Vodafone Sews Up NZ’s Hottest Fashion Show

3 December 2003
News release

Vodafone Sews Up NZ’s Hottest Fashion Show

Vodafone New Zealand announced today it has sewn up the sponsorship of New Zealand’s hottest fashion show.

It has secured the naming rights to id Dunedin – a unique annual event which showcases the southern city’s highly-regarded fashion and design.

“id Dunedin has firmly established the city as New Zealand’s fashion frontier,” said Vodafone general manager of communications and sponsorship Lynley Kirk-Smith.

“Like Dunedin music in the 80s and 90s, the city’s fashion is edgy, avant garde and wonderfully creative.

“Vodafone also has a reputation for always being ahead of the pack so we’re pleased to be launching our association with Vodafone id Dunedin,” she said.

The city is home to more than 15 designers, many of them internationally recognised who have shown their wares at fashion weeks in London, Australia, Italy, Belgium and Germany. They include Nom D, Mild Red, Dot Com and Carlson.

Chair of the id Dunedin Fashion Committee Susie Staley said: “We are delighted to have Vodafone New Zealand as the naming rights sponsor for the new Vodafone id Dunedin Fashion Weekend.”

She said the support of a major international sponsor such as Vodafone New Zealand showed the prestige and awareness of Dunedin’s fashion industry worldwide.

Id Dunedin – “identity Dunedin” – was launched in 1999 by a group of local designers and has now become the hottest fashion event in the country.

A weekend festival, it has grown to include fashion and retail events, workshops with industry specialists and the fashion extravaganza at the gothic Dunedin railway station.

Kirk-Smith said the fashion show was always a sell-out, with numbers tripling in its first five years, and Vodafone id Dunedin 2004 would take the event to new heights of popularity.

Next year’s main event, which is being held on Saturday March 13, is expected to attract more than 1,600 visitors from all over New Zealand and the South Pacific.

A recent economic impact report showed the textile and clothing industry in Dunedin has an annual turnover of $90 million and directly contributes $21 million a year to the local economy. It also provides more than 665 full-time jobs.

Kirk-Smith said Vodafone already had a strong connection with the region, through its sponsorship of the Otago NPC team.

“That has been an enormously successful sporting sponsorship and we’re very pleased to now be adding fashion and flair to our Dunedin activities.”

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