Dame Pieter, who announced prior to this year's festival that she would be standing down from her role as general manager, confirmed the company was on the market but insisted she was in no hurry to complete a deal.
"All I can say is the business is in very good heart," she said as she packed away boxes the day after this year's festival ended. "We'll sell it whenever it sells, basically. It's not an urgent thing."
Asked whether the sale was intended to help the event survive, Dame Pieter said: "That's a really strange question. It's my private business and I obviously can't continue to do it forever."
In regards to the venture's perceived lack of profitability, she said: "Yeah but nobody knows because it is a private business."
Although a private venture, the company does receive public funding, this year in the form of a $200,000 sponsorship payment from Ateed, Auckland Council's events arm. The rest of its revenue is derived from sponsorships - such as the just-completed two-year alliance with Mercedes - commercial agreements and, since adding public events to its closed-shop industry shows, ticket sales.
Robert Eliott, whose company Lemongrass Productions operates a stable of culinary-themed events such as Taste of Auckland, believed there would be plenty of potential buyers for NZFW.
Major media companies Fairfax, Mediaworks and Herald publisher NZME had clearly signposted their intentions to move into the events and entertainment space, he said.
"It seems like every media company in town is opening up an event arm at the moment and I'd be surprised if they all weren't having a look. Fashion Week should be ... attractive to them."
Without access to its financial records it was impossible to value the business, however Mr Eliott said the figure would likely increase with the size of the buyer.
"The market would recognise that a larger company is probably going to be able to do a bit more with it.
"I remember going five years ago and thinking it wasn't nearly as impressive as a fashion week needed to be. Now I think it is a really lovely, polished experience.
"They've done a phenomenal job of getting it to that stage.
"But when an event reaches its maturity with its current owners sometimes it needs a bigger organisation to pick it up and take it to the next level. I think Pieter is probably signalling that time has come."
The question remains, however, as to whether the event has a long-term future without Dame Pieter.
"She made it," said Malcolm Jordan, owner of experiential production company Total Event. "A lot of it is built on her relationships, so with her not in it ... I don't know who would buy it."
A statement supplied to the Weekend Herald by NZFW's public relations team indicated Dame Pieter will adopt a reduced role rather than stepping away altogether.
"Dame Pieter Stewart will continue to own and run NZ Fashion Week, moving into a role as Strategic Director," the statement said.
"Dame Pieter will continue to own and run what is a very successful event, until a new owner for NZFW comes forward."
So what happens if a buyer doesn't step forward?
This year's event featured 85 designers, either on the NZFW catwalk or as exhibitors, and hosted 29 international media and buyers. Ticket sales to the public were up 70 per cent, but there are limitations to growing what is essentially an industry event.
"You can't make it bigger and bigger and rely on ticket sales to make it a profitable event," Mr Eliott said. "That's one of the challenges and hence they've put on some public-facing aspects to it.
"It's a significant event for the city and is of national significance as well. As the city grows we are going to want to see more of these events. It definitely has its place."
