutively, albeit through different lenses. “Pursuing a creative career in this climate feels almost impossible,” says Bailey. “This year’s theme is about that battle – how art feeds our souls, yet the creative world just isn’t built to sustain us.”
Saturday’s finale ‘Ate II Eat’ is due to feature two looks from every designer from the week, across both the solo shows and the group shows. The show’s producer Grace Lewis describes it as a “smorgasbord”. [It’s] quite literally bringing everything together, but curated in a way that works in the reverse of the opening show,” she says. .” The setting will feature a banquet table at a dinner party, in which the regal members ignore the ‘jesters’ that the models will be representing. Lewis continues, “It works with this idea that art is both a necessity but commodified as a luxury, so it is often inaccessible to a lot of our community, but we are also simultaneously the ones who are creating it.”
It’s clear this show is as much about creatives, as it is about the audience.Inclusivity is the backbone of Āhua, and to the team that isn’t limited to just the inclusion of all creatives but also the everyday person, too. Kwon’s goal is for “[the audience] to leave Ahua feeling inspired. And also just know that they can do their own thing. Things don’t have to be perfect or the way that they’re “supposed” to be, you can just do it.”
Blamires adds: “Fashion has this stigma around it that it’s expensive, and rich, and I’ve said before that I’ve never gone to fashion week because I couldn’t afford to go to Fashion Week. But, Fashion and these types of events should be for everyone, for your ‘average Joe’,” they say. “I’ve had conversations with friends who don’t necessarily have anything to do with fashion, and it feels so unreachable to them, because it’s not ‘a part of their world’. But, I just think ‘OK, let’s create a world where it can be, then.”
It’s a sentiment currently ringing true across the world right now. Fashion is for everybody, and to have a group as devoted as these guys to making that truth a tangible reality is nothing short of inspiring. Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa is a one-of-a-kind movement in Aotearoa’s fashion history, and if you are lucky enough to make even one of the shows, you will truly feel exactly that.
