New Zealand moving back into the Red Traffic light system on 23 January at midnight has resulted in the cancellation of New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW) for the third time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, an announcement via Instagram explained that the event was cancelled because “the 100 person limit within the Red Traffic Light setting means it is not viable for our designers to put on a show”.
Our thoughts are with the designers who worked so hard leading up to the occasion amid other challenges posed by the pandemic.
Dame Pieter Stewart, Managing Director and founder of NZFW, said, “it’s incredibly disappointing for everyone involved that the event has been cancelled. Our designers have put in a huge amount of work, as have our partners, buyers, models, production teams and a number of other people. We respect the decision of the government to put the health and safety of all New Zealanders’ first.”
For now, we hope that NZFW can safely return in 2023 and come back stronger than ever.
Read about NZFW and what designers had to say after last year’s cancellation here.
