The Aotearoa Music Awards returned to Auckland last night, celebrating the artists, albums and creative talent shaping New Zealand’s music industry. Leading the evening was singer-songwriter Marlon Williams, who took home three awards, cementing his place as one of the country’s most celebrated contemporary musicians.
Among those in attendance was FQ’s fashion editor-at-large Dan Ahwa, who styled four of the night’s biggest names: Marlon Williams, Geneva AM, and hosts Kara Rickard and Tom Sainsbury. Here, Ahwa takes us behind the looks, sharing the inspiration, craftsmanship and styling decisions that brought each red-carpet moment to life.
Kara Rickard
When Kara approached me about dressing her for this year’s awards, I wanted to build a wardrobe that felt aligned with her personal style while also celebrating a range of contemporary New Zealand designers. Across the evening she’ll be wearing pieces from Shona Tawhiao, Harris Tapper, Juliette Hogan, and Charmaine Reveley.
One of the standout looks is a Charmaine Reveley sequin gown featuring a satin cream bow detail at the shoulder. I first saw the piece on the runway at iD Dunedin Fashion Week 2025, and it immediately felt like something special for Kara. Charmaine is such a beloved designer in the South Island, so it feels meaningful to have her represented at the awards in this way.
Another look features a Shona Tawhiao woven bustier, styled with classic dinner trousers from Harris Tapper. Jewellery has also been an important part of the styling narrative throughout the evening, including pounamu drop earrings by Alex Sands from The Poi Room. The mesh top underneath is one of Kara’s own, which added some supportive texture to better showcase Shona’s incredible weaving.
Kara will also wear Juliette Hogan’s ‘Aiden’ gown in Electric Orchid — a vivid purple draped dress inspired by classical Grecian silhouettes. The piece won’t officially launch until between August and October, so it feels especially exciting to offer an early preview of the design in this context.
Marlon Williams
Marlon is wearing an archival suit by Strangely Normal that I first featured in the Into the Archive runway show at NZFW 2025. I later styled him in the same suit — paired with a black shirt and bolo tie — for an Air New Zealand campaign currently in market, so wearing it again for the awards feels like a really nice full-circle moment.
The suit itself is embroidered with intricate patchwork floral detailing and originates from one of the brand’s collections from the 1990s. Founders Claire Dutton and Michael Cox are such integral figures within New Zealand menswear, so it feels particularly special to see their work represented on a stage like this.
Marlon’s manager Maria Robinson is a legend, and a style icon herself, so getting her seal of approval on Marlon’s revisited outfit—which she dressed him in on the night—was especially great. We gave the look a fresh pair of R.M Williams classic ‘Craftsman’ boots to give the suit a red-carpet polish.
Geneva AM
Collaborating with Geneva on fashion has been especially rewarding because she approaches clothing with the same openness and creativity that she brings to her music. With the success of Pikipiki this year, we wanted the look to acknowledge this moment in her career while reflecting a sense of past, present and future.
The dress is by Sheetol Chawla and feels closer to wearable art than traditional fashion. It was a real honour for Geneva to wear a piece from Sheetol’s archive. The AUT Fashion and Design alumna spoke to us about the inspiration behind the collection, Eos — named after the goddess of dawn — and there were beautiful parallels between the optimism and whimsy within that work and Geneva’s own creative world around Pikipiki.
There’s something incredibly hopeful and almost angelic about the piece, which really resonated with both Geneva and myself. It felt very special to style her in something that carries so much emotion and artistry.
The headpiece is by Anthurium from jewellery designer Chloe Giles, whose work has such a distinctive sculptural quality and complements Sheetol’s design beautifully. No Geneva AM look is complete without a classic veil, which has become a signature for her performances.
What I love about this particular image is that she isn’t doing the usual red-carpet performance — the composed expression, the studied coolness. She’s completely lit up, visibly enjoying herself and feeling incredible in the moment. To me, that’s the greatest compliment and she embodies the spirit of this dress because she is supremely cool.
Tom Sainsbury
It made sense for me to dress Tom as well, particularly given this is the first time he and Kara have hosted the awards together. I wanted their looks to feel elevated and connected without appearing overly matched.
Tom is wearing a beautifully tailored suit by Porter James, paired with crisp shirting in both white and soft pink, which he changes throughout the evening. I think the suit is buttoned the wrong way, which we later fixed for the stage, but in a funny way it sums up Tom’s relationship with fashion – a little skew-whiff and a lot of charm which I think is important in personalising a look.
The Swarovski-studded pebble brooches on his lapel are by contemporary jeweller Raewyn Walsh, whose work is available through Masterworks Gallery. They add just the right amount of texture and glamour to the tailoring.
