Celebrating Fashion Week in the heart of the city

Fashion and sustainability will cross paths on the catwalk when Auckland hosts New Zealand Fashion Week, which begins this Monday, 26 August.

Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA), with the support from a range of partners, including Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) is geared up to welcome more than 30,000 attendees to the showstopper event.

Auckland’s iconic and historic Town Hall and Aotea Square will provide the backdrop for this year’s sustainability themed NZFW.

“We are thrilled to be bringing NZFW home to Aotea Square, it being such an iconic heritage location in Auckland,” says Dame Pieter Stewart, creator of New Zealand Fashion Week. “It makes sense for us and feels like a perfect union.”

With a fresh focus on sustainability integrated across this year’s event, RFA is helping “to make green the new black” by incorporating sustainability principles across its venues and operations.

According to RFA CEO Chris Brooks, this includes maintaining and maximising the use of heritage buildings for Aucklanders and visitors to the city to enjoy.

“Heritage buildings like Auckland Town Hall are vital to the character and vibrancy of our city,” he says. “But looking after the building is just one small aspect of how we are committed to sustainability.

“RFA actively recycles or composts almost 40% of post-event waste, and we have a target of diverting 75% of waste from landfill over the next three years through initiatives such as re-usable cup schemes. Our programme of work to reduce our carbon footprint also includes replacing high energy lighting with LED replacements across our venues.

“It is exciting to see fashion embracing sustainability, and we look forward to welcoming NZFW into our iconic spaces next week.”

ATEED General Manager Destination, Steve Armitage says, “We are pleased to support NZFW’s sustainable initiatives, including the reduction of single-use plastic throughout the event. I encourage people to bring their water bottles from home and make use of the refill stations throughout the venues.

“Our Destination AKL 2025 Strategy addresses our commitment to kaitiatikanga (guardianship) and kotahitanga (collaboration), where effective collaboration at events like NZFW will ensure we are all contributing to Auckland’s sustainable future.”

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