New Zealand’s finest female fashionistas for annual event
Lucy Wyndham
Auckland, July 9, 2019
As excitement builds for the New Zealand Fashion Week this August, the bar is high after the 2018 spectacle which showcased some incredible up and coming talent.
The fashion industry in New Zealand is thriving and we cannot wait to see what is on offer this year.
Global recognition
Alongside the numerous shops and boutiques that line the New Zealand high streets promoting some of the best international labels, there is a growing number of local designers that are beginning to gain recognition globally.
When it comes to women in business, there is a host of talented entrepreneurs making their mark on the fashion industry.
Below is a list of five influential Kiwi women, both long established and emerging, that are creating a new future for fashion.
Caitlin Crisp
Undoubtedly, talented and full of youthful enthusiasm, 22 year old Caitlin Crisp wowed buyers and editors alike at the graduate show during the 2018 New Zealand Fashion Week.
An emerging Auckland based designer, making clothes since the age of 12, her beautifully feminine and expressive collection boasts sumptuous silk dresses and crop tops, luxurious velvet pinafores and suits, to stylish and sophisticated trench coats.
Her designs are breath-taking and it is no wonder that she has already made such an impression on the world of fashion.
Trish Peng
With her exuberant, unique and eye-catching designs, Trish Peng certainly knows how to grab the attention of the world of fashion. After exploding onto the fashion scene in 2016, making headlines for her wedding dress made from thousands of fresh flowers, she has gone from strength to strength and is clearly well on her way to achieving her dream of ‘building an empire’ akin to the likes of Vera Wang. Watch this space.
Kate Sylvester
If you love floral and flirty feminine fashion than Kate Sylvester is for you.
Simple yet sophisticated, her classic and timeless designs transcend seasonal trends, resulting in highly wearable and iconic pieces. After launching her first label ‘Sister’ in New Zealand back in 1993 She has been designing clothes for kiwi women ever since. The Kate Sylvester label has seen huge success both nationwide and in Australia.
Karen Walker
One of New Zealand’s best known fashion designers, no list of the top five women in the fashion industry would be complete without reference to this powerhouse of talent. She is acclaimed internationally for her larger than life, Avant-guard designs.
She burst on to the scene in 1998 after showcasing her first collection and has since then branched out into jewellery, fragrances and home interiors.
Her high-end and elegant collections have been admired and worn by some of the world’s biggest stars such as Madonna, Rhianna, Bjork and Tyra Banks.
She featured in the Business of Fashion’s Top 100 and has been the recipient of awards such as the ‘World Class New Zealand Award’.
Trelise Cooper
After setting up her first design business in the early 1980s, Dame Trelise Cooper has mounted a highly successful and long-standing career in the fashion world.
Her collections are bold and full of life with crisp and clear-cut aesthetics, and have featured in magazines such as Vogue, InStyle and Marie Claire as well as the popular television series Sex and the City.
Homegrown in New Zealand, Trelise Cooper is a trail blazer of women’s fashion and with that a fine example of one of the Nation’s best talents
Lucy Wyndham is Content Editor for a Survey and Review Site based in New Zealand. Pictures for this article were sourced by Indian Newslink.
