Could you have named any New Zealand fashion designers four years ago? The fact that most New Zealanders now can - and Kate Sylvester is even used to advertise cars - is largely down to the success of New Zealand Fashion Week, and the woman who made it happen, PieterStewart. For three years she has stumped the critics and pulled off a week of soft frills and frippery that generates millions in hard cash. Apparel exports are worth $260 million to New Zealand, almost matching the wine industry. Of that, designer fashion brings in an estimated $40 million and acts as the showcase for the industry as a whole.
The 50-something Stewart has done what many thought impossible - unite the disparate fashion industry, squeeze funding from the Government and convince influential buyers to travel halfway round the world. She told local designers they didn't know how good they were and put them where the world could see them.
This year Fashion Week turned three and proved impossible to ignore, crossing into mainstream consciousness. Although changes are planned for 2004, this year showed that Fashion Week will never go out of style.
