New Zealand Fashion Week confirms return this August, supported by government funding.
For the first time in 15 years, the Government will provide funding to New Zealand Fashion Week, which returns to Auckland this August.
NZFW has secured backing from the Events Boost Fund, a one-off
The event’s return has been confirmed for August 17 to 22 at Shed 10, NZFW also announced today.
NZFW expects the funding will support a focus on increasing the visitation for domestic and international guests, including media, designers and wider industry. Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston confirmed the funding this morning.
“This is one of several exciting events the government is supporting in 2026,” she said. Other events currently receiving support through this fund include the Art Deco Festival Napier, Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki and the Forever Tomorrow: Chinese Art Now exhibition.
NZFW will continue to operate in partnership with Giltrap Group and with support from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, with Viva as the event’s exclusive media partner.
“We are incredibly proud of what we achieved in 2025, establishing the perfect foundation to continue to evolve the event and look at more ways where we can have a positive impact on the industry and New Zealand as a whole,” NZFW board director Liam Taylor says.
New Zealand Fashion Week returned in a new format last year, after being cancelled in 2024. The NZFW board was refreshed, designer participation fees were waived, and there was a stronger focus placed on consumers. Activations and runways off-site also broadened the event’s reach across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
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Advertise with NZME.The 2025 event sold more than 4600 public tickets.
The Government has provided NZFW support in years past. In 2006, the Government provided $200,000 over three years (following $1m of government financial support in the first five years of NZFW, which began in 2001). In 2012, Auckland Council also supplied $225,000 to the event through ATEED.
In 2022, NZFW also qualified for a cancellation claim from the Events Transition Support Payment (ETSP), an insurance-type scheme that aimed to incentivise major event planning in an uncertain time. After the cancellation due to Covid restrictions, NZFW received $850,000.
In 2025, Judith Collins MP visited Shed 10 on day one to declare the event officially open, noting that the fashion industry represented 2% of the country’s economy in 2024.
“That is an amazing effort for a tough year – and I know I’m responsible for some of that,” she said.
“Looking through my wardrobes, it is clear the economic driver is myself – and quite a few of you here tonight. And we have to keep doing that. We have to keep the economy going and make us all rich and stuff.”
In November, fashion industry leaders and representative group Mindful Fashion NZ (MFNZ) also paid a visit to Parliament.
Mindful Fashion NZ chief executive Jacinta FitzGerald, designer Juliette Hogan and Kathmandu chief executive Megan Welch spoke to MPs, including National’s Nicola Willis (Finance Minister) and Todd McClay (Trade and Investment Minister), and Labour’s Camilla Belich.
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Advertise with NZME.They highlighted the $7.8 billion fashion and textile industries added to the NZ economy in 2023 and discussed how a thriving local industry might overlap with the Government’s aim to double exports by 2034.
More on NZFW
From the event’s place in local fashion to the outfits we wear on the ground.
Why Is It Important New Zealand Has Its Own Fashion Week In 2025? Buyers, bookers and brands on why the value of New Zealand Fashion Week is greater than what gets rung through the tills.
Pace & Precision: Auckland-Based Fashion Brand Harris Tapper’s Success Is A Study In Restraint. For Harris Tapper co-founders Sarah Gould Harris and Lauren Tapper, the secret to success is taking out the guesswork.
The Best Beauty Moments From New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria 2025. Beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti charts the most memorable makeup looks and hair trends from the shows.
What The Viva Team Wore To New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria 2025. Treasured vintage, considered new purchases and borrowed garments we’d rather not return – the Viva team considers the stories and surrounding economies of our wardrobes at New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria.
